Service Blueprint

Service Blueprint



This is probably the most iconic tool from the service design field.

The Service Blueprint summarizes how a service works both for the user and the organization. It mixes what service designers call the frontstage of a service, what is visible to the user, and the backstage of the service, what is invisible to the user but needed to make the service happen.


A service blueprint maps out all the steps that a user usually goes through when interacting with a service. These moments of interactions, also called touchpoints in the service design language, are often categorized in the following categories:

  1. Aware: the moment when the user learns about a service

  2. Join: the moment when a user starts to interact with a service

  3. Use and Develop: the moments when the user is really into the service, learns how to use it, and is able to achieve their goals within the service

  4. Leave: the moment the user leaves the services or finishes their interaction with the service


As you see, with these categories, the service blueprint doesn’t only take care of making sure that people are happy when they use the service, but looks also at the steps before and after the same.


A service blueprint is used by service designers to ensure that there are no broken transitions between one moment and the other, so that all interactions between the first moment the user hears about a service up to the moment they leave it are smooth and pleasant.

Free Course: What is Service Design?

Buy nowLearn more

Introduction

  • 🛑 This is a beta version8
  • What you'll learn in this course
  • Why I created this course17

1. What is Service Design

  • Introduction2
  • 1.1 What is a Service?15
  • 1.2 Why are services important?3
  • 1.4 Recommend tool: Services and value added (% of GDP)8
  • 1.3 What is Design?11
  • 1.4 So, what the fuck is Service Design?15
  • 1.5 Three definitions of Service Design7
  • 1.6 Recommended reading: The online debate about what service design is1
  • Recommended fun moment: What is service design? – Cartoon 8

2. Where does Service Design come from?

  • Introduction2
  • 2.1 The mothers of Service Design6
  • 2.2 Recommended reading: Designing Services That Deliver by Lynn Shostack7
  • 2.3 The Service Design family2
  • 2.4 Design Thinking, the grandpa3
  • 2.5 User Experience Design, the digital brother2
  • 2.6 Experience Design, the Service Design twin4
  • 2.7 Customer Experience, the brother of Service Design2
  • 2.8 Many members, one purpose2
  • 2.9 Five important Service Design dates6
  • 2.10 Recommended Book: A tiny Service Design History4

3. What do Service Designers do?

  • Introduction2
  • 3.1 Research: Understand what people want or need2
  • 3.2 Sense-Making: Summarize what they have learned2
  • 3.3 Ideation: Come up with 100 new fancy solutions
  • 3.4 Prototyping and testing: Build new solutions for testing2
  • 3.5 Recommended course: What is the Service Design Process3

4. The impact of Service Design

  • Introduction5
  • 4.1 Double your sales with Service Design2
  • 4.2 90% shorter processing times1
  • 4.3 30% more young clients3
  • 4.4. Recommended reading: 40+ case studies on the impact of Service Design6
  • 4.5 Case studies from the Service Design Network5

5. The tools and methods of Service Designers

  • Introduction2
  • 📌 5.1 Tools for the research task
  • Interviews2
  • Mystery Shopping1
  • Observation1
  • Shadowing2
  • 📌 5.2 Tools for the sense-making task
  • The five why9
  • Affinity sorting
  • Service Blueprint6
  • 📌 5.3 Tools for the ideation task
  • Crazy 82
  • The Fast Idea Generator2
  • Silent Brainstorming4
  • 📌 5.4 Tools for the prototyping and testing tasks:2
  • Paper prototypes3
  • Wizard of Oz Prototypes5
  • 5.5 Recommended website: Service Design Tools3

6. The terminology that Service Designers use

  • Introduction
  • 6.1 What is a user?2
  • 6.2 What is a stakeholder?2
  • 6.3 What is a Channel?
  • 6.4 What is a Touchpoint?2
  • 6.5 What is an Experience?4
  • 6.6 What is a Customer Journey?10
  • 6.7 What are the front and back ends/stages of a service?4
  • 6.8 What is a Nudge?4
  • 6.9 What is a rational override?4
  • 6.10 Recommended tool: 400+ definitions of Service Design terms11

7. Who does Service Design?

  • Introduction4
  • 7.1 Three smart service designers to know
  • 7.2 Recommended tools: Map of Service Design practitioners2
  • 7.3 Recommended tools: List of the Service Design Network Members2
  • 7.4 Three service design agencies to know6
  • 7.5 Recommended tool: Map of Service Design companies
  • 7.6 Recommended tool: List of the Service Design Network Organizations
  • 7.7 Three service design schools to know about16
  • 7.8 Three Service Design communities to know10
  • 7.9. Recommended website

Going further

  • Bravo!6
  • Service Design Magazine1
  • Service Design Books2
  • Your next online course with a 🎁2
  • A little thank you note38
  • Licence53