About This Course

Systems and service design are powerful methods for helping a company differentiate itself and evolve. The acknowledgement of a service as something that can be affected through design has grown over the last decade with Mary Jo Bitner’s seminal white paper, “Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation”, as a nexus between early academic work and current practice. During this course students will learn how to use service blueprinting to design the overall architecture for their business, product, or service. After learning the method, students will then have a tool for the iterative analysis and design of their offering and the ability to keep it relevant, valuable, and competitive.

There are three sections to this course:

Systems Foundation. We will explore a brief history of systems thinking and systems design. Based on the readings, students will write a position paper comparing traditional systems thinking to contemporary uses of it in design applications.

Service Foundation. We will be introduced to the field of service design and explore its role as an emerging design discipline. Based on the readings, students will write a position paper explaining the evolution, methods, processes, and distinct value of service design and how it differs from other forms of design.

Service Design Application. We will apply the theories of system and service design to the development of a service blueprint. Based on the readings and applications of service design theories, students will create and describe their service design blueprint for their projects on education.


Core Concepts and Ideas

This class emphasizes the following main ideas, themes, and concepts:

  • Diagramming as both a philosophy and method for understanding the complexity of services and for proposing changes to these services
  • Ecosystems and Ecologies as a way of framing large, multi-faceted, and often distributed problems

Reading List

Outcomes and Competencies

The following outcome statements articulate the competencies, abilities, and skills a student will have as a result of completing this class. Students will...

  • Gain an awareness of systems design and service design, understand some core theories, and apply principles and techniques.
  • Use customer journey mapping to frame a design problem.
  • Be able to create a service design blueprint.

Course Schedule

    Topic In Class Readings Assignments

Section 1: Systems (Foundation)

1

Mon, 10/29

Course Intro

-

History and Fundamentals of System Design

Lecture

Thinking in Systems: The Basics

Thinking in Systems: Why Systems Work So Well

 

2

Wed, 10/31

System Design

Exercise: Model a conversation

Discussion of Readings

The Language/Action Model of Conversation

Design in the Age of Biology

 

3

Mon, 11/5

Applied Systems Design (Design Languages)

Lecture

Discussion of Readings

Machines with an Attitude

Design Languages

Based on the readings compare traditional systems thinking to contemporary uses of it in design applications.

Section 2: Services (Foundation)

4

Wed, 11/7

Fundamentals of Service Design

Service Blueprinting

Lecture

Discussion of Readings

Service Design As An Emerging Field

Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation

 

5

Mon, 11/12

Work Session

 

 

 

6

Wed, 11/14

DIY Service Blueprint Deconstruction and Reconstruction

Exercise

Discussion of Readings

Breaking Free from Product Marketing

Designing for Services – A Multidisciplinary Perspective (pgs 19, 27, 43, 47)

 

7

Mon, 11/19

Service Blueprint Deconstruction and Insight Combination Status Review

Project Work Reviews

Discussion of Readings

Interaction Design and Service Design

From Products to Services, Ch. 1

Based on the readings explain the evolution, methods, processes, and distinct value of service design and how it differs from other forms of design.

8

Wed, 11/21

No Class – Thanksgiving

 

 

 

Section 3: Design (Application)

9

Mon, 11/26

Theory of Change

Discussion of Readings

Lecture

Discussion of Readings

Theory of Change: A Practical Tool for Action, Results, Learning

 

10

Wed, 11/28

Exercise: Theory of Change Models

Exercise

Discussion of Readings

Designing for Service: Creating an Experience Advantage

 

11

Mon, 12/3

Customer Journey Maps

Lecture

Exercise

Discussion of Readings

Innovation X: Ch.4 Convergence

 

12

Wed, 12/5

Touchpoints

Lecture

Discussion of Readings

The Experience Economy: The Customer is the Product

The Experience Economy: Get Your Act Together

 

13

Mon, 12/10

Service Blueprinting

Lecture

Work in Class

Discussion of Readings

 

 

14

Wed, 12/12

Service Blueprint Reviews

Work in Class

 

 

15

Mon, 12/17

Service Blueprint Reviews

Work in Class

 

 

16

Wed, 12/19

Final Deliverable

Presentations

Based on the readings and applications of service design theories, describe your service design blueprint for your project on education.