The New Software Industry Conference
esigning service systems
Shelley Evenson
Carnegie Mellon University
School of Design
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Designing service systems
The stage for co-production
•
Service and service systems
•
An example
•
Designing service systems
•
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Many of our service experiences are
multifaceted and co-produced.
UnitedStarbucksWestinWolfgangPuckPeetsHertzOnStarBlackberryCingularZoneTagFlickrIntuit
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Bob’s Lines of visibility plus
co-production…
Waiting lines Dining room Dining room Front stage Customer
and self-service experience with the chef participates in
cooking and production
serving
Production
lines Kitchen
participates in
Kitchen
production
Kitchen prep
Back stage Kitchen prep
McDonald’s Gourmet Benihana-type Stir-fry grill
restaurant restaurant restaurant restaurant
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

The world is changing
eople&technology
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

People are changing
People are:
finding there is too much information to cope
•
with (including too many choices in products
and services)
moving up Maslow’s hierarchy toward
•
fulfillment and meaning as they look for deeper
connections in their everyday experience
more actively and more consciously
•
participating in the design of products
and services—they are co-producing
Source: McKinsey
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Technology is changing.
sensors
Web-based services have had a huge impact. More will
change as the world becomes filled with bunches and
bunches of Web-based services have had a huge impact.
More will change as the world becomes filled with
bunches and bunches of sensors.
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Technology influences our sense of self
office | pc | phone
Work used to be a place, then it became a tool…
…and now I’m always every role I have wherever,
as long as I have the information to support it.
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

What do we mean by service?
Pine & Gilmore—stage experience
coffee beans > coffee > coffee shop > Starbucks
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

What do we mean by service?
Services are activities or events that form a
product through an interaction between the customer,
any mediating technology, and representatives
of the service organization.
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

What do we mean by service?
Services are also performances—
choreographed interactions
manufactured at the point of delivery—
the visible front-end of a process
that co-produces value, utility,
satisfaction, and delight.
Source:
Christopher Alexander, The Nature of Order
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

What is a service system?
A service system is the framework that consciously
connects service touchpoints so that they can sense,
respond, and reinforce one another.
The system must be dynamic enough to be able to
efficiently reflect the expectations people bring to the
experience at any given moment.
Service systems enable people to have experiences and
achieve goals.
Designing for this is hard.
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Luxury hotel
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Luxury hotel
+
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Luxury hotel
When delivery falls short of expectations…
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

esigning service systems
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

The difficulty for anyone
designing a service system is:
Difficulty of prototyping—need for enactment
•
Difficulty of representing the experience
•
Scaling from a first prototype to a network
•
Defining measures and managing quality
•
of delivery
Continuous improvement
•
Identifying and capitalizing on opportunities
•
for extensions and new areas of service
Building a service organization that can learn
•
Designing for dynamic and more adaptive
•
service systems
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

To be successful we need work from
three perspectives simultaneously…
business, technology, and experience Dubberly Design
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

we create resources
that choreograph interactions—
designing for service
we design the service interface
so that participants VALUE
their experience (business)
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

designing for service
We create resources
that can be composed into
interfaces or touchpoints
to make up a service system
(modular technology)
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

designing for service
We need to understand interactions,
the cycle of experience or journey,
and the context or delivery channel
(experience)
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Understand system interactions
p2m
p2p m2m
person to person person to machine machine to machine
Me & my Me & Expedia My agent to
travel agent website Expedia agent
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Understand the cycle of experience—
facets of an activity,
journey or performance
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Understand the context or delivery
channel…
by person or machine > stage | touchpoint > channel | setting
me to machine > interact | confirmation > phone
Our challenge is to provide
appropriate resources
for the service interfaces
across the service system…
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

The three perspectives have
complementary design goals
Business Technology Experience
• Value • Efficiency/productivity • Usability
• Reach • Robustness • Responsiveness
• Analytics • Standardization/reuse • Flexibility/
customization/
• Differentiation • Scalability
uniqueness
• Reliability
• Transparency
• Enjoyment
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Developing a integrated service
design language can help
Service design languages are:
Systems of elements with meanings
(that designers use to communicate
and users “read”)
+
Sets of organizing principles
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Service design language
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

When a company provides the
optimal mix of products, services,
communications, customer support,
and partner relationships…
…they can produce
a resonating service system.
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Thanks
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly

Cross-referenced experiences—
banking example customer inputs her reduces headcount in
identification contact centers
[account number] only
once…
“smartness” from
mapping of
csr’s feel
shared
more
experiences
empowered
• High energy
• “Converts”—influence spread
within the culture
• Work back and forth—from
account number
system to instance
retrieval to backend
systems w/ screen pop
citibank, wells fargo and
others are beginning to
do this today
The New Software Industry Conference Shelley Evenson | Interaction & Service | School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University © Evenson & Dubberly