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The Service Blueprint, a design method to make an organization more efficient
Thomas Huber
20/2/2020
8 min reading
Design
20/2/2020
8 min reading
Design
A service design method, the blueprint is a device for sketching out the user journey of a new product or service. This approach is very useful when it comes to mapping the user journey to define the obstacles or opportunities arising from the user's experience of a product or service. A true innovation tool, Blueprint service is therefore indispensable to companies when it comes to addressing complex business/customer issues within the design process.
In the digital age, with its profusion of customer data, it's easier for companies to get to know their users and target their needs and experiences more effectively. However, this diversification can also have the opposite effect, clouding the customer relationship as the customer becomes a complex user with multiple aspirations. Against this backdrop, the service blueprint is an invaluable tool for defining the user journey. Like the architect's blueprint, which is the structural plan of the building to be constructed, blueprint service is a tool for mapping the nature and various interactions between the customer and the product or service being developed. Knowing more about the user and his or her experience enables the blueprint design method to define potential organizational problems that may emerge, and thus to anticipate innovative and structural solutions.
Directly inspired by architects' blueprints, the blueprint UX method has its origins in an article published in the Harvard Business Review in 1984 by Lynn Shistack. This bank manager called for the development of a better service design that would avoid the confusion of services and products disengaged from any consideration of the customer experience. Thus, the service blueprint was developed with the aim of "Designing services that are deliverable", the title of her seminal article. Conceived as a design service dedicated to standing out from the competition while promoting ideation support, blueprint service has made its way into today's design methods.
In design and development, a blueprint is a model of the stages in the use of a product or service. Also known as a service diagram or service architecture, the blueprint enables those involved in the design process to determine the various processes involved in use, while revealing potential obstacles or opportunities for refining the strategy. In addition, the service blueprint helps to define the customer segment, enabling the product or service to be targeted more effectively. Blueprints generally take the form of a diagram combining different colored blocks linked by arrows, demonstrating the various dependent relationships between the different players, company departments and user segments. The main elements of a service blueprint are as follows:
A logical analysis of the user's journey through a given product or service, the service blueprint materializes the various design stages, as well as potential obstacles and opportunities for ideation. It consists of 6 general stages:
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