Co-creating Services and New Paths to Value - Term Paper Example

Co-design in Service Design Introduction Co-design remains an integral part of success in various service design programs and provides many benefits. This discourse undertakes an evaluation of co-design in service design projects besides highlighting the benefits accrued from application of the same. The paper aims at aiding fellows engaged in the process to express realistically and precisely the actual benefits to aim at. Samples from various literature materials by various scholars indicate that technically there are three major benefits that emanate from co-design in service design projects. The benefits spread over three categories affecting customers’ services and users, the service design program, as well as the entire institution involved in the design project. It is important to comprehend that the benefits closely relate to the process of enhancing the creative process, management of the project, the service process, as well as long-term influences. This forms the basis of this discourse proposing that people involved ought to draw their goals first before engaging in any co-design process, then rearrange the goals in tandem with the co-design activities. This helps in generating related benefits to the drafted goals. Discussion Many organizations and business institutions commonly use co-design in various activities. However, scholars caution that there are times when co-design applies as buzz word deriving a lot of vague meanings associated with the contributions of the same to the service design programs. Professionals among them Sanders and Stappers (2008, p. 16) apply the terminology co-creation in reference to an action of joint creativity. This form of creativity must be common to at least two people or more. On the other hand, the scholars applied the terminology co-design to refer to joint creativity in the same form it applies in the entire process of design. However, this application comes in its narrower form. This paper takes the definition and application of co-design in its narrower sense that entails the collective cooperation in the process of design as opposed to the co-creation that constitutes among other processes the joint engagement in usage and service delivery as well. Experts from various backgrounds come together in co-design. They include among others designers, researchers, potential clients, developers, and users among many more. Users are also termed as experts because of their experience in using the services in the process of creative cooperation. Co-design pays special attention to users involved as well as customers engaged in the design process in addition to making experiences at the centre of the whole process. Service design constitutes the organizing and planning people, communication, infrastructure, as well as material elements of a service in this discourse. The aim of this is to enhance the quality of services, relationships between the customer and the provider besides their experiences. To comprehend and internalize two sides of a demand service requires co-design as a major contributor to service design appearing in various perspectives. One side of the perspective has the needs of clients and users and the other side is the supply side that entails process and technologies to create and build services that remain successful. It is common for the management of various organizations and business institutions that apply co-design to expect adequate delivery of precise advantages to help them attain specific goals. The benefits are many and vary across various aspects of the project including enhancing the loyalty of customers, minimizing costs, facilitating the wellbeing of people involved in the project, as well as organizing processes of innovation and creativity in an effective manner. By identifying such benefits, it is clear that organizations and business companies that apply co-design seek to benefit from benefits from diverse backgrounds. This discourse bases on different informal observations to pose speculations that at times fail even when applying co-design to express realistically and precisely benefits aimed achieving. The co-design can produce fewer benefits when the company mis-matches the projects goals and the advantages accrued from co-design. This is when compared to situations where people could identify the goals and followed by isolating the benefits expected from the process of co-design, then proceeding to align them to project activities. The same argument explains why this paper proposed identification of goals as the first major assignment by the people involved in the project. Service Design Projects As stated in this paper, business companies and organizations have huge expectations form using co-design in their planning and organization (Binder, 2008, p. 2). This includes among others generating advanced ways of defining services, enhancing the innovation and creativity processes within their organizations, effective organization of projects, maintaining the loyalty of customers. Co-design using people looking a bit elderly with aim of building their health care services is a good example of coming together with old people increases the development of better understanding of their needs and in the process develop and educate ideas for new forms of services. On the other hand, co-design with school going children to generate new concepts for New Telecom Services remains a perfect example of how it is possible to develop an out-of-box concept by arranging for workshops with children using co-design. The third best way to illustrate another form of cooperation entails a case where employees and the management engage in various activities to improve logistics services. In this case, cooperation with employees of service providers offered an imminent solution that entailed improving the way existing services in a company are defined. Other scholars hold that benefits provided by the co-design pay back these costs. However, it is always important to quantify the costs and benefits while operating from the commercial point of view. Nonetheless, risks associated with co-design make the process of quantifying these figures a necessity. The risks appear in two forms. Diminished control over the program forms the first type of risk. This develops because other departments, individuals, and organizations participate in the project implementation process. Roser and Samson (2009, p. 43) cover this vividly in their discussion of the effects of dependence on outside collaborators. Increasing complexity in the project constitutes the second risk. A real service is not available in the service design project as opposed to re-designing a current project. This of course explains the definition that once it is a designing process, then there is nothing tangible no wonder the fresh design. Clients cannot experience the advantages of co-design in the process of service delivery directly. They only come to enjoy and realize the benefits after completion of the project and commencement of usage. This comes out clearly in case of cooperating with elderly people to understand concepts in health care provision. The elderly people involved in the co-design of such a process will come to enjoy the benefits of the service in a way that matches their needs better later after the program is up and running. However, in the third example the benefits are almost immediate that the current systems must get new definitions in a more dynamic environment. Organizational benefits for the business company involved in the co-design process are many and varied. Such benefits are independent of the service design program. A case in point constitutes arranging and taking part in co-design plays a big role in helping a business institution to enhance the process of innovation and creativity as well as developing the same capacities. The second example identified in this paper acts as good example here. The process of co-design involved school going children with aim of generating new ideas that remains important and aimed at building a New Telecom Service provider. This project wanted to advance out-of-box creativity within the business company and beyond the limits of the project. Similarly, the third example also services to other benefits to the organization accruing from the process of applying co-design (Alam, 2002, p. 259). The project brought together employees from different departments albeit from the same organization. This in itself enhanced communication besides facilitating cooperation among the same team that works collectively to achieve company goals. Through that, many employees’ understood ways and benefits of conducting co-design. This followed the recommendations delivered immediately for immediate excitations. Workers left the meeting more enlightened and applying the same in future development projects. Important at this point however, is to mention that benefits identified in this case are similar those that accrue from using co-design within the service project design. This is different from the benefits that a company enjoys because of offering better services to clients and various stakeholders. It is important that service delivery should majorly aim at satisfying customers (Cottam, & Lead beater, 2004, p. 117) Co-design is essential in providing benefits to business organizations in the commercial endeavors as well as non-profit making institutions. For commercial business organizations, benefits accrue in the financial sectors and health care represent the non-profit making organizations. Benefits are different right from the wordings to the type of organization engaging in co-design processes. In terms of financial benefits, a person may identify increasing the number of clients, enhancing sales, minimizing costs, as well as maximizing profits. While considering advantages from the health care sector benefits include increasing the number of customers, improving the quality of services offered, and reducing charges to customers. In spite of the differences in wordings, this discourse holds that bottom line benefits are common across the board among them enhancing of services and the experiences of people for both non-profit organizations and those involved for commercial interests. Recommendations The author of discourse holds that improving co-design activities within the process of service design requires development of tools and mechanisms of monitoring in addition to assessing the level of realization of intended benefits. Having Key Performance Indicators and making follow-up activities to monitor their delivery is one of the suggestions. Among the suggestions in this category is the quantity of new concepts regarding services and products, value, originality, the capacity to achieve the ideas, duration o developing the concepts, required improvements, revenues, minimization of costs, market niche, level of profitability, expected duration of breaking-even, enhancement of customer loyalty, and client satisfaction among many more. This paper also recommends that professionals in this field should consider further research in the areas covering costs of the risk of the co-design and general expenditure. It is common knowledge that there are costs in all these endeavors. This comes in terms of labor, finances, and time. Other scholars hold that benefits provided by the co-design pay back these costs. However, it is always important to quantify the costs and benefits while operating from the commercial point of view. Nonetheless, risks associated with co-design make the process of quantifying these figures a necessity. The risks appear in two forms. Diminished control over the program forms the first type of risk. This develops because other departments, individuals, and organizations participate in the project implementation process. Roser and Samson (2009, p. 53) cover this vividly in their discussion of the effects of dependence on outside collaborators. Increasing complexity in the project constitutes the second risk. Various people engaged in the project come with different interests and objectives. For instance, the interests of sponsors is different the interest of the managers. It is important to balance the management of the groups and this may at times require additional coordination abilities. Costs involved in cording the extra efforts, bringing on board new management skills, as well as the diverse management styles applied. People taking part in co-design among them designers, researchers, managers, developers, among other stakeholders must take the responsibility of isolating the goals as desired before stetting the project rolling. Identification of the likely benefits should come immediately after this followed by aligning the same to the project activities. Aligning these goals and benefits to the projects would include choosing the appropriate co-design techniques and using the same in a manner that benefits the company maximally. In addition the stakeholders in the co-design must come up with ways of monitoring and assessing the level of success. This covers realizability of the benefits set at the start of the project. This should also include different means of tracking and checking costs involved and the risks. Conclusion This paper brought forth three forms of benefits that accrue from using co-design during the implementation of a service project. First, the benefits relating to the service design project. This includes effective and efficient organization of the company, creation of enhanced definitions of currents services, and developing the innovation and creative process. The second type of benefit related to the services to the user or the client. This centered on developing an appropriate balance between the need of the user and relative experience, as well as adequate satisfaction. The final part touched on the benefits that relate to the company directly. Attention to the customer, enhanced creativity within the organization, and increased motivation for innovation formed part of this major benefit. Co-design pays special attention to users involved as well as customers engaged in the design process in addition to making experiences at the centre of the whole process. Service design constitutes the organizing and planning people, communication, infrastructure, as well as material elements of a service in this discourse. The aim of this is to enhance the quality of services, relationships between the customer and the provider besides their experiences. To comprehend and internalize two sides of a demand service requires co-design as a major contributor to service design appearing in various perspectives. One side of the perspective has the needs of clients and users and the other side is the supply side that entails process and technologies to create and build services that remain successful. References Alam, I. (2002). An exploratory investigation of user involvement in new service development. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30 (3), 250-261. Binder, T. (2008). Editorial: Design participation (-s). Co-Design, 4(1), 1-3. Cottam, H., & Lead beater, C. (2004). Health: Co-creating services. London: Design Council. Roser, T., & Samson, A. (2009). Co-creation: New paths to value. London: Promise / LSE Enterprise Sanders, E., & Stappers, J. (2008). Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. Co-Design, 4 (1), 5-18. Read More