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2
10x10

Let’s Get Physical

Unlocking the
(with Services)
Infinite Library

— Adam Little
Ritik Dholakia
User Experience
Director Designer
of Strategy, Method

Create
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Method

method.com
Let’s Get Physical (with Services)
The Hybrid Product-Service
From pill bottles that send SMS reminders to picture frames that
receive email attachments, the ability to embed information in
everything around us is profoundly affecting the products we
use in our daily lives. New product categories like networked
appliances and wearable sensors are combining more than just
industrial design with software design — they are combining
the information age and the service economy. In an era when
consumers expect products to be more than tangible objects,
brands need to think with a service mindset to enhance their
offering and connect with their customers in more personal and
immediate ways.
Brands are already taking advantage of the latest technology to
offer their customers tangible goods that offer intangible ser-
vices. Barnes & Noble has created such a hybrid product-ser-
vice with the Nook, which mimics the traditional service model
of in-store shopping and assistance from sales associates. The
Nook has now converged shopping and reading into a single
device, while also offering recommendations and assistance
in other ways. Barnes & Noble, like Amazon before them, have
materialized their service offering into a consumer product that
has in turn increased their revenue 21%.
So how can brands known for physical products, not services,
engage their customers like the service industry does? How will
designers of physical and digital experiences create products
that make this possible? To create these service-age gadgets,
we must look at the methods used in Service Design, a disci-
pline that is quickly coming into the spotlight.
Method, Inc.
— Adam Little, User Experience Designer
Service Touchpoints Matrix:
an array that maps all service
touchpoints against possible
Design user intentions in order to
identify possible customer
Tools journeys.
Service Blueprint: Customer Journey Map:
a technical diagram describing a visual representation of a
time in a service by objectively service from the point of view
representing the system in a of a customer.
sequence of linear events.
Borrowing from Service Design
In 2007, Apple Computer, Inc. officially dropped “Computer”
from their name. Today, they are the world’s largest music retail-
er, accounting for 25% of all music sales in the US. Driving this
success is the iPod, which has become an iconic example of a
hybrid product-service. Owning an iPod also means owning a
suite of Apple services: the iTunes Store, Genius recommenda-
tions, and multiple support channels. This approach has proven
successful — to date, nearly 300 million iPods have been sold.
Nike’s technologically enhanced running shoes and accesso-
ries help you become a better runner. Fiat’s Eco:Drive applica-
tion uses data from your car to create a map and deliver tips
that help you drive more efficiently. Such examples are only a
glimpse into the opportunities that can emerge when service
thinking is applied to the latest product designs.
It is no secret that services, even for manufacturing organiza-
tions, can be the key differentiator between competition and
the primary generator of income. Customer loyalty depends
on good service; not only do customers expect it, but it is part
of their values. Recent economic and environmental turmoil is
shifting people from passive consumers of products to active
co-creators of experiences.
Products designed for the service age will capture diverse
revenue streams and deepen engagement and loyalty by de-
livering more value. When seeking service innovation, some of
the world’s most recognizable brands have benefited directly
from service design, including Virgin Atlantic, Bank of America,
and the BBC. What service designers have recognized is that
a brand’s direct competition should not be the main reference
point for any strategy. Instead, the brand must reflect the people
involved in the service – both those consuming and delivering.
There are four key methods to crafting smart services that ex-
ecutives, entrepreneurs, and designers alike should be aware of.
10x10
Let’s Get Physical (with Services)
“Customer experience is bigger than
customer service in that it is the full,
end-to-end experience. It starts when
you first hear about Amazon from a
friend, and ends when you get the package
in the mail and open it.”
1 2
— Jeff Bezos,
CEO, Amazon.com
Look at Both Sides
Currently, strong user-centered design focuses on the outside-
in. This method attempts to form an empathetic understanding
of the users of a product in order to uncover new needs and
opportunities. However, services differ from products in that
consumption happens at the very same moment as production,
making the producer of equal importance to the consumer. For
that reason, services must also be designed from the inside-out
and engage stakeholders involved - from the executive to the
sales associate - in creating the service experience. One solu-
tion is using co-design sessions.
Co-design sessions are intended to encourage people on all
sides of the service (the customer, producer & stakeholder) to
share experiences and expertise, engage with other parts of
the organization, and envision creative ideas. Co-design ses-
sions are a forum for this, often through the use of games and
creative activities. Role-playing can be used to act out people’s
perceptions of a service. Sending participants into the field with
a camera can help draw observations and structure insights for
discussion.
The goal is to understand not only what people desire, but how
the producers can effectively deliver the service. card and custom bookmarks with related tourist sights. The
Method, Inc.
— Adam Little, User Experience Designer
Will This Work?
Prototypes discover where a design works and where it fails.
The desired fidelity of any prototype is “just enough” so that
when it fails, the failure is early and, with any luck, cheap. With
“experience prototyping,” service designers strive for active
participation of users and stakeholders and a backseat role for
themselves.
Take for example a concept for a service that is a partnership
between a public library and local hotels. Hotel guests can ac-
cess local knowledge through the library and have books, CDs,
and DVDs waiting at their hotel room upon arrival. This supports
the library’s mission and is a premium service that hotels can
offer. But would hotel guests actually use this? What material
would they be interested in? Would hotel staff be able to man-
age the responsibilities?
To prototype this concept, service designers would simulate the
experience in an existing hotel. Hotel guests would be given
welcome packets with a curated library catalogue, order forms,
tourist information, and a feedback form. The receptionists
would have a selection of library material, and inside each item
are other props made by the service designers: a check-out
prototype runs for a few days with hotel staff playing along.
Hotel guests must believe the service is real. The designers will
observe the experiences, collect feedback, and involve them-
selves only when necessary.
In designing the next generation of digital devices, the experi-
ence is more than the sum of interactions, and prototyping the
experience will be crucial.
10x10
Let’s Get Physical (with Services) — Adam Little, User Experience Designer

Purchase 1
Improving
the Customer
Experience
Flight Status Check 2 How service design can
soften the tension of flying
and improve Virgin’s customer
service using a combination
of human and technological
Check-In 3 service interactions.

Take-off 4

Touchpoints outside of brand where

service interaction can improve

In-flight Service 5

Arrival 6
Flight attendant and brand
interface touchpoints

Method, Inc. 10x10

Let’s Get Physical (with Services) — Adam Little, User Experience Designer

3 4
Map the Journey
Services are comprised of many individual, and often intangible,
touchpoints that happen over time and space. Because of this
defining characteristic, service designers need to map out the
formal elements of the producer’s work on the “back stage” with
the customer experiences of the “front stage,” and the role of
the “actors” on each side.

Consider the customer journey with Virgin America. Despite

being known for their attention to service online and in-person,
there are also several non-brand interactions that influence the
travel experience: security checkpoints, delays on the runway,
pesky seat neighbors. Service designers must consider these
moments because they affect the overall experience but cannot
be controlled. The design choices made should be continuous
and prescriptive, but have enough flexibility so that one flaw
does not have repercussions on the rest of the experience. After
all, no trip to the airport is perfect, and Virgin would not want to
Tell the Story
Traditionally, video scenarios and storyboards are tools design-
ers use to communicate how a concept works. Service design-
ers, however, are adept at using these tools to tell authentic
and compelling stories about the people using the service.
Their stories focus on the value of the concept and the nuanced
experiences people have with it.

The hotel-library service example involves several touchpoints

that need to be designed and communicated but there is more
to the service than just that. To communicate the true value,
a video about the service would feature librarians, hotel staff,
and hotel guests sharing their experience in their own words.
Although scripted, it is based on real-life scenarios uncovered
during research. Video is a compelling storytelling tool for
explaining the features that comprise a service along with per-
spectives of the people involved on all different sides.

be responsible for experiences over which they have no control.

Service blueprints, touchpoint matrixes, and customer journey
maps are useful tools for breaking down services into se-
quences. These maps explore individual roles of producers and
customers while also identifying opportunities for innovation or
improvement. They also prioritize ideas, plan next steps, and
maintain a consistent vision.
Today’s devices are no longer things that people interact with
but instead platforms that allow people to interact with each
other and these are the stories that designers need to tell.
Conclusion
In recent years, interest in service design has escalated as com-
panies begin to recognize that innovating their service offering is
the best opportunity to create competitive advantage. Product
oriented brands must use these principles to deliver not just
great customer-service experiences, but consumer products
that enable entirely new services. In the post-digital world where
processors are embedded in everything around us, these op-
portunities should not be underestimated, especially when the
outcome is customer loyalty, brand engagement, and increased
revenue.

Services can be
the key differentiator between
competition and the primary
generator of income.
Method, Inc. 10x10
 7
Let’s Get Physical (with Services)
By Adam Little, User Experience Designer

About the Author

As part of Method’s User Experience
team, Adam collaborates with multidisci-
plinary project teams to envision and
create digital experiences that focus on
meeting the needs of people using them.
Adam’s specialities include user research
methods, concept development, user
scenarios & storytelling, and functional
interface design.
At Method he has contributed to products
and services including content strategies
for MySpace, next generation concept
development for Microsoft Kin and
More to
interface design for an innovative Internet
startup.

About 10x10
Parenting 101

2010 marks Method’s 10 year anniver-

sary, and we are only looking forward.
Written by our own industry leaders, we
are launching the 10x10 series, which will
come
focus on game changing topics that will
fundamentally impact today’s brands and
their search for new revenue streams.

1 Cable’s Lost Generation

next

2 Unlocking the Infinite Library

3 Entertain Me Now

4 Place, Space and the Mobile Interface

5 Gaming for Behavior Change

6 Changing Retail Currency

Seventh Issue

7 Let’s Get Physical (with Services)

This Is the

8 Parenting 101

9 Power to the People

10 Welcome to the Metaverse

Method, Inc. 10x10

 10x10

About Method

Method is a brand experience agency with offices

based in San Francisco, New York and London. Our
clients are best described as owners of progressive,
era defining brands, and include Google, Comcast,
Nordstrom, Sony, Samsung, Nokia, Microsoft, Time
Warner, Intel, and BBC. Collaboratively, we help them
create products, services and businesses that are
smart, beautiful and extendable.

For more information visit www.method.com.

Method
Locations

San Francisco
New York
London

Contact

Lindsay Liu
Marketing Manager
lindsay@method.com
646.825.5242

method.com