1. You need to design the right thing before you can design the thing right.
User research, spending time exploring and understanding your service user’s needs and difficulties, is the only way to create a solution that works for them. Without the right research you won’t solve the right problem and you’ll waste time and money implementing something that doesn’t quite work.
2. Numbers tell us that change is needed, stories tell us why we need that change.
Quantitative data tells us that something is or isn’t working well or how many people are affected by a problem – what’s going on. Qualitative data tells us what effect that this has on someone’s life and how it makes them feel – the why.
Understanding the stories behind the data lets us get into the shoes of the people we design services for. But it also helps us to show to decision-makers the importance of making changes and of co-designing services with the people who use and deliver them.
You can use a journey map to plot someone’s actions and feelings and tell their story through a service journey. You’ll also find some housing examples in this SFHA resource.
3. Learn from what exists already.
What are your favourite services to use? Maybe you love the simplicity of building flatpack furniture after a plate of delicious meatballs (or veggie balls). Maybe you like that you don’t need to have cash on you to make a taxi journey. Maybe you love ordering something online and it turning up quickly and when you’ve been told it will.
We recognise immediately what these services are and the characteristic that delight us. Our customers use these services too so they set the bar for expected standards. Think about what makes these a pleasure to use and how you can apply that to your own service. You can use the Rip and Mix tool (video and resources) to experiment with this idea.
4. User experience should not be impeded by rules, policies or regulations.
Find out what your service users need first, then work out how to do it, no buts. If a rule or internal policy is stopping you do the right thing for your customer, question it. If it is regulation or law find a way to work with it and still deliver for the customer.
Customer needs and experience aren’t an added layer on top, it should be the starting point guiding your policy and practices.
5. Nothing for me without me
“Treat others as you would like to be treated,” is a great starting point. Respect, care and kindness can all come from this place. But what about when people don’t want to be treated like you would like to be?
Diversity of need, background and experience means that what works for one person may not work for another. The best services consider a wide range of groups and intersections. You can use this persona tool, Cards for Humanity, to start to think about your services in this way. This handy Little Book of Design Research Ethics from Ideo is also a great resource when carrying out research.
Ultimately the best approach is inclusion; to invite a range of service users around the table to meaningfully participate, and co-design their services, in a way they find comfortable. Here lies real tenant engagement and empowerment.
Do you want to chat about service design?
Sarah is Design Co-ordinator at Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. She is responsible for design outputs across the SFHA brand including campaigns, member resources, SFHA Live! and Housing Scotland Magazine.
Though not a ‘service design expert’, Sarah is a ‘service design enthusiast’ and would be happy to chat to, and where possible support, SFHA members in using service design within their organisations. She is currently completing a Professional Development Award in Service Design.
Could you participate in SFHA’s design research?
SFHA is currently seeking member input on how it engages with members online. If you could spare 30 minutes to chat about your general experiences of online engagement or if you would be interested in participating in an online co-design workshop on this topic, please get in touch.
Included in this article are resources from:
