Service Design Resources

Back to RM Resources: Service Design Resources.



Service Design in HE and FE (4 Links)

 Service Design at the University of Derby This service design learning resource contains resources from the University of Derby and includes examples from the DERBI project SLRM project. It consists of presentations from a practical workshop and video resources.  Introduction to Service Design. This meeting, run by the University of Derby, for the Relationship Management Programme 2009-2010 projects, provided an introduction to the service design approach, including blueprinting, along with examples from the DERBI project. There are several presentations which describe the approach.  The DERBI Experience: Implementing Service Design in Higher Education (Videos). There are four videos, which explain how service design works and provides the opportunity to hear from staff at the University of Derby about their experiences, as well as describing some of the benefits and impact of the service design approach.  Introduction to the Videos (mov format, 20 seconds) Presenter: Sue Morrison, Assistant Registrar for Student Services Introducing Service Design to the Institution - Benefits and Sustainability (mov format, 10 minutes) Presenters: Sue Morrison, Assistant Registrar for Student Services and Polina Baranova, Lecturer in Service Design This video describes the initial introduction of service design to the University as part of the DERBI project and the how interest in the approach was garnered. It describes how service design runs across a number of different departments and the efforts made after the project finished to ensure sustainability of the both the approach and the outcomes within the University. The Student Perspective (mov format, 4.5 minutes) Presenters: Sue Morrison, Assistant Registrar for Student Services and Rachel Crane, Placement Student The DERBI project took on a placement student to help understand the student perspective of the enrolment stages and to act as an interface between the students and the University. Some of the techniques for obtaining student feedback, such as mystery shoppers, focus groups and questionnaires, are described here. Service Improvements (mov format, 15.5 minutes) Presenters: Sue Morrison, Assistant Registrar for Student Services and Jean Mutton, DERBI Project Manager Jean Mutton describes how the project was run and how service design techniques, such as blueprinting, can help to provide a holistic view of a complex university system. By focussing on the student perspective of the student lifecycle, the approach can help to identify failpoints. Some of the service improvements and enhancements made as a result of the service design approach are described here.  </li> Using Service Design to Improve the Student Experience (video, 29 minutes). Jean Mutton from the University of Derby talks about the impact that the service design approach has made on the student experience of enrolment. This presentation was part of the Service Design Thinks Leeds 02 event in early 2011.</li></ul> </li>

Service Design in Higher and Further Education. Authors: Polina Baranova, Sue Morrison and Jean Mutton, University of Derby This briefing paper, commissioned by JISC CETIS, and written by the service design experts at the University of Derby, introduces service design and its application in Higher and Further Education. It introduces blueprinting, which was successfully used by the University's DERBI project to improve the student experience at the transition stage from applicant to student. It gives a theoretical introduction alongside illustrative examples of the application of blueprinting. </li> Placing the Student at the Heart of the Process: Using student lifecycle relationship management and service design techniques to enhance the student experience (PDF Format - 177Kb) Authors: Sharon Perry and Paul Hollins, JISC CETIS. The Higher Education (HE) sector is currently under increasing pressure to respond to challenges from a number of quarters. Aside from the obvious economic factors, student expectations are also changing, particularly with regard to Information and Communication Technology (ICT). So how can the HE sector meet these changing (and challenging) expectations? One approach is to focus on the small-scale efforts that can be made to improve an institution’s effectiveness in enhancing the student experience.

This paper describes how using techniques traditionally associated with customer relationship management in the commercial sector can be used in conjunction with the student lifecycle to meet the changing expectations of the student. It should be considered as an early announcement of the research from several of the JISC Relationship Management Programme projects, which have been trialling service design as an approach to Student Lifecycle Relationship Management (SLRM). Examples of some of the small-scale technological changes made will also be provided. This approach places the student firmly at the heart of the process and may help institutions be more flexible, efficient and effective.</li></ol>

Back to Top of Page

General Service Design Resources (2 Links)

<ol> Confessions of a Service Design Researcher. Tamsin Smith, Engine Service Design, January 2010. This article suggests that the basic skills of a traditional researcher (having a conversation, listening, observing, reading and investigating) are not enough for effective service design, because the role of researcher and designer blur. </li>

Strengthen Your Design Process with Narratives. A short introduction to persona writing and scenario building - two narrative-based approaches to help model improved services. </li>

Service Design toolkit . Website offering a toolkit as an introduction to the methodology of service design, in particular for the design of public services. Includes some useful (free) downloads to use when adopting the service design approach. </li></ol>

Image by forwardcom.

End of Service Design Resources: Back to Top of Page