Beyond the touch points

The convergence of service

and experience design

UX Conference - Lugano 3/12/2009

Gianluca Brugnoli Ph.D.

Dipartimento INDACO

The connections between the parts

make the difference

What is a service?

What is an experience?

Are they different?

Service?

Experience?

Service A “solution” delivered

by a system made of

multiple touch points

and resources.

Experience The quality of the

user interaction with

a product or a

service.

Experience Service

What it is The quality of the user interaction

with a product or a service.

A “solution” delivered by a system

made of multiple touch points and

actors.

Key design goals Produce consistent, desirable or

required effects for the users of a

product or a service.

Improve the quality of the

interaction between the customers

and the suppliers of the service.

Make the “solution” better, in order

to fulfill various business or social

goals.

What has to be designed

The system which enables the

user experience.

Mainly digital.

The infrastructure which delivers

the service: the front-office.

Mainly real.

Key design approach User centered design. Customer centered design.

Focus on:

1. End users / customers / stakeholders of the system

2. Touch points of the system

3. The solution / result delivered or created by the system

The front stage

The stage of the user experience

Touch points

The back stage

The process organization and

features which deliver the service

Processes and organization

Fast food?

Slow food restaurant

Restaurant?

enterfind a table

order food

enjoy food pay exit

Restaurant

The restaurant script – adaptation from Schank, Abelson (1977)

Customer journeys comparison

loop

enterfind a table

order food

enjoy food pay exit

enterfind a table

order food

enjoy foodpay exit

Fast food

Restaurant

The restaurant script – adaptation from Schank, Abelson (1977)

Customer journeys comparison

loop

loop

enterfind a table

order food

enjoy food pay exit

enterfind a table

order food

enjoy foodpay exit

Fast food

Restaurant

The restaurant script – adaptation from Schank, Abelson (1977)

Customer journeys comparison

loop

loop

Services and experiences are mainly processes

They are actions networks based on a system

made up of many different touch points, which

flows through time and space following the

user’s activities, intentions and goals.

Beyond the touch points

The design tools are the same

Experience Service

System architecture processes and organization

User centered design

System touch points

Quality of

interactionMainly digital

Service solution

delivery Mainly real

Experience and service converge on systems

design levels

System touch pointsSystem touch points

The touch points are important as well is important how they are

connected within the interaction system.

Who defines this connections? In the digital world the connections

are created by the user.

Beyond the touch points

Designing the platform for the user experience

Many entry points are possible In the system there are many entry points where the user can initiate the

interaction, following context, situation and other needs and goals.

There is no one best way Interaction and task flow doesn’t always follow one single optimal

process, but is the combination of various partial and occasional actions

accomplished by the user with different tools in different context.

Design for connections In the system scenario, design is mainly focused on finding the

connections with the whole network, than in creating closed and self-

sufficient systems, tools and services.

Connections are social and cultural assets, other than technical.