Services design

Viewing the complex systems and the safety and security of these as mainly a concern for engineering, carries with it a risk of sub optimizing solutions. This is especially true when it is the bits and pieces that adds up to a whole. Viewing the use of these systems as a composite and as a service, not a system, allows for designing them from the outside in.

In some cases a set of systems and processe are put togehter to form a service, but they were developed separately. Thus, combining them to form a services risks making the service as a whole less good than the individual parts considered in isolation.

Designing a service highlights the service evidence, the service touchpoints, from several actors perspectives, throughout a whole servuce experience, and differentiates between the frontstage activities and the backstage activities. Focusing on human-centered developmetn of well-formed, coherent and good front-stage activities is a central concern for service design.

But, what does it mean for such a composite service to be well-formed? What resources and processes are needed to achieve that? How can enablers be designed so as to allow for rapid prototyping, and rapid composition of services?

Our research circles around these questions and develops knowledge on service design methods, service design techniques, user-driven service innovation, service design languages as well as strategies for service development and engineering.

Contact person:

• Stefan Holmlid, email: steho@ida.liu.se, tel: +46-13-28 56 33

Researchers:

• Dr. Stefan Holmlid, email: steho@ida.liu.se
• Dr. Mattias Arvola, email: matar@ida.liu.se
• Per Sökjer, email: perso@ida.liu.se