What’s the difference between a service blueprint and a customer journey map?



My two cents

The biggest difference for me between a service blueprint and a customer journey is that the service blueprint shows the backstage of the service.

The service blueprint shows both what happens for the customer (what a customer journey shows and what service designers call “the front stage”) and what is hidden for the customer but needed to create that experience for the customer (what service designers call “the backstage”).

The AI answer

I've asked this question to ChatGPT, and here is the raw answer it gave me. Take it with a grain of salt.
A service blueprint and a customer journey map are similar in that they both provide a visual representation of a service or customer experience. However, there are some key differences between the two:

  1. Focus: A service blueprint focuses on the internal processes and interactions that take place within an organization to deliver a service, while a customer journey map focuses on the experience of the customer as they interact with a service.
  2. Level of detail: A service blueprint typically provides more detailed and specific information about the various elements and steps involved in delivering a service, while a customer journey map tends to be more high-level and focus on the overall experience of the customer.
  3. Purpose: The main purpose of a service blueprint is to design and improve the delivery of a service, while the main purpose of a customer journey map is to understand and improve the customer experience.
  4. Time frame: A service blueprint is typically used to map out the delivery of a service over a longer period of time, while a customer journey map is typically used to map out a specific customer interaction or transaction.
Overall, a service blueprint is a tool that is used to design and improve the internal processes and interactions involved in delivering a service, while a customer journey map is a tool that is used to understand and improve the overall customer experience.

Service Blueprint resources

You can find all the Service Blueprint resources I've created here. This includes courses, templates and a library of external links and resources.

More Service Design questions and answers like this one