Service Design Show

Everything in service design starts with user research. But as you've probably experienced often it's challenging to get the time and resources to do proper research. And when research is already being done by an organisation it's often not the type of research that we'd like to see. It can be frustrating to see that user research isn't making the difference you know it can. So what does it take to push user research beyond it's current limitations? Author and industry icon, Steve Portigal has been thinking about this topic for some time now. I invited Steve (back) on the Show to share his thinking and together explore what it takes to take user research to the next level. And also ask the question: What is that next level in the first place? Without proper user research you can't do good service design. So it's our job to make it more relevant and impactful. This episode will show you how. --- [ GUIDE ] -— 00:00 Welcome to episode 127 04:10 Who is Steve 05:00 Rapid fire question round 10:15 The need for user research maturity 14:45 Where is this coming from 19:00 What does progress look like 26:30 Opening the conversation 29:00 Who owns this 33:15 You need leadership 40:45 Being in demand 43:15 Setting up for success 45:00 Axis of maturity 48:15 Identifying opportunities 51:30 Where are we heading 57:30 Final thoughts --- [ LINKS ] --- * https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveportigal/ * https://portigal.com/podcast/ * https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/interviewing-users/ * https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/user-research-war-stories/ * https://uxdesign.cc/the-organizations-design-research-maturity-model-b631471c007c --- [ HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN ] --- Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are. https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

Take a guess... How much time do you invest to learn something during your week? It's a lot. We learn all the time in order to grow as a professional, a team and an organisation. Heck by reading this email you're learning something (hopefully). Most learning happens organically and on the fly. Which is totally fine. But when you deliberately want to bridge a gap in knowledge, skill or experience it's smart to design that journey. That's where learning design comes in. According to Andre Plaut learning should be hard but not confusing, frustrating or painful. As you'll discover in this weeks episode there's a lot more to learning design than just coming up with training material. It's a (strategic) design discipline that very closely related to service design. After the conversation with Andre I got really excited about the potenial of learning design. Hope you will too. --- [ GUIDE ] -— 00:00 Welcome to episode 126 03:50 Who is Andre 05:00 60 second rapid fire 07:45 What is learning design 11:00 The goal of learning design 19:00 Redesigning the way we work 22:30 Learning design in practice 28:30 When to design learning 33:00 Setting teams up for success 40:00 The evolution of learning design 44:00 A better business conversation 46:30 The future of learning design 49:30 Recommended resources 51:00 Final thoughts --- [ LINKS ] --- * https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreplaut/ * https://ahumanmachine.com/ * Workshop by Andre: Learning is Experience Design - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMprxiz5rGM * Square wheels cartoon - https://performancemanagementcompanyblog.com/tag/cartoon-too-busy/ Books: * John Marshall: Definer of a Nation - https://amzn.to/3w1y9mD * Design for How People Learn - https://amzn.to/3y2Y2nJ * Making Conversation - https://amzn.to/3hh1K7f --- [ HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN ] --- Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are. https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

Here's a question that makes every service designer cringe... Can you show (prove) the impact of your work? So what makes this such a tough question? Well the value created through design is emergent and appears in shapes and forms that you didn't expect upfront. It's often hard to capture the benefits and outcomes using traditional ways of measuring successes (excel sheets). Nevertheless it's not smart to ignore this question. When you can't show the impact of your work, you will eventually become irrelevant. It's as simple as that. Next to that I believe we should hold ourselves much more accountable for the results of our work as a community. But how!? In this week's episode of the Show you're going to learn about a framework for evaluating social impact. The great thing is that this framework is also very applicable to service design. If you've been struggling to communicate the value of your work in ways that non-designers understand then this is an episode you really don't want to miss. --- [ GUIDE ] -— 00:00 Welcome to episode 125 01:30 Who is Joyce 03:00 60 second rapid fire 07:00 Finding a way to measure social impact 11:45 Evaluating versus measuring 14:00 The current limitations 19:00 What's standing the way 28:30 Smarter reflection 33:30 Celebrating succes 35:30 The burden of evaluation 40:00 How do you know it works 44:00 The excel sheet person 47:00 Create your own tune 52:30 Stay true to design 55:30 The limits of data 57:30 Final thoughts --- [ LINKS ] --- * Designing Social Innovation in Asia-Pacific Network (DESIAP) - https://desiap.org/ * A practical guide to Developmental Evaluation - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/agwpz * A developmental evaluation primer - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/81m6h * Better Evaluation Resource Website - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/w196r * Different approaches to evaluation - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/116om Books * Design Transitions - https://amzn.to/3eEpShm * Transformations: 7 Roles to Drive Change by Design - https://amzn.to/3aMzGVf * The Walker's Guide to Outdoor Clues and Signs - https://amzn.to/3dYE7hH --- [ HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN ] --- Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are. https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

Design is often described as a problem solving approach. But what if you didn't have to solve problems... What if you could let problems disappear by dissolving them? Let me give you an example. Now that we can't do regular school exams due to the pandemic we look for new ways to still do exams. That's solving problems. Dissolving problems is about figuring out how we can achieve the same goals without exams entirely. It might sound like a small nuance but the impact is huge. The way to dissolve problems is through systemic design. And in this weeks episode Arash Golnam introduces us to it. If you ever found yourself working on incremental improvements and solutions that don't address the root cause. And you want to break free from the boundaries and constraints that cause the problem in the first place? Than grab your pen and paper to start making notes as this episode will give you a lot of stuff to think about! I'll be honest, there's a lot in this episode and everything is interconnected. I've already listened to it twice. If you feel a bit puzzled at the end just press repeat :) --- [ WEBINAR ] -— https://go.servicedesignshow.com/systemic-design-webinar --- [ GUIDE ] -— 00:00 Welcome to episode 124 03:00 Who is Arash 04:20 60 second rapid fire 07:15 Systemic vs systematic design 12:30 Current limitations 21:30 Perceptions as the artifact of design 31:00 Layers of relationships 34:15 Starting with systemic design 42:00 Designing for people 47:00 The compatibility of the designer 53:00 When is design? 58:00 Standing the test of time 1:00:30 The designers journey --- [ LINKS ] --- * https://www.linkedin.com/in/arash-golnam-4b982120/ * http://dissolve.design Books * The Timeless Way of Building - https://amzn.to/2RzQTdZ * Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - https://amzn.to/3mP3oxF * The Power of Myth - https://amzn.to/32btS2O * The Poetics of Space - https://amzn.to/32f9bmF * I Am a Strange Loop - https://amzn.to/3wQy2LM --- [ HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN ] --- Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are. https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

What's it like to be an in-house Service Designer the Swedish Tax office or the fashion giant Zalando? In this episode of the Service Design Show you're going to get a sneak peak behind the curtains. You'll hear about the challenges in-house service designers face. And of course get some practical tips on how to navigate around them! Even if you're currently not working in-house I think you'll find these stories very useful. [ Join the Campfire ] https://servicedesignshow.com/campfire/

How can I as a service designer, be of more value to my organisation? That's the question we're exploring in this weeks episode of the Show. And the answers we find will surprise you! So yeah, of course you want to work on challenges that matter. You want to make a difference. But all too often designers are still not heard within enterprise environments. And you know what that means. When this keeps going on too long you will eventually becoming irrelevant. And fail to achieve your mission. Tricia Wang, our guest this week, has an interesting take on why this is happening... Designers have the tendency to get in their own way. What does this mean? It means that we've adopted anti-patterns that actually prevent us from achieving success on the level we desire. According to Tricia we need to uncenter ourselves and transition from being a guru to being a guide. If this sounds abstract don't worry. Tricia provides some very practical things you can do in your day-to-day work to make this happen. Things like sharing unfinished work, ditching the HWM and much more. So when you feel like you could be making a bigger impact on your organisation, but aren't sure how to do that. This episode might just hold the clue you're looking for. I love how Tricia challenges some of the assumptions and habits that we've developed in the design community. It might be confrontational at first but it's a conversation that we need to have sooner than later. Enjoy the episode and keep making a positive impact :) --- [ GUIDE ] -— 00:00 Welcome to episode 123 03:00 Who is Tricia 05:45 60 second rapid fire 09:00 Elevating design 12:00 What I failed to do 17:30 Communication is the problem 20:30 From guru to guide 24:45 Get rid of the how might we 33:00 HMW alternatives 38:00 Uncenter yourself 41:00 The business to human question 43:45 Final thoughts --- [ LINKS ] --- * triciawang.com * linkedin.com/in/triciawang/ * twitter.com/triciawang * projectinkblot.com/ * onepageonehour.com/ * Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around (book) - https://amzn.to/3sDjoVP * The human insights missing from big data | TED Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk35J2u8KqY --- [ HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN ] --- Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are. https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

Now be honest with me... What is the first thing you think about when you hear game design? Badges, points, rewards? Gamification? Minecraft? Well, in this weeks episode you're going to hear a completely different story. Together with Andy Morales I explore how game dynamics can be used in the word of service design. It's quite amazing that this topic hasn't been covered on the Show before as there are so many parallels between games and service, really! Andy gives some great examples of how game design can for instance be used to prototype interactions on a small scale before going large. But there's much much more. Yes, as service designers we borrow a lot of tools and methods from other disciples. And after this conversation with Andy I'm 100% convinced that game design should be part of our vocabulary as well. I highly recommend this episode if you're interested in designing better -and more playful- services! --- [ GUIDE ] -— 00:00 Welcome to episode 122 04:45 Who is Andy 05:35 60 second rapid fire 08:00 The journey into game design 12:30 Role of game design in society 17:30 What is the potential of bringing more game design into service design 20:30 An application of game design in a service context 27:00 Open gameplay in services 36:00 Gaining mastery through satisfying loops 43:00 Play is good for business 47:00 Your first step into game design 49:00 The big lessons 52:00 Final thoughts 53:45 Get in touch with Andy --- [ LINKS ] --- - http://andreamoralescoto.com - https://twitter.com/mentapurpura - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreasmorales/ - https://www.latinxswhodesign.com/people/andrea-andy-morales-coto - https://www.latinasintech.org/spotlight-andy-morales-coto-from-mongodb/ - https://www.projecthorseshoe.com/ --- [ HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN ] --- Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are. https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

"I didn't sign up to be making wallpaper." That's a quote I can strongly relate to from this conversation with Jim Kalbach. As service designers we want to make a tangible impact on the world around us. For that you need to make sure that your work gets "shipped". If you fail to do that you're often just making wallpaper as Jim said. And the stakes are high because if you fail to ship you run the risk that your contributions will be seen as insignificant or irrelevant. So an important part of doing good service design is following up and making sure your work is actionable for other people. Now how can you do that? What Jim had found is that we are in a very good spot to facilitating meaningful conversations. Often these conversations are the way do drive initiatives forward. After watching this episode you'll walk away with a better understanding of how you can make great design happen. I really enjoyed the chat with Jim. It's filled with practical tips and with entertaining one-liners as you'll hear :) --- [ GUIDE ] -— 00:00 Welcome to episode 121 04:30 Who is Jim 06:00 60 second rapid fire 07:30 Getting design delivered 11:15 Design in a bigger context 14:15 How did we get here 18:45 AHA moments! 24:00 What makes workshops work 29:45 Do pilots 33:15 What are we missing 37:45 Understanding organisational design 40:30 Stop doing this 45:30 The figure 8 is everywhere 47:30 What does success look like 50:30 Naivety about go to market 56:15 Final thoughts --- [ LINKS ] --- * https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalbach/ * https://www.jtbdtoolkit.com/ * https://experiencinginformation.com/about/ * https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/jobs-to-be-done-book/ * The Statue in the Stone (book) - https://amzn.to/3bX4Zwi * Rise of the Deo (book) - https://amzn.to/382QVQL * Presumptive Design (book) - https://amzn.to/3sMWFGx --- [ SELLING SERVICE DESIGN ] --- Learn how to win the hearts and minds of clients, managers & CEOs, without wearing a suit. https://servicedesignshow.com/selling

Have you heard about Workplace Empathy? It’s a powerful movement championed by dr. Emma Jefferies. The idea is that too often we leave ourselves at the (remote) door when we put our professional hats on. This is a recipe for a lot of nasty things like work related stress and burnouts. The antidote to this might be closer than you think. What would happen when you employ the same levels of empathy towards the people you work with as you do towards the end-users in your projects? According to Emma this increases productivity, engagement and overall well-being. But there’s a challenge… Showing empathy means that you need to slow down and listen. Truly listen to the people around you. When you work in an environment where everything is driven by deadlines slowing down requires a lot of courage. In this conversation Emma shares some inspiring stories of how Workplace Empathy has transformed teams and what potential it holds for you. After this episode you’ll know how to take the first steps to get this movement started within your organisations. Even there currently seems little time or acceptance for it! --- [ GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to episode 120 03:00 Who is Emma 04:00 60 second rapid fire 05:35 It started in Brazil 08:50 Impacting well-being 10:45 Humanizing organisations 14:00 Getting rid of Us and Them 20:45 Finding the space to listen 27:30 The limits of empathy 34:00 The influence of environment 36:00 Which skills matter 41:30 What's next 44:00 Episode summary 44:45 Get in touch with Emma 45:30 Final thoughts --- [ LINKS ] --- * https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmajefferies/ * http://dremmajefferies.com/ * Design Transitions (book) - https://amzn.to/2N33Rz7 * Black Fatigue (book) - https://amzn.to/2NL1iSj * IBM 3.0 - https://www.ibm.com/blogs/services/2020/09/16/make-human-experience-your-organizational-compass/ * Nonviolent Communication Language (book) - https://amzn.to/3dVgA1B * Compassion based living - https://www.mindfulnessassociation.net/weekly-challenge/compassion-based-living-course/ * https://gestaltcentre.org.uk/course/group-facilitation-programme/ * Servant leadership course - https://www.greenleaf.org/academy/ --- [ HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN ] --- Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are. https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

Does your life get easier when you're embedded within an organisation as a service designer? Or do you run into the same challenges as the rest of us? In this special episode of the Show you'll get a unique "behind the scenes" look from 8 in-house service designers who participated in the recent Campfire. Next to this you'll also get some very practical tips on how you can be more successful when working in-house. I think that you'll find these tips helpful even if you're currently not embedded inside an organisation. The doors for the next Campfire have just opened. You can find detail on how to apply on the page below. 👉 https://www.servicedesignshow.com/campfire/ There's space for only 8 participants so if you’re interested don’t wait too long with submitting your application.