Conference article

Service walkthroughs to support service development

Johan Blomkvist
Department of Information and Computer Science, Linköping University, Sweden

Johan Åberg
Department of Information and Computer Science, Linköping University, Sweden

Stefan Holmlid
Department of Information and Computer Science, Linköping University, Sweden

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Published in: ServDes.2012 Conference Proceedings Co-Creating Services; The 3rd Service Design and Service Innovation Conference; 8-10 February; Espoo; Finland

Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings 67:5, p. 43-52

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Published: 2013-10-16

ISBN: 978-91-7519-482-0

ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)

Abstract

Service design is said to be a holistic design approach. This is evident in most service design literature and textbooks but still services are prototyped by focusing on separate parts rather than whole service journeys. In this paper we propose a technique called service walkthrough that can be used to represent whole services. We explore what information can be generated using the technique and how useful it is. We found that the technique helped identify the flow of information; problematic areas; and design opportunities. The prototype was generally well received by the participants. In addition to learning about information; the technique also revealed insights about time and interdependencies of the various parts of the service. Some remarks are also made about when the service walkthrough can be used in the service development process and considerations concerning the fidelity of service walkthroughs.

Keywords

Service Prototyping; Service Development; Home Delivery Service

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