A service blueprint is basically a document that summarizes how a service works. 

A blueprint is like a horizontal timeline of the big moments that a user goes through when he uses the service. For each of these big moments, you'll find vertically information that explains what happens. For example, how the user feels during this moment, what works well and what doesn't.

How does it look like?

Here a few examples of service blueprints that my mate Marc has collected:


The one that we will create will look much more straightforward because we want not to overwhelm our colleagues and not work too much because we are lazy 😛

Some fancy words to look smart

A service blueprint is composed of two big parts. The first one is called the frontstage. That's what the customer sees.

The second big part of a service blueprint is called backstage. The backstage includes all the processes and tasks that the company and its employees do. What happens in the backstage isn't visible to the client but is necessary so that the service works.

A tool that works only if you did the prep work

To build a service blueprint you need to understand how the service you will summarize with it works. For many of you, this means that you should have already done a few interviews to understand better how the service feels to the people who use it and make it work.

If you are lazy and haven't done interviews yet, here is a guide to making good enough interviews the lazy way that you could find interesting.

When should you use a service blueprint?

You can use a service blueprint for two main reasons.

  1. Improve something that exists: You want to summarize how a service works to find ways to improve it. 
  2. Imagine something new: You want to summarize and share your new fancy service ideas with friends, colleagues, or investors.

Why do service designers love the service blueprint?

The service blueprint is maybe the only tool that only service designers use. Most of the tools they use come from another field. But outside of that, there is one big reason why a service blueprint is a useful tool:

The service blueprint summarizes both what the customer experiences, and what is hidden but needed to make the service work.

So a good service blueprint is like those cleaning products that do two things in one 😛