Measuring for Sustainability: Friend or Foe?

May 9, 2022

Harmonic service designers Leah Berg and Shreya Dhawan look at how to measure sustainability in a new service experience in their published article “Measuring for Sustainability: Friend or Foe?” in Touchpoint, the leading journal for service design published by the Service Design Network.

The paper highlights how to evaluate the effectiveness of combining qualitative and quantitative measures for scaling a new service from pilot to launch. Using a test-and-learn approach, Leah and Shreya created a framework that helps stakeholders think holistically about measuring the success of a service experience through multiple lenses. 

Their methodology included identifying quantitative and qualitative measures across desirability, viability, and feasibility lenses and then zooming into a 10,000-foot view of a service blueprint to determine what parts of the new service experience would be most impactful to test in the pilot study. Using these measures, they explored research methods like shadowing, observation, intercepts, informal interviews, etc., to capture metrics like partnership performance, timing, accuracy, and customer satisfaction.

Using tools like service blueprinting and service origami, they mapped the new service flow through the lens of sustainability and circularity. These tools demonstrate where and how one could infuse sustainability into a traditional balanced breakthrough model. By looking across measures that map desirability, viability, feasibility, and the introduction of sustainability, they could holistically capture the impact of this new service experience early in the process. We will provide recommendations on how service designers can approach a problem space and help stakeholders see value in incorporating circularity in their service systems. 

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Diagram via Touchpoint Vol. 13 No. 1 – Measuring Service Experiences,

Harmonic X Service Design Network

Harmonic Design is proud of our affiliation with the Service Design Network. Our team members have helped start a service design chapter in Atlanta, given a keynote at the global conference, mentored at the Service Design Jam, and been published in Touchpoint, the service design world’s leading journal.

The article is part of Touchpoint Vol. 13 No. 1 – Measuring Service Experiences, Touchpoint, the Journal of Service Design is published by the Service Design Network and is available to purchase in print and PDF format at wwww.service-design-network.org/touchpoint.

touchpoint vol13 no1

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