Service Design Show

Expectations of design. Everyone has them. What it is. How it works. The value it can create.

Often these expectations are implicit. This is especially challenging when you’re working with business people who don’t necessarily think like a designer.

Of course you believe in the power of design and want to live up it’s promise.

So it can get really frustrating when you feel you’re not able to live up to these expectations.

You might even start to think that something is wrong with you.

The good news is that most likely that’s not the case.

Usually the problem is a lack of common language and understanding.

In this episode with Ryan Rumsey you’re going to learn how you can close this classic gap between business and design.

Metaphorically speaking you need to become a true local in the village of business. Without losing your design soul of course.

As you’ll hear in this episode the pay off is high. Get this right and you’ll have a much greater influence on how important decision are made.

Allowing you to change organisations for the better.

To be honest I really think this is a conversation we need to have more in the design community.

--- [ GUIDE ] -—

00:00 Welcome to episode 119

02:45 Who is Ryan

04:10 60 second rapid fire

07:15 How did we get here?

16:15 Where do I start?

20:15 Different expectations

24:00 What can I gain?

29:30 Building partnerships

37:15 Business value of design

47:15 Valuable resources

49:30 There is a lot at stake

54:15 Final conclusion

--- [ LINKS ] ---

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanrumsey/

* https://www.ryanrumsey.com/about

* https://www.secondwavedive.com/book

* https://www.ryanrumsey.com/words/the-good-partner-canvas

* Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered - https://amzn.to/3crYHXA

* HBR'S 10 Must Reads: The Essentials - https://store.hbr.org/product/hbr-s-10-must-reads-the-essentials/13292

--- [ HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN ] ---

Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are.

https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

A big part of your job as a service designer is to make services easier. Easier to find. Easier to navigate. Easier to use.

Why? Because this not only makes the life of your customer easier but also yours.

As you know creating services that offer a coherent experience across the board comes with some implications.

In order to accomplish this organisations have to work across silos and have adopt a long term perspective.

Now imagine that you're just a small service design team in a large traditional organisation.

How do you make this happen? How do you even make any meaningful progress?

Well that's the theme for this week's episode with Iran Narges. Iran is the service design lead at the city of San Francisco.

We talk about how to be successful as a service designer in challenging conditions, including covid.

I think you'll be surprised which things make the biggest difference according to Iran.

So if find yourself in a siloed organisation that's primarily focussed on short term results I'm sure you'll get some useful insights out of this episode.

My goal with the Show is to help you be more impactful by understand what's underneath the surface of service design.

And I think this episode is a great example of that.

If you're read all the way to here make sure to leave a comment with the hashtag #commitment

--- [ GUIDE ] -—

00:00 Welcome to episode 118

03:00 Who is Iran

07:00 Question rapid fire

09:30 Why Service Design in local government

14:30 Bridging the silos

18:30 How do you make progress

26:15 What are the learnings

31:45 Service design in a pandemic

37:15 Which value do you bring

39:30 Reinforcing the fundamentals

43:30 The vision

46:45 Get in touch with Iran

49:00 Final thoughts

--- [ LINKS ] ---

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/iran-narges/

* https://digitalservices.sfgov.org/

* https://medium.com/san-francisco-digital-services

--- [ HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN ] ---

Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are!

https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

How can you explain service design in a way that it actually clicks for other people?

I know some people have give up on this but I don't think that's a smart strategy. Here's why.

The multidisciplinary nature of service design requires you to collaborate with other people. You're not going to design a service on your own...

So being able to get the message across about what you do and the value you bring is crucial.

You might be wondering what is it that makes explaining service design so challenging? Well, combine two intangible concepts that not a lot of people really understand and you end up with service design.

But there's hope!

One very effective way to help people understand service design is by tapping into something the other person is already familiar with.

How? By using a metaphor.

In the past I've explained service design by comparing it things like a jazz band, organisational fitness and the operating system of your computer.

There's an endless number of metaphors you can use to get the message across.

I've teamed up with Robert Bau to inspire you with a few powerful metaphors that we really like.

So if you want to get more people excited about what you do as a service designer, this episode is just what you need!

--- [ GUIDE ] -—

00:00 Welcome to episode 117

01:10 Who is Robert

03:00 Why metaphors?

06:15 The Jazz Performance

09:15 The Mountain Guide

18:30 The Soccer Team

23:15 Theatre

37:00 Organisational Fitness

41:45 Being Stuck in the Middle

46:45 The Chef Cook

52:30 What's your favorit

53:30 Final thoughts

--- [ LINKS ] ---

* Episode 99: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5WNSWdocS4

* https://www.bauinnovationlab.com/blog/bringing-down-the-house-1

* https://www.bauinnovationlab.com/blog/the-mountain-guide-1

--- [ HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN ] ---

Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are!

https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

Have you heard about design systems? It's a catchy concept that's been getting quite some attention lately from our friends at the digital UX community. And I think we as a service design community can get a lot of value out of it as well!

Here's my simple understanding of a design system...

The main idea is that a design system provides you with a standardised set of components and patterns. This standardised set allows you to deliver results more efficiently and with more consistency.

In an online environment a component might be a button and a pattern might be the steps in the ordering process.

Now I hear you thinking... I don't work with buttons and checkout flows. So how can I as a service designer benefit from a design system?

That exactly the question I had as well!

Fortunately, good friend of the Show and design systems ninja, Dan Mall was willing to come on and lay it all out for us.

--- [ GUIDE ] -—

00:00 Welcome to episode 116

02:05 Who is Dan

03:45 Getting started with design systems

07:30 The use case for design systems

11:00 Where does a design system live

14:30 Design systems for services

18:30 Where to start

26:30 Patterns and components

31:15 Finding the right balance

33:45 Design sytems are culture

36:30 Systems as word

39:00 Who's job is it

41:30 Reasons why design systems don't get adopted

44:30 How to sell a design system

47:00 It's an ongoing journey

49:00 Recommended resources

50:50 Final thoughts

--- [ LINKS ] ---

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmall/

* https://superfriendlydesign.systems/

* https://superfriendlydesign.systems/classes/make-design-systems-people-want-to-use/

* https://bigmedium.com/ideas/boring-design-systems.html

* https://shop.smashingmagazine.com/products/design-systems-by-alla-kholmatova

* https://abookapart.com/products/expressive-design-systems

* Thinking in Systems: A Primer - https://amzn.to/2WITxgx

--- [ ENJOYED THE SHOW ] ---

Take a look at some of the other episodes.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/spotify

--- [ YOUTUBE ] ---

Every episode of the Service Design Show is also available as via the official YouTube channel.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/youtube

--- [ FREE COURSE ] ---

HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN

Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are!

https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

How much does a service designer earn? That's what you can find out in the first global service design salary report.

The report contains salary data from over 1000 participants across 53 countries.

In this podcast exclusive episode you'll hear Linn Vizard and Marc Fonteijn talk about how and why the report came to be.

You'll learn about some of the most interesting findings and patterns that emerged from the data.

And of course how you can use the report to find the answers to the questions that are most relevant to you!

--- [ LINKS ] ---

https://www.servicedesignjobs.com/salary-report/

--- [ ENJOYED THE SHOW ] ---

Take a look at some of the other episodes.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/spotify

--- [ YOUTUBE ] ---

Every episode of the Service Design Show is also available as via the official YouTube channel.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/youtube

--- [ FREE COURSE ] ---

HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN

Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are!

https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

Is it possible? Can you win a game of checkers while playing chess at the same time?

What on earth do you mean Marc? Okay, let me rephrase the question.

Can you deliver short term results through service design projects while at the same time helping your client to build the capabilities that will benefit them in the long term?

I do strongly belief that you have to bring service design in-house. Otherwise you will get stuck at running superficial projects that don't really change the system.

An external agency might be the fire starter at first but eventually the design and delivery of great services needs to be a core competence of every company.

I know what you're thinking. Learning service design on the job through projects is a great idea in theory. In practice its a lot easier said then done though.

For one, you will have to deal with the middle layer of the organisation which in most situations has quite a short term mindset.

So when you advocate to build internal capabilities that will benefit the organisation in the long term there's a conflict of interests.

But as I mentioned I don't think we really have a choice. We have to find a way to get this done.

Someone who has been trying to solve this wicked design challenge for a long time is Patrick Quattlebaum.

Together with his team at Harmonic design Patrick helps organisations to design great services, while at the same time helping them to adopt the service design way of working.

This episode of the Show is packed with valuable lessons from someone who has been on the front line for a long time.

So if part of your job is to help (internal) clients build service design capabilities... the insights you get from this episode will make your life a lot easier.

--- [ GUIDE ] -—

00:00 Welcome to episode 115

04:15 Who is Patrick

05:00 60 second rapid fire

09:15 Why is building capabilities important?

12:30 Going into the operating model

16:00 Service and capabilities outcomes

18:15 Where do I start?

24:45 Can you teach this?

29:00 Demonstrating value

34:30 Can you be strategic and practical

40:15 Change hurts

46:00 Navigating the middle

48:30 Give it away

53:30 Practical advice

59:45 Set up for success

1:03:00 Get in touch with Patrick

1:03:45 Final thoughts

--- [ LINKS ] ---

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/ptquattlebaum/

* https://twitter.com/ptquattlebaum

* https://www.thisisharmonic.com/

Books

* Orchestrating Experiences - https://amzn.to/37RpOrf

* The Searcher - https://amzn.to/3m8eqwh

* The Trusted Advisor - https://amzn.to/2VUjQ3h

--- [ MORE ] ---

Enjoyed the show? Take a look at some of the other episodes.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/spotify

YOUTUBE

Every episode of the Service Design Show is also available as via the official YouTube channel.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/youtube

INSTAGRAM

Get an exclusive behind the scenes look of the Show.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/instagram

--- [ FREE COURSE ] ---

HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN

Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are!

https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

Here's a challenge I think you'll recognize... How do you move design up the maturity ladder in an organisation?

Back in the day when I would get called in for a project I knew the client wouldn't get a lot of value out of the design approach when we would just apply it on the superficial layers of a service. No surprise here.

To have any meaningful impact on business and customers we needed to use design from strategy to implementation.

The truth is that I often got quite frustrated about this process. Many clients weren't ready for this.

And navigating through the organisational layers and the internal politics isn't what I signed up for (or at least I thought).

But I also didn't want to get stuck doing work on the margins. Especially when you know which value you can contribute.

This seems to be a common channel for many service designers out there.

If this sounds familiar than this week's episode is just for you!

I sat down with Homaxi Irani to discuss what you can do to successfully grow the influence of and appreciation for design within an organisation.

Usually the conversations about this topic tend to stay quite abstract and high level.

But as you'll hear Homaxi shares some very practical advice on things you can do tomorrow.

So if you want to take design to the next level within your organisation make sure you don't miss this episode.

--- [ GUIDE ] -—

00:00 Welcome to episode 114

02:40 Who is Homaxi

03:20 60 second rapid fire question round

05:30 Bringing design in to the broardroom

08:00 Why should we want to bring design into the boardroom

17:30 How to gain more influence

24:00 What is the secret sauce

28:30 Navigating the middle management swamp

34:00 Showcasing the value of design

42:00 Is design a risk?

50:00 How to move forward

59:00 The power of pragmatism

1:02:30 Get in touch with Homaxi

1:03:30 Final thoughts

--- [ LINKS ] ---

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/homaxi/

* Battle Scars by Dinaaz Lentin (book) - https://amzn.to/3fq5mkw

* Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton (book) - https://amzn.to/35ZyUCv

--- [ MORE ] ---

Enjoyed the show? Take a look at some of the other episodes.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/spotify

YOUTUBE

Every episode of the Service Design Show is also available as via the official YouTube channel.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/youtube

INSTAGRAM

Get an exclusive behind the scenes look of the Show.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/instagram

--- [ FREE COURSE ] ---

HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN

Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are!

https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

As an in-house service designer you see so much potential to do good but often it feels like organisation is working against you. Preventing you to do the job you were hired for in the first place.

You want to ask for objective advice, get someone's opinion or just share your frustration for a moment. But in many cases all the weight falls on your shoulders.

You're the expert that everyone is looking up to.

So what do you do? You join a campfire group of course. A what?!

A campfire brings in-house service designers from different organisations together to help them grow as professionals.

I've invited 5 people who are are part of such a campfire group to share their stories with you.

In this episode they openly talk about challenges they face and also their tips on how to successfully navigate around them.

Even if you're not working in-house I'm sure you'll get a lot of insights out of these stories!

The registration for the next campfire group has just opened.

So if you’d also like to be part of a supporting community and grow as a professional consider joining.

You can find detail on how to apply on the page below

https://www.servicedesignshow.com/campfire/

There's space for only 8 participants so if you’re interested don’t wait too long with submitting your application.

Most service designers will say that their goal is to design solutions that have a natural fit in people's lives.

Because those are the solutions that will be embraced by the users and thus make the impact we're seeking to create.

One challenge you probably already have faced is that as a service designer you always come in as an outsider.

Usually at the start of a project you know very little about the local context, culture or environment.

Even if you're designing something which is close by like a service for the internal department next door.

So designing a solution that fits is not easy.

Of course doing good design research helps. But that's not enough.

You need something else to make sure your solution fits into the context.

In this episode Priyam Sharda shares what that is.

I invite you to listen to the stories Priyam shares and think about how the lessons translate to your world.

Think you'll be surprised how many parallels you'll be able to find.

--- [ GUIDE ] -—

00:00 Welcome to episode 113

02:10 Who is Priyam

03:10 60 second rapid fire

05:30 Designing better health care

09:00 Partnerships are the secret

15:00 Challenging the narrative

18:00 The response to design

20:30 Enabling the enablers

26:00 Scaling services

33:15 Be part of the transformation

36:30 Just do what works

43:15 Redefining results

47:00 Get in touch with Priyam

47:30 Final thoughts

--- [ LINKS ] ---

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyamsharda/

* https://scopeimpact.fi/

* https://www.theoryofchange.org/what-is-theory-of-change/

--- [ MORE ] ---

Enjoyed the show? Take a look at some of the other episodes.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/spotify

YOUTUBE

Every episode of the Service Design Show is also available as via the official YouTube channel.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/youtube

INSTAGRAM

Get an exclusive behind the scenes look of the Show.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/instagram

--- [ FREE COURSE ] ---

HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN

Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are!

https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course

Okay, here’s a thought experiment.

Let’s move away for a moment from thinking about designing the next service that’s delivered through a fancy mobile app…

What if you had to design service that literally help to save children's lives?

And you have to do it in a low tech environment with very limited resources.

While at the same time managing traditional stakeholders with their own perspective on the desired solution.

Sounds impossible? Well that’s what Gonzalo Rodion and Phearak Mak are up against every day.

In this episode you’ll learn how they do it. How they successfully design solutions that are embraced by the end users in this challenging context.

I know that at first this might sound like a very distant world from your reality. Especially if you’re in a corporate environment.

But trust me at the end of the episode you’ll be surprised by just how many similarities there are.

If anything the stories Gonzalo and Phearak share helped me to get out of the design bubble we sometimes tend to get caught in.

--- [ GUIDE ] -—

00:00 Welcome to episode 112

02:00 Who are Gonzalo & Phearak

04:00 What is IDE

05:45 60 seconds question rapid fire

08:30 The Innovation Lab

11:00 The challenges around social innovation

14:30 Designing social behaviour change

27:00 Obvious solutions

29:15 Finding the real problem

40:20 Making a meaningful impact

43:15 The lessons learned

46:00 Showing the value

49:20 Get in touch with Gonzalo & Phearak

50:50 Final thoughts

--- [ LINKS ] ---

* https://www.instagram.com/ideinnovationlab/

* https://www.facebook.com/ideinnovationlab

* http://linkedin.com/company/ideinnovationlab

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/gonzalo-rodino/

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/phearak-maksay-7a073b87/

--- [ MORE ] ---

Enjoyed the show? Take a look at some of the other episodes.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/spotify

YOUTUBE

Every episode of the Service Design Show is also available as via the official YouTube channel.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/youtube

INSTAGRAM

Get an exclusive behind the scenes look of the Show.

https://go.servicedesignshow.com/instagram

--- [ FREE COURSE ] ---

HOW TO EXPLAIN SERVICE DESIGN

Learn what it takes to get your clients, colleagues, managers, CEOs and even grandmas as excited about service design as you are!

https://servicedesignshow.com/free-course