Service Design is a multi-disciplinary, innovative field that helps organisations see their services from a customer perspective. Organisations across the world are increasingly recognising the value of service design in putting people at the heart of thoughtfully designed activities, processes and experiences.
Purposefully designed services put the needs of the people who use them first – and are easier to use, access and deliver.
WHY WORK IN THIS WAY?
Talking to service users, observing them, walking in their shoes and seeking to understand what your service means to them is vital – for everyone in an organisation. Without exception.
That is certainly what the UK Government believes. John Waterworth is Head of user research at the Government Digital Service, and Head of the user research community across government. He says this:
“There’s good evidence that the best way to improve the design of a service is to make sure that every team member gets to watch real people talking about the service and trying out the team’s designs.
“One simple aim can transform not only the way people work as a team but also the product they’re working on. Do you want to know the secret? Exposure hours.
“We’ve encouraged all the exemplar teams to get their ‘exposure hours’ and we’ve seen the value time and again.
“Teams quickly develop a greater empathy for their users. They know how the service fits into users’ lives. They learn the language that real people use to describe aspects of the service. They understand users’ frustrations and joys.”