Prototyping for Service Design

Prototyping: Service Design Workshop People-Centered Service Design Lindsay Wheeler Spring 2013

What Is Service Design Protoyping?

Service design prototyping is used to simulate and experience aspects of the service idea with customers, stakeholders or professionals in order to improve the solutions before they are realized.

Before getting to the costly development of a new or improved service, low fidelity models are often used to prototype and test the ideas quickly and cheaply. The tools used for service prototyping can go in the direction of rudimentary acted-out scenarios with hand-sketched screens or improvised props to detailed mock-ups of the system.

“If you use an analogy from the product world, a prototype can just be a foam block to gauge the size of a product with no buttons on it or anything else. A rough prototype answers a question. An early prototype for a service may be a group of people role-playing a new service without any technological infrastructure. Or it might be something in the middle, where you’re designing touch points for how a new service might look. Until you start an early pilot, you may not have real data behind a technological infrastructure. You may not have a real protocol but you can set up a simulated environment in a pilot situation.”

—Mark Jones from IDEO in an interview with Rachel Hinman from Adaptive Path

Why Use Service Design Protoyping?

The process of prototyping is particularlly helpful in Service Design because:

• It represent the service idea using techniques that illustrate all the components of the service, including physical elements, interaction modalities, logical links and temporal sequences.

• It uses the objects and materials available in that specific moment and location.

• It is a tool supporting the visualization of ideas and a way to

be sure that all the members of the team are talking about the same thing.

• It uses tools that allow people to show, externalize and share what is in their minds: making the ideas visible in order to understand and explain them better.

• It satisfies the need to communicate both the process and the experience.

How To Use Service Design Protoyping?

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There are four steps to consider in the process of prototyping.

Each step has a specific purpose and role in the divergent and convergent process.

The Prototype Process Wheel 1. Generative Prototyping This stage of the process is dedicated to the creation of variety of many ideas. The generation is based of a “How Might We...� statement and can be directed for desired feedback.

2. Evaluative Prototyping The next stage of the process is for feedback and divergence on a single idea or a small group of specific ideas. This builds of the generative stage and produces feedback on a concept created.

3. Reflection Process This stage should be done throughout the process but is particularly beneficial after the initial prototyping session in order to create a synopsis of what has been created and the direction the feedback has created.

4. Outcome Process Based on the reflection, this stage is suggested in order to revise or move onto the next stage.

Generative Prototyping

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Generative Method of Prototyping Generative prototyping is the opportunity to get others perspective on a constucted service experience. A breadth of ideas can be brainstormed for later conceptualization.

One methodology that can describe the purpose of generative prototyping is constructive interaction. Constructive interaction is a method based on the observation of a user during their service experience.

The user is asked to think out loud while performing a given set of tasks, so that others could listen to and record the thoughts.This method allows the group to provide their own perspective of the service while all participating in the same activity.

The feedback for this method is best when the users do not have to write down their thoughts and can freely generate amongst the group of participants.

Generative Tool: Experience Prototype The experience prototype is a simulation of the service experience that foresees some of its performances through the use of the specific physical touchpoints involved.

The experience prototype allows designers to show and test the solution through an active participation of the users.

Usig this as a tool allows you to set the tone for the audience and direct the session. It also instills a level of imagination, playfulness, and user interaction.

Experience Prototype Case Study: Garden On The Go Assesibility

Topic

Garden On The Go is an exceptional service that is working to bring fresh produce to the people of urban food desserts.

The service is expanding and ambitious to reach more people. After participant observation, we have found they need to make some changes to make a greater impact.

Problem

Garden On The Go brings the service to the user to aid in accessibility. The problem becomes the elder and mobile handicapped audience that have mobility issues in tight space layouts, crowds, and rigid product structures.

Prototype

To have the group participate in demonstating an experience prototype. Setting the miniature scene with walkers, baskets, and bins to shop experience. With seven members attempting to manuever the small space with the crowd of hands, the experience of shopping was well-received.

Discussion

The group was directed to discuss ways to make the shopping experience less crowded and more efficient in order to solve the problem area that effected assessibility. It was a broad and laidback ideation session that allowed ideas to bounce and build from others.

Feedback

The fun interaction experience yeilded ideas across the board from layout design to product design and shopping assistance to setting up programs. It was an inspiring idea generation session.

Evaluative Prototyping

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Evaluative Method of Prototyping Evaluative prototyping is the opportunity to have more specific discussion on a developed concept. This stage can take the discussion of ideas can give depth to the concepts.

One methodology that can describe the purpose of evaluative prototyping is heuristic evaluation. Heuristic evaluation is the inspection of the service usability based on a predefined set of criteria that the evaluators follow during the analysis.

One or more experts who use the heuristics as a guide should carry on this evaluation. It gives a quick feedback and a lot of good suggestions for the improvement of the whole project.

The feedback for this method is most helpful to gather many perspectives on a concept that was generated in earlier sessions.

This stage is more specific in the visualization and in the feedback.

Evaluative Tool: Group Sketching The group sketching prototype is a quick, fast and economic tool for developing and explaining ideas simultaneously.

It is used during the co-design sessions in order to share the insights inside the team: this tool offers a common ground for the discussion even when the participants have different cultural and social backgrounds.

It is based on basic and simple drawings in order to encourage the participation of everybody.

Group Sketching Case Study: Garden On The Go Assesibility

Topic

Garden On The Go is an exceptional service that is working to bring fresh produce to the people of urban food desserts.

The service is expanding and ambitious to reach more people. After participant observation, we have found they need to make some changes to make a greater impact.

Problem

Garden On The Go brings the service to the user to aid in accessibility. The problem becomes the elder and mobile handicapped audience that have mobility issues in tight space layouts, crowds, and rigid product structures.

Prototype

A sketch for six different categories of opportunity areas. Each member has a turn to investigate possible solutions to each area. They are directed to list reaction the the things working and the ideas that need more refinement. Having the members switch to see multiple scenarios and give additional perspective to the input.

Discussion

Each member of the group took a few moments to collect thoughts for their sketch and then each commented allowed on their suggestions to clarify their notes.

Feedback

The suggestions and comments received were specific to each particular opportunity area. It presented created a take away with the notes on the same sketch it corresponded with. There was involvement of group discussion to build on for feedback as well.

Reflection Process

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Reflection Process Reflection is a process necessary throughout the entire prototyping session. The personal synopsis is a dedicated time to reflect on the individual data received and make connections of the direction the information has been formed.

This stage will provide the time to take a step back from the prototypes and be able to make meaning; a recount of the process results. This stage is time to make a clear assesment of what action will need to be taken.

This is a moment for the individual to reflect. Many perspectives have been documented and need to be formed into an action step.

Reflection Process

Reflection Case Study: Garden On The Go Assesibility • Told a story (provided interest) • Let the user experience the stiuation (introduced excitement) • Got a long list of ideas and suggestions that could improve the situation.

• Building off the experience-based idea generation • More narrowed direction of feedback.

• Critiqued a sketched prototype • Each sketch was a different category of idea • Could see how it worked in the system and compare that to other ideas

GENERATIVE PROTOTYPE — DAY TWO

GENERATIVE PROTOTYPE — DAY ONE

The Process

I began to realize how important accessibility was to the operations of Garden On The Go. Each person who had experience the service at Garden On The Go felt passionately that it needed to be fixed in order for the service to be more pleasing and successful.

The Prototypes

I found the prototype to be successful but had felt much more strong about the turnout of the experience prototype. It created excitement and refreshment of the experience. Each prototype yeilded much beneficial feedback and gave clear ways to improve the assessibility of the shopping experience.

What I Learned

After going through the prototyping process I learned the difference between my initial thoughts of prototyping and prototyping for service design. With all the challenges of creating a comprehensive prototype you have to add the component of sharing the experience with the members of the group. I was pleased with the tool used for the generative prototype and learned the value of broad idea generation in the initial step of the entire project.

Feedback

The feedback given while in the generative stage was much more helpful and inspiring than the evaluation stage. The ideation and brainstorming is exciting while each member is thinking creatively and without boundaies. The constrains of the criteria during the evaluation stage stiffles imagination but gives direct feedback.

Outcome Process

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Outcome Process The outcome process is also necessary thoughout the prototype session in order to decide what needs to be done to visualize the service experience. This process is dedicated to acting upon the reflection and moving in the next direction.

This stage will be the transition to continue in a process. It could be to the first step of the next project or it can be starting again in the process of prototyping for revised solutions.

Based on the overall results of your personal reflection, the individual can then move forward in action.

Outcome Case Study: Garden On The Go Assesibility The Outcome

At the end of the prototype session I was pleased with the amount of feedback but felt as though each person was making these designerly changes but overall the service needed to expand in order to have the resources to improve. So I revised my problem to bringing more people to the service.

I needed to go in a new direction. My next action was be to go through each step of the process again with the revised problem area. I needed to introduce the revised experience during the generative prototyping session then visualize a concept that others can review but keep that discussion more open and interactive.

Generative Prototype Revision Role Playing Case Study: Garden On The Go Outreach Campaign

Topic

Garden On The Go is an exceptional service that is working to bring fresh produce to the people of urban food desserts.

The service has various aspects to be improved but needs more people in order to access the resources to make the cahnges. Needs to be a more recognized entity for fresh shoppers.

Problem

The audience of users at Garden On The Go is constant and has little growth. In order to outreach more people there needs to be a reason for shoppers to go to Garden On The Go rather than any other competitors.

Prototype

For this session I used role playing to set each group member into a situation for them to tell their reactions. It is open, fast-paced, and interactive. I used notecards that gave step by step prompts and had a person record the response so interaction among the group was easier.

Discussion

The group was prompted to think about the moment they MUST go to get food. Then to think about their thoughts in that moment. Where do they consider going to fulfill their need? What thoughts do they ponder in the process? Thoughts were not restricted, letting any and every thought be discussed.

Feedback

The feedback was a long and scattered list of thoughts and reaction. There was a variety and the data represented much of my expectations as well as aspect I had never considered. It was also suggested of the way various groups of people can react in different ways. Being clear on the target audience would be important for this type of prototype.

Evaluative Prototype Revision Mock-Up Case Study: Garden On The Go Outreach Campaign

Topic

Garden On The Go is an exceptional service that is working to bring fresh produce to the people of urban food desserts.

The service has various aspects to be improved but needs more people in order to access the resources to make the cahnges. Needs to be a more recognized entity for fresh shoppers.

Problem

The audience of users at Garden On The Go is constant and has little growth. To grow the users, Garden On The Go should focus on targeting communication with a single group of people. It should be a campaign based on a set of criteria that best identify and attract the target audience.

Prototype

To solve the problem with this prototype the entire campaign should be considered and mocked up. College students were identified as the prime audience for this service. This group is the most involved in the local community, willing to give their service, and are willing to share information with others. Mocking up the entire marketing system for the audience allowed group members to see how it would work as a system.

Discussion

The discussion was focused on the reaction the group had to the entire campaign and the purpuse of each part. While considering the criteria set for the audience the group was able to share thoughts on the appropriateness of each visualized part and how it could fit as the big picture.

Feedback

The entire campaign was well recepted. The parts were discussed and ideas were given on how to alter things for the best reaction and comments reaffirmed aspects that were appropriately drafted.

Prototype Revision Reflection The Outreach Campaign Prototype

The revised prototype process was much more informational with important information. It was more rooted in the feelings and perspective of people who would be shopping at Garden On The Go. It would be a more impactful resource to make long-term changes with the service and audience expeience.

Prototype Revision Outcome What Could Be Next?

The prototype session had a lead to a major campaign that could make a great impact on Garden On The Go. It had audience, appropriate meaning, and purpose. This could be made into a purposal with mapped trickle effect of the benefits of the campaign.

Thank you for taking the time to my prototyping experience and process.

This book was a documentation of my thoughts. The information has been inspired by the clarity of the site www.servicedesigntools.org.