Assistant professor
Linköpings universitet
Linköping, Sweden
http://www.ida.liu.se/~ixs/
1. In your view, how is your research/work related to Service Design?
The projects I’m currently involved in are revolving around practicing service designers involved in development or innovation projects with service organizations. The overarching interests that direct my work are methods and techniques for design of dynamic design material, user involvement and user-driven methods, conceptions of value-in-use, the expressiveness of design visualizations, investing in design and innovation, and strategic management issues relating to design of services.
2. In your view, what is the most/less interesting aspect of Service Design?
It’s quite a challenge to think of the least interesting aspect of Service Design. I was first thinking of tourism – but it is a large area and sometimes in great need of design. Then I was thinking of the transition from products to services – but functional sales and after-markets are so important concepts for businesses that putting these aside seems impossible.
So, let’s talk about the interesting parts. After doing research in interaction design focused on how interaction design can be integrated into IT-system acquisition processes, the figure of thought brought forward by service design introduced a means for connecting design with business. The way that service design connects with business thinking is attractive.
It is also exciting that the design of services is all about the design of value-in-use. It has been one line of thinking in interaction design, but in service design it becomes an even more absolute perspective.
And then there is all the visuals and models used. Even though there are the ordinary ones, like blueprints or journeys, I’m fascinated by the odd ones, and by the ones that makes you go “yes, I see!”
3. Can you tell us about a Service Design research project(s) you did or read about?
We are running two larger projects at the moment, one with service innovations, and one with service development. In both projects we have set up a co-production team, with designers, service organizations and researchers.
In the ICE project, http://www.ida.liu.se/divisions/hcs/ixs/research/ICE/, we have been working with distributed home-health care and future mobile communication. We have been using theories and methods from Cognitive Systems Engineering to expand and understand how blueprinting and journeys could support innovation in hone health-care situations. We have also explored how expressive design techniques in different media support each other when describing future services.
In the SERV project, http://www.ida.liu.se/divisions/hcs/ixs/research/SERV/, we have been working with more traditional service development projects, developing knowledge about user research techniques, use of ethnographic methods, and constructs that help describe what the design object of service design can be.
4. Are there area(s) that you would like to do or see research on?
Definitely. There is a fantastic opportunity, when the large western economies turn around at the bottom, to gain understanding of how service and design thinking contributes to sustainable growth, or maybe even slow growth. Then, of course, one should look into informal service economies, and the role of design, individualization, innovation, sensemaking, etc.
And last, for now, there is a need for extending our understanding of service phenomena by establishing firm grounding in relevant theoretical concepts and philosophy.
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Your suggestions for the blog:
Who would you like to invite in this conversation about Service Design Research?
I would like to invite Tuuli Mattelmäki, Kirsikka Vaajakallio, Shelley Evenson and Johan Redström
What is the question do you have about Service Design?
How does service design co-evolve with the service sciences?