Service Blueprint

Service Blueprint
• Service blueprint is a picture or map that accurately
portrays the service system so that different people
involved in providing it can understand and deal with it
objectively regardless of their individual point of view .
• Particularly useful at design and redesign stages of
service development.
• It provides a way to break the service into logical
components and to depict the steps or tasks in the
processes, the means by which they are executed and
evidence of the service as consumer experiences it.
• Service blueprint is a visual representation
or diagram that provides a detailed and
structured overview of a service from
both a customer's perspective and an
operational perspective. It is a tool used in
service design and service management to
analyze, design, and document services,
helping organizations understand the
various components, processes, and
interactions that make up a service.
• A typical service blueprint includes the following elements:
• Customer Actions: This represents the steps or actions taken by the customer when
interacting with the service. These actions are usually depicted in a linear sequence.
• Frontstage: This layer represents everything that is visible and directly experienced
by the customer. It includes touchpoints like websites, mobile apps, physical
locations, customer service representatives, and any other elements the customer
interacts with.
• Backstage: This layer illustrates the behind-the-scenes processes and activities
required to deliver the service. It includes things like data processing, order
fulfillment, inventory management, and employee tasks.
• Support Processes: These are processes that support the core service but are not
directly visible to the customer. They can include things like training, maintenance,
quality control, and resource allocation.
• Customer Touchpoints: These are points of contact or interaction between the
customer and the service. They could be physical (e.g., a store) or digital (e.g., a
website) and may include customer service representatives, self-service kiosks, and
more.
• Service Flow: Arrows and lines connecting the various elements in the blueprint
indicate the flow of actions, information, and resources between different
components. This helps visualize how the service is delivered and where potential
bottlenecks or issues may arise.
• Timeframes: Service blueprints often include a timeline or chronology to show the
sequence of events and how long each step takes.
Service Mapping/Blueprinting
A tool for simultaneously depicting the service
process, the points of customer contact, and the
evidence of service from the customer’s point of
view.

Process

Service Points of Contact

Mappin
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Blueprint components
• Customer actions: it includes steps, choices,
activities and interactions that customer performs
in the process of purchasing, consuming and
evaluating the service
• Onstage employee actions: steps and activities that
the contact employees performs that are visible to
the customer.
• Backstage employee actions: steps and activities
that occur behind the scene to support onstage
activities.
Blueprint components
• Support processes: covers the internal services,
steps and interactions that take place to support
the contact employees in delivering the service.
Service blueprints importance
• Understanding: They provide a clear and visual
representation of how a service functions, making it
easier to understand and analyze.
• Improvement: They help identify areas for
improvement, such as bottlenecks, inefficiencies, or
pain points in the customer journey.
• Communication: They serve as a communication tool,
allowing teams and stakeholders to have a shared
understanding of the service.
• Innovation: They can be used to brainstorm and design
new services or service enhancements.
• Training: They aid in training employees by showing
them the full scope of their roles in delivering a service.
• Service Blueprint for Uber Eats
• Customer Actions:
• Customer opens the Uber Eats mobile app.
• Customer browses restaurant listings and menus.
• Customer selects items to order.
• Customer adds items to the cart.
• Customer proceeds to checkout.
• Customer pays for the order.
• Customer tracks the delivery in real-time.
• Customer receives the order at their location.
• Frontstage:
• Uber Eats mobile app (user interface).
• Restaurant listings and menus.
• Cart and checkout interface.
• Payment processing interface.
• Real-time order tracking.
• Backstage:
• Uber Eats server infrastructure.
• Restaurant kitchens.
• Couriers/drivers.
• Payment processing systems.
• Customer support and help center.
• Support Processes:
• Onboarding and verification of partner restaurants.
• Courier onboarding and training.
• Quality control and food safety checks.
• Technical maintenance and updates of the mobile
app.
• Marketing and promotions.
• Customer Touchpoints:
• In-app chat support for customer inquiries.
• Restaurant customer service (for food quality issues).
• Courier/driver contact (for delivery-related queries).
• Ratings and reviews for restaurants and couriers.
• Service Flow:
• Customer opens the Uber Eats app and selects a restaurant.
• The app communicates with the restaurant to process the
order.
• The customer adds items to the cart and checks out.
• Payment is processed securely through the app.
• The order is sent to the chosen restaurant.
• A courier is dispatched to pick up the order.
• The customer can track the courier's location in real-time.
• The courier delivers the order to the customer's location.
• Timeframes:
• Ordering and payment: 5-10 minutes.
• Order preparation and dispatch: 15-30 minutes (varies by
restaurant).
• Delivery time: 20-45 minutes (varies by location and traffic).
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Application of Service Blueprints

• New Service Development

• concept development
• market testing
• Supporting a “Zero Defects” Culture
• managing reliability
• identifying empowerment issues
• Service Recovery Strategies
• identifying service problems
• conducting root cause analysis
• modifying processes
 Blueprints Can Be Used By:
• Service Marketers
• creating realistic customer
expectations
• service system design
• promotion
• Operations Management
• rendering the service as
promised
• managing fail points
• training systems
• quality control
• Human Resources
• empowering the human
element
• job descriptions
• selection criteria
• appraisal systems
• System Technology
• providing necessary tools:
• system specifications
• personal preference databases