We may earn an affiliate commission when you visit our partners.
Patrick Bach (He/Him), Chelsea Omel (she/her), and Markus Grupp (he/him)

This is the course we wish we had when we started our Service Design careers.

Tools and frameworks alone won't make you a great Service Designer. Most Service Design happens within existing companies and organizations. By understanding the real challenges and barriers to putting Service Design into practice you will be better prepared for the reality of actually doing the work. This is one of the only courses that go beyond methodology alone to focus on how to apply Service Design in an organizational context.

This course includes:

Read more

This is the course we wish we had when we started our Service Design careers.

Tools and frameworks alone won't make you a great Service Designer. Most Service Design happens within existing companies and organizations. By understanding the real challenges and barriers to putting Service Design into practice you will be better prepared for the reality of actually doing the work. This is one of the only courses that go beyond methodology alone to focus on how to apply Service Design in an organizational context.

This course includes:

  • A comprehensive introduction to the Service Design process

  • 7+ hours of recorded content exploring a wide array of topics from Design, Stakeholder Management and Business Modelling

  • Recorded activities (we walk you through activity templates with pre-recorded facilitation)

  • A resource list to support your learning beyond this course

Learn from experienced industry professionals who have:

  • Established and scaled in-house Service Design teams in multiple companies across industries (Telecom, Insurance, Financial Services, Legal, and Retail)

  • Been recognized with the Service Design Global Network award

  • Been actively teaching and mentoring students and industry professionals in Service Design for 15+ years

  • Are regularly invited to speak at events, host workshops, and share their thoughts on the evolution and future of Service Design

At the end of this course, you will:

  • Become deeply familiar with the overall Service Design methodology and be confident in your ability to speak to it.

  • Have a meaningful understanding of key phases of work in Service Design: Research, Ideation, Prototyping, and how they fit together as a process

  • Know how to clearly communicate the value of Service Design

  • Appreciate the importance of stakeholder management and organizational context when practicing Service Design

  • Learn what core skills and specialized skills you need to develop in order to succeed at landing your first role or further progressing in your career as a Service Designer

Enroll now

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • An overview of the end-to-end service design process and methodology
  • Key considerations and practical tips for applying service design in an organizational context
  • The basics of qualitative customer research and synthesis
  • How to use lo-fi prototypes to validate concepts and ideas
  • Effective ideation techniques & facilitation
  • Stakeholder management for service design
  • The basics of developing journey maps, service blueprints and other artifacts
  • Business model canvas for service design
  • How to prepare for a job in service design

Syllabus

By the end of this section, you'll have a foundational understanding of what service design is all about and why organizations increasingly use it.
Read more

Welcome to the course! Here's a quick intro to your instructors.

A definition of what we mean when we say "service" (as opposed to a product) using a coffee shop as an example.

An introduction to the 5Ps (people, places, props, processes, and partners), which are the building blocks of any service.

The value of Service Design as an approach to developing great services.

The basics of the Service Design methodology.

A quick case study of how Service Design can be applied using a home insurance service as an example.

We answer commonly asked questions about Service Design.

By the end of this section, you'll have a foundational understanding of design research, how to set yourself up for successful research, and how to synthesize your findings into actionable insights.

The importance of creating a shared understanding and starting point for a Service Design project.

A brief introduction to qualitative research and how to best leverage it.

Key considerations for designing and planning qualitative research activities for a Service Design project including, setting research objectives, recruiting research participants, and deciding what types of research tools and activities to use.

A basic introduction to synthesizing the data and information collected through research.

An overview of how to write an actionable insight based on your synthesized research findings and data, including an introduction to the "How might we" statement.

We answer commonly asked questions.

By the end of this section, you'll understand what ideation is, and how to structure, plan for and facilitate an effective ideation session with a group of participants.

An introductory overview what ideation is.

A basic introduction to cognitive biases and system 1 and system 2 thinking--cognitive processes, which can impact how we come up with new ideas.

An overview of how we can structure ideation in order to generate more and better ideas.

Tips and considerations for how to plan an effective ideation session with a group of participants.

Practical tips for facilitating a group of participants during an ideation session.

A review of three basic frameworks for converging on a selection of priority ideas or concepts following an ideation session.

By the end of this section, you'll understand how service design fits into the broader business model and the relationship between service improvements and revenue/cost within the business model.
By the end of this section, you'll have an understanding of how to decide what to prototype, why it's a critical step in any service design project and how to structure your testing.

An overview and basic definition of prototyping.

A breakdown of why prototyping is a critical step in any Service Design project.

A few examples of the different kinds of interactions or touchpoints that can be prototyped.

A review of some of the most common and popular prototyping techniques.

An introduction to both qualitative and quantitative testing and hypothesis-based designs.

By the end of this section, you'll better undertand how to build and maintain strong relationships with critical people inside your organization in order to deliver the best possible service.

A breakdown of what trust is and how to build it with your stakeholders.

A useful tool and activity for better understanding your stakeholders' behaviours and needs.

An overview of four common stakeholder personas that we regularly encounter and how to best deal with each one.

By the end of this section, you'll understand journey maps and service blueprints as common service design artifacts, as well as key considerations when deciding on a format for maps and blueprints.

An overview of the role of mapping in a Service Design project.

A breakdown of what a Journey Map is and when to use it.

A step-by-step walkthrough of how to build a journey map and its key elements.

A breakdown of what a Service Blueprint is and when to use it.

Some considerations and advice about when to use what kind of map.

An overview of the elements that comprise a business model and why it is important to Service Design.

Introduction to a very useful and easy-to-use tool for framing a business model.

A step-by-step walkthrough of how to use the Business Model Canvas.

By the end of this section, you'll have a strong understanding of what kind of skill sets are required to be a great service designer as well as how to get started in the service design field.

An overview of the 5 "core" skills you'll need as a Service Designer.

A deep dive into other more specialized skills that a Service Design uses.

A description of the many organizations that employ Service Designers and the formal titles they hold.

An overview of how to tell your story and build a compelling portfolio.

Here are some various resources you'll need to broaden your perspective and continue your learning journey.

Build a (fake) research plan in real time.

Some helpful advice on landing that first job.

Map and unpack some (fake) stakeholders in real-time.

An example of an ideation warm-up activity.

An example of an ideation structure with some common tools.

A real-time walkthrough of how to build a Business Model Canvas.

Additional reading & resources

Save this course

Save Service Design for the Real World: A Practical Introduction to your list so you can find it easily later:
Save

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Service Design for the Real World: A Practical Introduction with these activities:
Review Design Thinking Principles
Reinforce foundational knowledge of design thinking principles to better understand the service design methodology.
Browse courses on Design Thinking
Show steps
  • Read articles and blog posts on design thinking.
  • Watch videos explaining the core concepts of design thinking.
  • Reflect on how design thinking applies to service design.
Follow Online Journey Mapping Tutorials
Refine journey mapping skills by following online tutorials and examples.
Show steps
  • Search for online tutorials on journey mapping.
  • Follow the steps in the tutorials to create a journey map.
  • Compare your journey map with the examples in the tutorials.
Read 'This is Service Design Doing'
Gain practical insights into service design methodologies and tools.
Show steps
  • Read the book chapter by chapter.
  • Take notes on key concepts and tools.
  • Reflect on how to apply the concepts to real-world projects.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Read 'Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days'
Learn a rapid prototyping and testing methodology to validate service design ideas quickly.
Show steps
  • Read the book and understand the sprint process.
  • Identify a service design challenge you want to address.
  • Adapt the sprint methodology to your service design project.
Create a Stakeholder Map for a Service
Practice stakeholder mapping to understand the relationships and needs of different stakeholders in a service.
Show steps
  • Select a service you want to analyze.
  • Identify all the stakeholders involved in the service.
  • Map the relationships and dependencies between stakeholders.
  • Analyze the needs and expectations of each stakeholder.
Service Blueprint a Local Business
Apply service blueprinting techniques to a real-world scenario to solidify understanding.
Show steps
  • Choose a local business with a service you can analyze.
  • Map out the customer journey and identify touchpoints.
  • Create a service blueprint that visualizes the service process.
  • Identify areas for improvement in the service design.
Design a Service Design Portfolio
Showcase your service design skills and projects in a professional portfolio.
Show steps
  • Select your best service design projects to include.
  • Write detailed case studies for each project.
  • Design a visually appealing and user-friendly portfolio website.
  • Get feedback on your portfolio from other designers.

Career center

Learners who complete Service Design for the Real World: A Practical Introduction will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Service Design for the Real World: A Practical Introduction.
Practical guide to implementing service design, covering the entire process from research to prototyping. It aligns perfectly with the course's focus on real-world application and provides actionable methods and tools. It serves as a comprehensive reference for service design practitioners and those looking to integrate service design into their organizations.
Outlines a structured process for rapid prototyping and testing, which aligns with the course's focus on prototyping and validation. It provides a practical framework for conducting design sprints. It is particularly useful for teams looking to quickly iterate on service concepts and gather user feedback.

Share

Help others find this course page by sharing it with your friends and followers:

Similar courses

Similar courses are unavailable at this time. Please try again later.
Our mission

OpenCourser helps millions of learners each year. People visit us to learn workspace skills, ace their exams, and nurture their curiosity.

Our extensive catalog contains over 50,000 courses and twice as many books. Browse by search, by topic, or even by career interests. We'll match you to the right resources quickly.

Find this site helpful? Tell a friend about us.

Affiliate disclosure

We're supported by our community of learners. When you purchase or subscribe to courses and programs or purchase books, we may earn a commission from our partners.

Your purchases help us maintain our catalog and keep our servers humming without ads.

Thank you for supporting OpenCourser.

© 2016 - 2025 OpenCourser