This article is found in Touchpoint service design journal: Touchpoint 3#2 “Organisational Change”, link to the SDN website (www.service-design-network.org/tp-catalog)

1. volume 3 | no. 2 | 12,80 euro
September 2011
Organisational
Change
• Overcoming the
‘Monkeysphere’ Challenge
Jesse Grimes and Mark Alexander Fonds
• Innovating in Health Care –
an Environment Adverse to Change
Francesca Dickson, Emily Friedman, Lorna Ross
• Service Transformation:
Service Design on Steroids
Melvin Brand Flu

2. By Satu Miettinen
Service Prototyping in Action!
Service prototyping has been a valuable method in service evaluate the service experience from
development for Nokia, UNICEF, Lappset group and many the user point of view rather than from
the outsider’s perspective.
other companies. SINCO, (Service Innovation Corner) is Kimmo Lehtonen, CEO from
a prototyping lab for service and interaction design at the KL-Kopio describes the benefit that
University of Lapland. SINCO lab has worked with the above service prototyping has had for his
company, by looking at his business
companies, focusing on prototyping new solutions for their from a customer point of view. The
service journeys, user interfaces and overall product experience. prototyping process has helped his
company to develop a new customer
It has enabled them to study and ana- agile technological solutions enables service concept in digital printing as
lyse existing services and user experi- the creation of digital interface mock- well as to improve a concept for the
ences, to visualise ideas and develop ups made with an iPad, an interactive servicescape. These changes have
them quickly, to communicate with touchscreen or other easily available brought new customers to the compa-
stakeholders coherently, and to test means. These mock-ups can tested ny. Putting together the new business
and evaluate concepts collaboratively. and developed further during body- idea with mock-ups and visualisations
Service design is one of the storming or concept design phase. helped him to evaluate the new service
strategic research areas at the Uni- and business concept thoroughly. The
versity of Lapland. The faculty of Art The Benefits of Service value of SINCO lab is in having the
and Design has worked for several Prototyping space and technological means to do
years with service design methodol- Just as it is in other design practices, hands-on prototyping with low over-
ogy, especially service prototyping. prototyping is one of the core methods heads. This allows small- and medium-
Research and development work on in service design. SINCO labs’ hands- sized companies to get involved and to
service prototyping falls into two on experience with service prototyp- benefit from service design. SINCO lab
di erent areas: the first area consid- ing has come to include the company’s has also developed a mobile lab that
ers how service prototyping can add R&D sta more deeply in service can be used on site.
value at various stages in the service development. As a result, proposed The findings at SINCO lab are
design process to elicit customer customer experiences and service supported in research literature on
insight and help evaluate new service journeys make evaluating and inno- prototyping where the main purpose
concepts; the second area focuses on vating new solutions more concrete. of prototyping is to concretise an idea1.
the development of agile technologies Including the company sta in the A prototype can quickly and cheaply
used to prototype service touchpoints, service prototyping through enact- communicate a service proposition
service moments and service journeys ing, analysing or developing service and prompt questions on the technical
quickly and iteratively. The use of journeys, has given them the means to feasibility, consumer desirability, and
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3. education and research
business viability.2 Prototypes should to form the brief and understand the tools for creative, hands-on building),
represent product, technological value of service design. Simple tasks, handheld projectors (producing user
and social interactions.3 Experience like creating empathy and looking at interface mock-ups and visual touch-
prototyping has been done at IDEO the user’s service journey are core ele- points) and UI devices (interaction de-
for years, because active participation ments at SINCO lab. Companies like sign mock-ups). SINCO lab is actively
in the user experience opens up the Raunua Zoo have utilised this when leading EU funded projects that, with
user point of view, and thus enables creating new travel service concepts the help of cooperating companies,
new service and product innova- for the Christmas season. One of the have enabled the betterment of the en-
tion. Service designers4 find service important focuses of SINCO lab is vironment. The results are driving the
prototyping central to their work to work as a learning environment, development of new tools and methods
because it is collaborative, makes where MA students work with the for service prototyping.
services visible and helps to commu- service design team (Simo Rontti, Essi
nicate service concept suggestions. Kuure and Antti Lindström) and com- References
Prototyping enables collaborative panies. Students work with hands-on 1
Fulton Suri, J. (2008). ‘Informing Our Intuition.
work with stakeholders when design- cases, learning to use both di erent Design Research for Radical Innovation.’ Rotman
Magazine, Winter 2008.
ing product service systems and prototyping methods and technology 2
Samalionis, F. (2009). ‘Can Designers Help Deliver
multi-channel services. Stakehold- that facilitates prototyping. Better Services?’. In S. Miettinen, & M. Koivisto
ers’ participation helps to figure out Technology used in service (Eds.), Designing Services with Innovative Methods.
ways to realise ideas already in the prototyping at SINCO includes: Kuopio Academy of Design, University of Art and
Design, Helsinki B 93, 124 – 135.
concept design phase.5 large interactive touch screens (user
vphotos: SINCO lab – Antti Lindström, Satu Miettinen – Aino Huovio
3
Kurvinen, E. (2007). Prototyping Social Action.
interface prototyping), interactive Taideteollisen korkeakoulun julkaisut A75. Helsinki.
How to Service Prototype at whiteboards (notes, sketching and 4
Blomkvist, J. (2011). Conceptualising Prototypes in
Service Design. Faculty of Arts and Sciences Thesis
SINCO Lab user interface prototyping), probes
No. 101. Department of Computer and Information
Project work with companies fo- and building blocks (role playing and Science Linköpings universitet. [online] Retrieved
cuses on di erent aspects of service rough modelling of physical environ- June, 2011, from http://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/
record.jsf?pid=diva2:412916&rvn=2
development depending on custom- ments), scene workstations (control- 5
Vaahtojärvi, K. (2011). Palvelukonseptien
ers’ needs. In the beginning of the ling service scene backgrounds and arviointi. In Palvelumuotoilu –uusia menetelmiä
prototyping process, generative work service journeys), back-projection dis- käyttäjätiedon hankintaan ja hyödyntämiseen.
that produces lots of ideas with pro- plays (for the quick creation of service Miettinen, S. (toim.) Teknologiainfo Teknova Oy.
totyping methods can help the client scene backgrounds), RGB spotlights
(creating the desired atmosphere
at a service scene), craft equipment
(mock-ups, puppet-theatre and other
Prototyping at SINCO lab using Dr. Satu Miettinen
works as a Professor of Applied Art and De-
interactive touchscreens and a sign at the University of Lapland. For several
years she has been working with service design
scene conrol sta-tion for agile projects funded by the Finnish Funding Agency
visualisation, testing and devel- for Innovation and Technology. She is actively
working with writing and editing service design
oping of service ideas. research literature.
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