Service Design

Course Instructor
Dr. Ajith Tom James
 Nature of Services
• Service refers to an act, something that is done to or for
a customer (client, patient, etc.).
• In manufacturing, production and delivery are usually
separated in time, services are usually created and
delivered simultaneously.
• It is provided by a service delivery system, which
includes the facilities, processes, and skills needed to
provide the service.
 Nature of Services
• Many services are not pure services, but part of a product
bundle-the combination of goods and services provided to a
customer.
• The service component in products is increasing.
• The ability to create and deliver reliable customer-oriented
service is often a key competitive differentiator.
• Successful companies combine customer -oriented service with
their products.
Difference of Service from Manufacturing

• In service,the process itself is product

• Service operations lacks legal protection
• Service package is a major offering
• Services may demand certification/training of
employees
• Service organizations can change their service
offerings in short notice
Service Triangle
We cannot inventory services
Why?
 Overview of Service Design
• Service design begins with the choice of a service strategy, which

determines the nature and focus of the service, and the target

market.

• This requires an assessment by top management of the potential

market and profitability (or need, in the case of a nonprofit

organization) of a particular service, and an assessment of the

organization’s ability to provide the service.

 Overview of Service Design
• Once decisions on the focus of the service and the target
market have been made, the customer requirements and
expectations of the target market must be determined.

• Two key issues in service design are the degree of

variation in service requirements and the degree of

customer contact and customer involvement in the

delivery system.
 Customer Contact
• Customer contact refers to the physical presence of the customer

in the system

• Extent of contact here may be roughly defined as the percentage

of time the customer must be in the system relative to the total

time it takes to perform the customer service.

• Greater the percentage of contact time between the service

system and the customer, the greater the degree of interaction

between the two during the production process.

 High Customer Contact
• High customer contact generally mean the service must be highly
customized
• Difficult to control
• Difficult to rationalize
• Customer can affect the time of demand, the exact nature of the
service, and the quality, or perceived quality, of service.
• Tremendous diversity of customer influence and, hence, system
variability
• The greater the degree of customer contact, the greater the
opportunities for selling
 Low Customer Contact

o The lower the degree of customer contact and service

requirement variability, the more standardized the service can

be.

o Tremendous diversity of customer influence and, hence, system

variability
Service System Design Matrix
Characteristics of Workers, Operations, and Innovations
Relative to the Degree of service contract
 Service Blueprinting

❑A useful tool for conceptualizing a service delivery

system is the service blueprint,
❑This is a method for describing and analyzing a service
process.
❑A service blueprint shows the basic customer and service
actions involved in a service operation
 Poka –Yoke
or
Mistake Proofing
❑Originated by Shigeo Shingo in Japan
❑ Errors occurred, not because employees were
incompetent, but because of interruptions in
routine or lapses in attention.
❑Poka-yoke methods use checklists or manual
devices that do not let the employee make a
mistake.
❑Service errors can originate from both the server
and the customer. Poka-yoke methods therefore
should address both sources
 Fail Safing-Mistake Proofing
❑Small mistakes can often lead to huge problems in the
service industry, and it’s critical to maintain a high level
of quality and attention to detail with every client.
❑Poka-yoke is a methodology to prevent mistakes
Poka –Yoke Check List for Professional Training Service