Service Design: A Toolkit for Assessment, Insight and Improvement - Joe Marquez and Annie Downey

1. +
Service Design: A Toolkit for Assessment,
Insight, and Improvement Workshop
Joe Marquez, MLIS
Annie Downey, PhD, MLIS
Reed College

2. This is what we are going to cover…
o Define what a service is
o Define service design as a methodology
o Illustrate tools of service design
o Review findings and pitfalls learned during the Reed process
o How to create an effective service design plan for your library

3. Why Should We Care About Design?
“It must constantly be borne in mind that the object being
worked on is going to be ridden in, sat upon, looked at,
talked into, activated, operated, or in some way used by
people individually or en masse. If the point of contact
between the product and people becomes a point of
friction, then the designer has failed. If, on the other hand,
people are made safer, more comfortable, more desirous
of purchase, more efficient — or just plain happier — by
contact with the product, then the designer has
succeeded.”
- Henry Dreyfuss, Industrial Designer
Dreyfuss, H. (1950). The Industrial Designer and the Businessman. Harvard Business Review, 28(6), 77–85.

4. What is Design Thinking?
“...it is a discipline that uses the designer’s sensibility and methods to
match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and
what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value
and market opportunity.”
- Tim Brown, Pres. of IDEO
Brown, T. (2008). Design Thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 84–92.

5. A poll.
What is an example of a service?
A. A map of the Library
B. A circulation or reference desk
C. A table where students study
D. The Library website
E. All of the above

6. What is a service?
“...any activity or benefit that one party can offer another that is
essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of
anything.”
- Philip Kotler, PhD
Kotler, P. (2001). Principles of marketing (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.

7. Services happen here…these are
services

8. What is a service?
It is an experience.
Everything is a service.

9. Service Design: What is it?
“Service design is a holistic, co-creative, and user-centered approach
to understanding customer/user behavior for the creation or refining
of services.”
-Us
Marquez, J., & Downey, A. (2015). Service Design: An Introduction to a Holistic Assessment Methodology of Library Services.
Weave: Journal of Library User Experience, 1(2). http://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/weave.12535642.0001.201

10. Why Does It Matter?
Services do not
operate in a
vacuum, but rather
in tandem with
other established
services.
Services are part of
larger things called
systems or
ecologies.

11. Elements of Service Design
o Co-creative
o Empathetic
o No Devil’s Advocate (the No Negativity Rule)
o Making the Intangible Tangible
o Service Ecology
Image Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wafflewhiffer/3517038705

12. Tools of Service Design
o Service Blueprints
o Customer Journey Maps
o Design Ethnography
o Journaling
o Surveys
o Space Analysis *
o Scenarios
Source: http://watersfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/iceberg-wgraphics.png

13. Phases of Service Design
o Pre-Work
o Observation
o Understanding/
Thinking
o Implementing
o Maintenance and
Continuing Feedback
Loop

14. Phase: Pre-Work
o buy-in
o communicate
o create teams
o create scope (goals)
o begin scheduling
o ground rules
o assign roles
o draft activities
Source: http://accelerateddevelopment.blogspot.com/2013/05/not-
planning-is-for-losers.html

15. Phase: Observation
Goals
o gather initial insights
o initial interviews to create a sense of how services/resources are
being used
o survey
Tools
o Ethnography
o Surveys
o Space Analysis
o Personas

16. Phase: Understanding/Thinking
Goals
o co-create solutions
o visualize behavior
o prototyping
o testing
o refining
o synthesizing
Tools
o Customer Journey
Mapping
o Journaling
o Scenarios
o Prototyping Source: http://www.cooper.com/journal/2015/4/are-you-a-coconut-or-a-peach

17. A student is looking to find a book. She has a call number on a slip of
paper and is looking at the map by the Reference Desk. A librarian sits at
the desk.
Scenarios

18. Customer Journey Mapping

19. Customer Journey Mapping

20. Journaling

21. Prototyping

22. Prototyping

23. Phase: Implementing
Goals
o Implement &
test
o What metrics
determine
success?
Tools
o Blueprints
Marquez, J., & Downey, A. (2015). Service Design: An Introduction to a Holistic Assessment Methodology of Library Services.
Weave: Journal of Library User Experience, 1(2). http://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/weave.12535642.0001.201

24. Blueprinting

25. Maintenance and Continuing Feedback
Loop
o The project does not end at implementation.
o Continue to measure efficacy of service delivery
o Test often, refine as needed
Source: https://blog.smartdraw.com/lean-startup-success/

26. Service Design, in action
Goal
o Understand how students use the physical library and library
services/resources.
Scope
o Defined by College Librarian
o Changed and refined over time to focus more on space usage
Timeline
o Two+ years
o Plan in fall / implement in spring / data analysis and report writing in
summer
Two groups
o Library Usability Group (LUX) = staff
o Student advisory group = users

27. SD @ Reed College Library: Yr 1
Assess space usage (SUMA + Gate counts)
o Once each semester
o What questions do you have?
o What will you do with the data?
Create student advisory group
o Establish membership goals
o No library workers
o All grade levels represented
o Selected and self-nominated
o Recruit members
o Emailed invites to all students
o Recruited through Student Senate
o Posted fliers
o 4 Meetings – 2 hours each

28. SD @ Reed College Library: Yr 1
Meeting One
o Homework: pre-survey
o Get to know one another
o Establish ground rules
o Set up schedule
o Service discussion – what is a service?
o Homework: pay attention to services you like and dislike – come ready
to discuss
+ Meeting Two
o Homework review
o Service discussion pt. 2
o Discuss journals
o Scenarios
o Customer journey (research process)
o Homework: journaling (week in the life)

29. Customer Journey Maps @ Reed
o Alone or in group
o Rotate around the room and talk to participants
o Take notes
o Debrief
o w/participants
o w/research team
o Sketch out final map

30. SD @ Reed College Library: Yr 1
Meeting Three
o Service redesign – how would you change at least one service point
in the library? (written)
o Homework review
o What did you learn about yourself from your journal?
o What did you learn about the library from your journal?
o Did you encounter any difficulties?
Meeting Four
o Website review discussion
o “10 Most Important Elements” Prompt
o Reference Desk prototype discussion
o Final questions

31. Chairs do not slide
properly
Using Journals +
Jammed outlet
Bad scan of article
Just found out about
JSTOR lag
Zotero user
Audience Question: What questions could you ask in a meeting
based on this journal?

32. Advisory Group Meeting Musts
General tips
o Spend time getting to know members
o Provide contact info for them to follow up with questions / comments
o Supply good food
o Establish ground rules quickly
o Intermingle
o Do both written and spoken activities
o Be mindful of members’ schedules
Library Usability Group roles during meetings
o One person lead
o 2-3 people take DETAILED notes
o Everyone participate in discussions, but let advisers do most of the
talking

33. Turning the tables….adding student advisers to Library Usability Group
o Students create, plan, and run focus groups
o 2-3 meetings as whole team to develop plan and questions
o Students volunteered for roles
o Marketing /recruiting participants
o Facilitators
o Note takers / helpers
o Analysis (if time)
SD @ Reed College Library: Yr 2

34. What did we learn from the students?
o students are creatures of habit
o wayfinding
o culture of the library
o hierarchy
o library spaces are consecrated spaces
o naming conventions
o additional services: refilling stations, printing, better website
o chairs, uneven
o small repairs needed throughout library

35. What did we learn about the process?
o Plan early
o Test often
o Get buy-in early
o Communicate about the process – explain what you are doing and
what you are NOT doing
o Don’t be afraid to ask questions
o Leave all preconceived notions about your students (users) at the
door – approach the process with an open mind

36. Thinking About Your Service Design Project
o Form team
o Clearly define your project scope
o Formulate questions: what do you want to find out?
o Determine tools based on your questions
o Identify and include stakeholders
o Determine how you will use your advisory group (i.e. what is their
charge?)
o Create advisory group

37. Any Questions?
???

38. Thank you!
Annie Downey
e: adowney@reed.edu
Joe Marquez
e: jmarquez@reed.edu
t: @joughm