Listen to the episode:

Check out the shownotes through this link.

---

Are you interested in service design as creative problem solving?

---

Our summary today works with the article titled Problem-solving design-platform model based on the methodological distinctiveness of service design from 2019 by Youngok Jeon, published in the Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity. This is a great preparation to our next interview with Talia Radywyl in episode 198 talking about service design processes. Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how wicked urban problems can be solved with service design. This article defines the meaning and core properties of service design, and proposes a six-step service design process model based on the interrelationships among these properties.

[intro music]

Welcome to today’s What is The Future For Cities podcast and its Research episode; my name is Fanni, and today I will introduce a research paper by summarising it. The episode really is just a short summary of the original paper, and, in case it is interesting enough, I would encourage everyone to check out the whole paper. Stay tuned until because I will give you the 3 most important things and some questions which would be interesting to discuss.

[music]

Service design is recognized as a key strategy for developing human-centered solutions to complex challenges across various sectors, including urban development, public services, and healthcare. Despite its growth since the 1990s and its focus on addressing “wicked problems”—complex issues stemming from intricate stakeholder relationships—it lacks a clear definition and standardized processes. This field seeks to establish its methodological uniqueness by comparing it with traditional problem-solving methods, aiming to create a platform that effectively resolves these problems while enhancing service value. Service design differentiates itself by prioritizing the improvement of user experiences and tackling problems in a manner distinct from other methods focused on service productivity and efficiency.

The shift from goods-dominant to service-dominant logic highlights a move from prioritizing manufacturing to focusing on services tailored to individual preferences and experiences. This evolution in value creation integrates tangible and intangible offerings, emphasizing customer experiences over product functions and fostering a collaborative value creation between providers and consumers. This paradigm has given rise to Product-Service Systems (PSS), which combine products and services to meet customer needs sustainably, with a focus on environmental sustainability and resource efficiency.

Service design uses service-dominant logic to close the “delivery gap” between expected and actual service quality, influenced by environmental and personal factors. It employs design thinking and participatory design to address social issues and improve public services by fostering collaboration and visualizing user experiences, enhancing satisfaction. Focused on creative problem-solving and user-provider interactions, this approach is widely adopted across sectors to elevate service quality and promote sustainable, user-centred solutions.

Design thinking is a creative, iterative approach that combines organizational philosophies with practical activities to solve complex problems. It employs creative techniques, fosters an entrepreneurial mindset, and supports continuous improvement in strategies and structures. By blending logical, analytical, and intuitive thinking with abductive reasoning, design thinking deeply understands and addresses problems, creating solutions that are empathetic to user needs, especially for complex social issues. User experience value is central to marketing and design, emphasizing satisfying, unique experiences over tangible products and focusing on emotional, memorable interactions throughout the customer journey. Participatory design involves users directly in the design process, aligning solutions with their needs and supporting open innovation through stakeholder collaboration. This approach enhances service design by focusing on detailed user-provider interactions, strengthening emotional connections, and leveraging user feedback to improve service quality.

The service design process, influenced by human perceptions, varies between industry and academia but shares a focus on enhancing user experience through a structured, iterative method of idea generation and refinement. It involves three main steps: observing and analyzing user experiences to set project goals; visually conceptualizing services across customer touchpoints; and turning these concepts into prototypes and a final service manual. This approach values user experience improvements over product valuation, using conventional design stages—ideation, conceptualization, detailed design, and validation—to develop and refine services.

The proposed service design platform model outlines a systematic six-step approach to improve user experiences: identifying, understanding, deducing, defining, solving, and testing the problem. It starts with recognizing issues in user experience, proceeds with collaborative research and visualization of unmet needs, and moves towards developing and testing a service model based on the insights gathered. This approach incorporates various factors and stages from internal analysis to strategic innovation. It focuses on a human-centered methodology and stakeholder collaboration to enhance service design effectiveness, thereby fostering stakeholder trust and ultimately elevating user experience quality.

The utilization of service design is driven by the aim to enhance user experience value across various contexts, including goods production, organizational structuring, industry system redesign, and public service improvement. At its core, the goal is to apply a human-centered problem-solving approach based on design thinking, enabling service designers to offer optimal solutions, visualize alternatives for complex issues, and facilitate stakeholder involvement. This approach underscores the importance of human value, extending beyond mere business innovation or economic gain. The exploration into the unique attributes and methodological distinctiveness of service design marks a significant step towards not only understanding but also operationalizing service design as a strategic problem-solving platform.

[music]

---

What was the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Do you have any follow up question? Let me know on Twitter at WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the transcripts and show notes are available! Additionally, I will highly appreciate if you consider subscribing to the podcast or on the website. I hope this was an interesting paper for you as well, and thanks for tuning in!

---

[music]

Finally, as the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:

1. Service design focuses on developing human-centered solutions to complex problems across sectors like urban development and healthcare, emphasizing the enhancement of user experience.
2. Service design integrates goods and services to meet customer needs sustainably, shifting from goods-dominant to service-dominant logic that values experiential over tangible offerings.
3. The approach employs design thinking and participatory design to involve stakeholders in creating solutions, aiming to bridge the delivery gap between expected and actual service quality.

Additionally, it would be great to talk about the following questions:

1. How might cities use participatory design to involve citizens in the planning and development of public spaces and services?
2. In what ways can cities leverage service design to address the challenges of affordable housing and create more inclusive communities?
3. What role can service design play in making cities more sustainable and environmentally friendly, like in waste management and energy use?
4. Can you share an example of a “wicked problem” in your community that might benefit from a service design approach?

[outro music]

---