Lab+9

 Design thinking is a new mindset within the service design field. The overall customer experience is the primary concern for organizations, which is why the trend of firms is shifting from just products to additional services. Methods of design differ between the product/service aspects even though they both hope to achieve the same goal. Design thinking in the service field emphasizes on the culture or customs of the target market. Corporations desire to manifest an ideology of a ‘journey’ by using a ‘customer journey map’ to outline customer’s opinions and thought process. The firm uses the perspective of the clients to improve upon their tactics to satisfy customer needs. When a company ‘empathizes’ with the company needs it is easier to identify the customer concerns, correct the design errors and further progress to a better overall solution.  In addition, ‘service blueprinting’ uses distinctive components such as time and logical sequences of the actions and processes. The designer’s task is to illustrate out the actions and situations that may arise within a particular time period to prevent user difficulties. By using the ‘participatory’ design method, the designer is accompanied by the user. This is quite beneficial because the user identifies their needs and concerns while the designing process is going on so that corrections are made at the early stages.   **From your personal experience, what would be a scenario in which these methods would be useful? (2 paragraphs)**  These methods would be useful within the auto-industry. Simple design errors that one finds when purchasing their new vehicle are quite frustrating. Cutting costs in the obvious areas are a way of making the consumer feel as though they are not getting their money’s worth. Simple features that make a vehicle easier to use should be used in order to generate better customer satisfaction. Using customer ‘participatory’ design methods one would tell the automaker that the over use of plastic and cheaply assembled components are not good for their business. When objects on the dash are loose the user loses confidence in the product. If the visible parts are loose, it makes the user question the safety of the product, a vital part in the automobile industry.
 * According to the slideshow by Sylvain Cottong, who is an employee at [|http://www.integratedplace.com], describe the tools and methods of 'service design.**