Service Design Show

Service Design Show
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Service Design Show

Go beyond the basics of service design and learn what it truly takes to deliver services that make a positive impact on people, business and planet.

  1. Confessions of a Journey Management Pioneer / Florian Vollmer / Ep. #213

    1 DAY AGO

    Confessions of a Journey Management Pioneer / Florian Vollmer / Ep. #213

    Sure, everyone's talking about Journey Management, but few are actually doing it well... It's one thing to map out customer journeys, but quite another to truly manage them. The frameworks and models look great on paper, but reality is often far messier. Most organizations struggle to get a handle on even one journey, let alone a dozen! So I'm excited that Florian Vollmer, a true pioneer in this field, returns to the Service Design Show to share his hard-won wisdom. You might remember him from his previous appearance on the Show where he talked about managing 100+ journeys at NCR. What's fascinating is that Florian got a rare opportunity when starting his new role at Autodesk – a chance to rebuild a Journey Management practice from the ground up, applying all the lessons from his previous experience. This is your classic "I wish I knew everything I know now at the start of this project. It would have been completed twice as fast and at half the cost."This time, we dive deep into the nitty-gritty of Journey Management, tackling tough questions like: Who really owns the journey? Are dedicated tools essential or just a distraction? Why getting granular at the touchpoint level is essential? What are the biggest challenges to launching Journey Management inside an organization? And the million-dollar question: how do you get buy-in and funding when you're just starting out? So if you're already knee-deep in Journey Management or just starting to explore it, I'm sure you'll appreciate Florian's honest perspective from the trenches. One of my biggest takeaways from this conversation was that, as Florian explains in detail, this is really hard work. So you have to have patience and be kind to yourself. Amen to that! Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact. Take care, ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 213 04:00 Looking back EP 168 05:15 Who is Florian 07:00 What is Journey Management 08:30 the momentum of journey management right now 13:00 How to manage customers 17:00 Balancing context switching 21:00 Evolving Role Perceptions 23:30 good quality vs great quality 26:00 Organic conversations vs Priorities 35:30 Who owns the journey? 39:30 Building momentum for change 42:30 Biggest key lessons 46:00 Journey management vs collaborations 48:30 Understanding journey management 55:15 Stay tuned for another episode with Florian 56:30 Resources --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/florianvollmer/ Journey Management Alliance https://journeymanagement.substack.com --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    1h 3m
  2. A New Approach to Measuring Design's Impact / Stacey Barr / Ep. #212

    10 OCT

    A New Approach to Measuring Design's Impact / Stacey Barr / Ep. #212

    This might be the most profound conversation I've recorded this year... What if I told you that the puzzle of how to measure and quantify the value of design has already been solved? I know, it sounds too good to be true, right? But hear me out. We all struggle to express the value of design in metrics that businesses understand. The result? We often cut ourselves short because we can't present the impact of our work in a neat spreadsheet. It's frustrating, especially when we see decisions being made that make no sense to us based on "our data". There are many reasons why it's hard to quantify the return on investment of (service) design. We're creating value on a systemic level. We're doing it in co-creation, so attribution is a nightmare. The effects of our work sometimes take a long time to materialize. And the list goes on. So, is all hope lost? Do we throw our hands up in the air? Of course not. Recently, while researching better alternatives to hierarchical goal structures (which are inherently broken), I stumbled upon an article by Stacey Barr. I had never heard of Stacey or her work before. This discovery led me down a massive rabbit hole. Stacey is a leading expert on performance measurement. Over the last 20 years, she has developed and refined a methodology to measure, track, and improve performance that's being used in over 40 countries. The more I read about this methodology, the more I felt that this could be the breakthrough we've been looking for in the design field. I have to be careful not to raise expectations too high, but... Stacey is an unusual guest for the Show. Someone who's completely outside of our design bubble. And that's why this turned out to be such an interesting and eye-opening conversation. In this episode, you'll learn that there is a systemic and reliable approach to figuring out what and how you can measure the impact of design. You can take this approach and apply it to your work today! And best of all, as you'll hear, the approach builds upon a lot of the elements that we as a design community are already familiar with. I hope this episode will show you that we can actually get to measuring the things that matter, not just the things that are easy to measure. And maybe, even maybe, get you a little bit excited about measurement (yes, that's actually possible)! A part that I really liked in our conversation is when we rolled up our sleeves, took an abstract goal like "increasing the sense of belonging," and went step-by-step on how to break this down into more concrete and quantifiable metrics. This exercise really brought things home for me. Keep making a positive impact! ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00: Welcome to Episode 212 04:00: Marc's rant on KPIs 05:30: Who is Stacy 08:00: Measuring service design 09:30: Evidence and numbers 13:00: Circle example 16:00: Measuring qualitative aspects 18:00: Quantifying "sense of belonging" 21:00: Circle buddies and belonging 27:00: If you can't experiment... 29:30: Client's vague goals & measurement 34:00: Handling vague ideas & measurement 38:30: Showing value and impact 39:00: Individual vs. team effort 43:00: Qualitative approach 44:00: Significant change method 48:00: Circle community tension 52:00: Measuring systemic impact 58:00: Perfection and systemic impact 1:00:30: Importance of the whole story 1:02:30: Compassion and starting small 1:04:00: Starting small with systemic thinking 1:06:30: Resources for systemic design --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceybarr/ Results Map: https://www.staceybarr.com/measure-up/a-measurable-strategy-on-a-single-page/ Streamlined PuMP approach: https://www.staceybarr.com/measure-up/12-easy-steps-get-started-lean-kpi-methodology/ What is a measure: https://www.staceybarr.com/measure-up/kpis-performance-measures/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house se

    1h 10m
  3. Are We Designing a Landfill or Leaving a Legacy? / Jennifer Rittner / Ep. #211

    26 SEPT

    Are We Designing a Landfill or Leaving a Legacy? / Jennifer Rittner / Ep. #211

    Let's start with an "easy" question today... Is design a force for good, or just another cog in the capitalist machine? I know many design professionals are grappling with this question. We see design's potential to have a positive impact but often find ourselves frustrated by its misuse as a tool for profit at any cost. The overflowing landfills, the disposable products... These are reminders of design's unintended consequences. And while we yearn to challenge the status quo, to advocate for sustainable and ethical solutions, we often face resistance from those prioritizing short-term gains. Yeah, it's a delicate balance. So how can we raise our voices as activists without jeopardizing our livelihoods? How do we ensure that our work benefits not only our (internal) clients but also society and the planet? Our guest, ​Jennifer Rittner​, has dedicated her career to exploring these questions. In the conversation, we delve into the complex relationship between design, ethics, and culture. Do we need a moral compass for the design industry? How much responsibility do we, as designers, bear for the impact of our work? What kind of culture do we want to shape through our designs? If anything, this episode invites you to step back from your daily tasks and reflect on the bigger picture. It's an opportunity to clarify your purpose as a professional and think about how you can align your work to that. So if that sparks your interest, join us for an inspiring chat. Let's be honest, in a world obsessed with instant gratification, it's crucial to pause every now and than to consider the long-term consequences of our actions. We owe it to generations to come. Enjoy and keep making a positive impact. ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 211 03:30 Recalibrating Social Dynamics 05:00 Design and Social Dynamics 10:00 Is there an alternative? 17:30 How her approach changed 19:00 Marc's background 24:00 Solution before building 25:00 Designer reflection 26:30 Accountability in design 32:00 The landfill problem example 38:00 What's holding us back? 43:00 How to be better humans 47:15 How we label success 51:30 Her thoughts on designers 58:00 Balancing what to make 1:00:00 "The Lab culture" 1:03:30 Power to change 1:06:30 Resources --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-rittner Design needs to grow up and take responsibility / George Aye / Episode #194 - https://youtu.be/tzGf6T_mMpE --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    1h 9m
  4. How DesignOps helps you Focus on What Matters / Meredith Black / Ep. #210

    12 SEPT

    How DesignOps helps you Focus on What Matters / Meredith Black / Ep. #210

    Ever feel like the weight of the world on your shoulders as a service design professional... That you're constantly juggling your "actual" work with the complexities of organizational processes and structures? Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Our DesignOps friends are here to lighten that load. They enable us to focus on what we do best - design – by handling the operational intricacies that so often slow us down, and drain our energy. I've heard many firsthand stories of how transformative a DesignOps partner can be. But to fully unlock the potential of this partnership, we need to understand what's happening in the ever-evolving DesignOps world. That's why I'm very excited to have Meredith Black join us on the Show. Having contributed to building DesignOps teams at major companies like The New York Times, Pinterest, and Figma, and as co-founder of the largest online DesignOps community, Meredith is one of the most influential and well-informed people on the planet when it comes to DesignOps. In this episode, we dove into questions like: * What does it take to grow a successful DesignOps practice inside your org? * How does the shift towards remote work impact DesignOps strategies? * Why effective DesignOps might initially not look like what you'd expect? * And what's Meredith's secret for quickly gaining momentum and buy-in? Whether your organization already has an established DesignOps practice or you're just beginning to explore this field, I'm confident that the lessons Meredith shares in this conversation will make you a better service design professional. With the risk of over-exaggerating, tapping into Meredith's years of hard won wisdom feels a bit like cheating. So if you want to know how DesignOps can help you deliver your best work, don't miss out on this conversation. As you'll hear, DesignOps has faced quite some challenges in recent years. But at the same time it's clear that the train has left the station and will continue to move forward. DesignOps is here to stay and the future is brighter future than ever. --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 210 04:00 Her credibility for this topic 07:00 Mental shift in Design Ops 13:00 Hard conversations 16:30 Recalibrating expectations 19:00 Living up to promises 24:00 advertising model) vs subscriber model 27:30 Building those relationships 29:30 Make or Break in Design Ops 33:15 Slow consistent progress vs immediate results 37:00 Clients confusion about our role 41:15 Judging your success 45:00 Community building expectations 48:00 Our hope for the community 50:00 How we can help realize that wish 51:30 Resources --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/msmeredithblack/ https://x.com/msmeredithblack DesignOps Assembly - https://www.designopsassembly.com/⁠ Kate Towsey's Books - https://katetowsey.com/book DesignOps Summit 2024- https://rosenfeldmedia.com/designops-summit/2024/register/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    58 min
  5. RAG makes Service Design easier, faster, and more fun / Kirk Marple / Ep. #209

    29 AUG

    RAG makes Service Design easier, faster, and more fun / Kirk Marple / Ep. #209

    Sure, AI is pretty cool, but have you heard of something called Retrieval-Augmented-Generation (RAG)... We don't often spotlight specific tech on the Show, but RAG? I firmly believe that RAG has the potential to shake up service design in a big way. Imagine having a super-powered teammate on every project. This teammate has the ability to recall every meeting, every workshop, and every sticky note, not just yours but your entire team's, even from years ago. Not just yours but your whole team's. Ask them a question, and a few seconds later, they've got the answer. It's like being able to have a conversation with your entire project history. Just think about the impact of this for a moment. Now, we all know about those fancy Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. Amazing, right? But they're not trained on your data. Ask them about your project, and you'll get... well, something made up. But what if you could combine the conversational magic of LLMs with the deep knowledge of your own data? In a nutshell, this is RAG's promise. It lets those powerful LLMs tap into your world, giving you answers that are not only smart, but relevant. I've been tinkering with RAG to unlock the wisdom hidden in our Circle community discussions. But I'm far from an expert, so I brought in someone who is: Kirk Marple, founder of GraphLit, a startup using RAG to make your knowledge AI-friendly. In our conversation we dove deep. How do we even start with RAG? Do you need to be a coder? How do we make sure the answers you get are any good? What about privacy when AI sees your data? And that's just the start to be honest. What struck me was Kirk's idea that using AI is more art than science. It's about 'prompt sculpting', not (just) engineering. There's a lot of gray area, and that's where we as a design community shine. We should be all over this AI thing... What do you think? --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 209 05:00 What Kirk does in life 10:00 AI for content discovery 14:00 AI and service design 16:00 Data retrieval with AI 19:00 Tracking unstructured data 22:00 Podcast metadata example 24:30 Vector search explained 30:00 AI vs human experience 35:00 Privacy concerns with AI 37:30 Large language models and understanding 41:00 Importance of graphs in AI 44:30 AI: art or science? 48:00 AI's growth and data processing 51:30 AI agents 56:00 Kirk's AI roadmap 57:30 Tips for AI beginners 59:00 Common AI terms 1:01:00 AI resources --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirkmarple/ https://www.graphlit.com/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    1h 6m
  6. Can We Design for a Better Tomorrow? Steve Baty / Ep. #208

    15 AUG

    Can We Design for a Better Tomorrow? Steve Baty / Ep. #208

    How can we leave the world in a better place than we inherited it... And what's design's role in all of this? In this episode, we tackle these big questions with Steve Baty. Steve is an author, former political candidate, the current CEO of the Australian Design Council, and co-founder of the renowned Meld Studios. He joins us to confront the undeniable breakdown of our existing systems. Yes, as we've discussed in previous episodes, redesigning these systems is daunting, but Steve believes a turnaround is possible – and urgent. We explore how today's design decisions shape tomorrow's world, balancing profit with doing good for our planet. And I ask Steve the burning question: How can we know we're on the right track when our work's impact won't be felt for generations? But don't worry, I can assure you this isn't just about lofty ideals. We also discuss practical steps we all can take right now to make a difference. It's a good reminder that every monumental shift begins with the small steps. For me, this episode joins the playlist that makes us rethink what good (service) design looks like. So, I would love to hear from you: What does good design mean to you in the context of creating a better world? --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 208 04:00 Who is Steve 07:00 Better Planet for Our Kids 09:30 Design's Role 13:00 The Landfill Problem 14:30 Why Haven't We Solved It? 17:00 Old Ways, New Challenges 18:00 Potential Changes 21:45 Decision-Making for Longevity 24:30 Designer's Dilemma 27:30 Staying Positive 30:34 Measuring Success 33:00 Products vs. Services 37:00 Reconnecting People and Nature 41:00 Accelerating Change 44:00 Government Intervention 45:30 What to Do? 48:30 Good Design Defined 51:00 Designing Standards 53:00 Final Thoughts --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevebaty/ Designing Tomorrow by Steve Baty & Martin Tomitsch (Book) - https://www.designingtomorrowbook.com/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    59 min
  7. How to Design Service Endings That Don't Stink / Joe Macleod / Ep. #207

    1 AUG

    How to Design Service Endings That Don't Stink / Joe Macleod / Ep. #207

    Ever felt trapped in a service you couldn't escape... Trying to end a subscription only to face a frustrating maze of hurdles? Let's face it, service endings are often the worst experience ever. The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. In fact, well-designed endings can be a secret weapon for your business. Think about it – when customers inevitably move on, what's the final impression they take with them? Sadly, most companies neglect or wilfully ignore this crucial stage of the customer lifecycle. They hide the cancel button, throw obstacles in your path, and make leaving feel like a punishment. It's a missed opportunity because, historically, businesses have focused all their energy on acquiring new customers rather than on gracefully saying goodbye. But what if we flipped the script? What if endings felt like graduations, where we celebrate customers moving on to new adventures? Could those who leave become our biggest fans? This isn't just a pipe dream. Joe Macleod, who's literally written the book on this topic (twice!), joins us on the Show to share how to design endings that leave a positive, lasting impact. We'll unpack the secrets of great endings, how they differ from beginnings, and the undeniable business case for getting this right. Trust me, this episode is an eye-opener. Once you hear it, you'll see opportunities everywhere to turn departing customers into brand ambassadors. So, if you don't want all your hard work building good customer relationships to go to waste when they leave, tune in and learn how to make every goodbye a fond farewell (and maybe even a new beginning!). --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to episode 207 05:30 About Joe and Endings 07:00 Ending Journey 08:30 Joe's Passion for Endings 15:00 Businesses & Endings 18:00 Businesses & Status Quo? 20:00 Reassurance Endings 24:30 Divorce example 27:00 Measuring quality of an ending 35:00 Endings & Memberships 38:00 Alumni or Death Phase? 43:00 Healthcare Offboarding Example 47:00 Ex-Customers = Value 51:00 Importance of Alumnis 53:00 Pondering about Endings 55:00 3rd Book Preview 57:00 Giveaway announcement 58:00 Resources 59:00 Key Takeaways --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephmacleod/ Endineering by Joe Macleod (Book) - https://www.andend.co/endineeringbook Ends by Joe Macleod (book) - https://www.andend.co/book www.andend.co --- [ 3. CONTEST ] --- To enter the contest, head over to the video version of this conversation on YouTube and leave a comment there to answer the question posed in the episode. https://go.servicedesignshow.com/207-youtube --- [ 4. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    1h 3m
  8. The Roadmap to Demonstrating Design's Impact / Ryan Rumsey / Ep. #206

    18 JUL

    The Roadmap to Demonstrating Design's Impact / Ryan Rumsey / Ep. #206

    Let's crack the code of proving design's impact on the bottom line... For this, we first have to go back to 2012. That year, a groundbreaking discovery was made at CERN. The existence of the Higgs Boson, a particle that had eluded scientists for over 40 years, was finally proven. You know what? I feel that this elusive quest is very similar to our own pursuit in the world of service design: proving the undeniable business value of design. We see its impact all around us, but providing it with hard evidence remains a struggle. Our guest this week, Ryan Rumsey, may hold the key that gets us closer to unlocking this mystery. One reason the Higgs Boson took so long to find was that the researchers were unsure where to look. As former Apple executive, author of "Business Thinking for Designers," and founder of the Chief Design Officer School, Ryan proposes that we, just as the researchers at CERN, may have been looking in the wrong place all along. Many companies, he argues, don't actually need (good) design to turn a profit, which makes it difficult to isolate its added value. But fear not, there are tested and tried methods to uncover the correlation between our work and its impact on the bottom line. As you'll hear in this episode, it might not be as complex as we sometimes are made to believe; it could simply be a matter of putting in the work. The discovery of the Higgs Boson faced similar challenges, requiring unwavering determination and persistence. This is an episode about business speak, statistics and our self-worth. And somehow, it's still quite entertaining if you ask me. So if you're even remotely interested being able to clearly articulate the value you bring to your organization, you don't miss out on this one! I echo Ryan's argument that every design professional, even those in-house, should embrace an entrepreneurial spirit. Understanding marketing, positioning, and even sales can be immensely beneficial. Ryan is truly one of a kind, and I'm always grateful to be able to learn from him. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. ~ Marc --- [ 1. GUIDE ] --- 00:00 Welcome to Episode 206 07:00 OKRs & KPIs 13:00 Rethinking Measurement 16:00 Strategy Mapping 22:00 Statistician Thinking 29:30 Measuring Impact 32:00 Google's Money Machine 33:30 The Implication 37:00 Beyond Best Service 37:30 Apple vs Dell: Design? 42:00 Management & Narrative 48:30 Design vs. Innovation 49:30 Minto Pyramid 52:30 EasyJet Example 57:30 Defining Good Work 1:02:45 Community Matters 1:08:00 Key Takeaways 1:09:30 How You Can Help Ryan --- [ 2. LINKS ] --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanrumsey/ https://www.letsjumpship.com/ --- [ 3. CIRCLE ] --- Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

    1h 8m
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About

Go beyond the basics of service design and learn what it truly takes to deliver services that make a positive impact on people, business and planet.

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  • Creator
    Service Design Show
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2024
  • Episodes
    256
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Service Design Show
  • Show Website
    Service Design Show

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