The Blueprint as a map: Designing better data services with service blueprinting
Touchpoints•Email
•Website
•Chat/IM
•StaffPages
•OfficeHours/OpenTutoringHours
•Brochures&Pamphlets
•mLab
•LibraryClassroom
•Reference,Circulation,&HelpDesks
Preliminary Findings
Similarities•Staffmembershavesimilarservicephilosophies,yetthinktheydon’t
•“It’simportanttomeetthemwheretheyare”
•“Itrytoempowerthemthrougheducation”
•“Don’twastetheirtime”
•“Everyinteractionisanopportunityforteaching
•Allstaffmembersrecognizedinevitabilityofcross-overincover-age
Pain Points•Non-librariansdon’tunderstandlibraryprocessorliaisonstructure(“overlybureaucratic,”“political”)
•Nooneknows:“whereistheline?”
•Communicationduringinteractions/research-nooneknowswhatothersareupto
•Scheduling-alldepartmentsondifferentschedules,studentsmustemailbackandforthwithstafftoschedule
•Follow-up:hardtoknowwhensendingstudentsomewhereelseiftheyactuallyfollowthrough
start!
Reconvene with user, show process & tool, explain/instruct in WHY, run trial(s) with user to judge efficacy.!
Staff goes to outside resources (e.g. network, web forums, documentation) to find possible solutions.!
!Appt. – !Further Discussion, Sketching out solutions, investigating needs!
!!Email to set up appt. & get details – back and forth!
!!First Meeting – Informal Discussion!
More Contact Needed?!
end!
Yes!
No!
Instruc(onal Technology Basic Process
start!
!!Email student with information and HOW/WHY of search.!
!Staff goes to outside resources (e.g. network, library databases, colleauges) to find possible solutions.!
!Appt. – !Further discussion, reference interview, setting priorities and assessing needs!
!!Email to set up appt. & get details – back and forth!
!!!Email from student!
!Appt. Needed?!
end!
Yes!
No!
Library Reference Basic Process start!
!Appt. – !Further Discussion, Sketching out solutions, investigating needs!
!!Set up appointment to meet – using YouCanBookMe!
!!Contact with student (email, in person after workshop)!
More Contact Needed?!
end!
Yes!
No!
Academic Support Services Basic Process
Key!
• Beginning & End!!• Process Step!!• Decision Point!!• Pain Point!
Code of Conduct
•Opentonewideas,tools,andprocesses
•Donot“playdevil’sadvocate”(Kelley&Litt-man,2005)
•Playtheroleof“theanthropologist”asmuchaspossible(Kelley&Littman,2005)
•Practiceandincreaseempathyforusers
Interviews
•FebruaryandMarchof2013
•13open-endedquestions,1hour
•AllstaffmembersacrossthethreeDataServic-esdepartments
•Questionsconcernedtheirprocesses,toolus-age,andtheirphilosophyandfeelingsabouttheirservices.
•Activity:sketchouttheprocessyoutookdur-ingarecentinteractionwithastudent(or,inonecase,afacultymember)
Affinity Clustering (in process)
Blueprinting (in process)
•Takesintoaccountallservicetouchpoints
•Tracesboththepatron’sjourneythroughaserviceexperienceand thestaffactivitiesthatmakethispossible
•Bothvisibleandinvisibleactivitiesrepresented
•Painpoints(sourcesoffrustration)identified
•Morepatron-focusedthanProcessDiagrams(seebelow)
Background
On Data Services at Reed
In2013,ReedCollegebroughttogethersupportstafffromthelibrary,instructionaltechnology,andacademicsupportdepart-mentstobettersupportdata-intensivecoursesforstudents,aswellasdata-intensivefacultyandstudentresearch.Whilethesethreedepartmentshaveworkedtogetherinthepast,thisisoneofthemostwide-rangingcollaborationstheyhaveengagedin.Thethreedepartmentshavedifferentorganizationalstructures,cultures,processes,tools,andlocations.Bridgingthesegapstopresentunifiedservicesandsupportisdifficultbutnecessary.
On Service Design & Blueprinting
Servicedesignisanimportantconsiderationformanybusi-nesses,butisespeciallyimportantforinformationandtechnol-ogycenters,astheirserviceshavebroadimpactswithlittletonophysicalform.Inparticular,academicinformationandtech-nologycentershaveoftengrowntheirservicesinspurtslargelydependantonfundingaswellaschangingfacultyandstudentneeds.Thisgrowthpattern,combinedwiththedecentralizednatureofmanyacademicsupportdepartments,hasledadhocandoftendifficulttovisualize(anddiscuss)servicedesign.Byhelpingtovisualizealargelyexperientialprocess,serviceblue-printing(Shostack,1984andBitner,Ostrom,&Morgan,2008,amongothers)canalsoprovideinsightintobestpracticesforcollaborationamongdifferentunits--seeinghowtheirservic-esmapoutcanallowserviceproviderstheopportunitytoseewheretheirdifferentworkflowsandprocesscanbestfittogeth-er,andwhatareashavethepotentialtocauseconflictorfailure,beforetryingtofittwodifferentorganizationsintothesamemold.
Whileethnographicresearchanduser-centereddesignhavegainedafootholdinacademicsupportservices,theseapproach-esoftenaredirectedatphysicalspacesorproductsonly,andneglectthe“service”componentoftheexperience,whichcanoftenhaveasgreataneffectonusersatisfactionandrepeateduseasthemorephysicalmanifestationsofaservice.Moreho-listicapproaches,whichtakeintoaccountbothphysicalandexperientialaspectsofaninteraction,canincreasepositiveout-comesandsatisfactionforusers,whilealsoeasingfrustrationsandminimizinginefficienciesforstaff.
References•Bitner,M.J.,Ostrom,A.L.,&Morgan,F.N.(2008).ServiceBlue-printing:APracticalTechniqueforServiceInnovation.CaliforniaManagementReview,50(3),66–94.
•Kelley,T.&Littman,J.(2005).TheTenFacesofInnovation:IDEO’sStrategiesforBeatingtheDevil’sAdvocate&DrivingCreativityThroughoutYourOrganization.NewYork:Currency/Doubleday.
•Madsbjerg,C.,&Rasmussen,M.B.(2014).AnAnthropologistWalksintoaBar...HarvardBusinessReview,92(3),80–88.
•Shostack,G.L.(1982).HowtoDesignaService.EuropeanJournalofMarketing,16(1),49–63.
•Shostack,G.L.(1984).DesigningServicesthatDeliver.HarvardBusinessReview,62(1),133–139.
•Stickdorn,M.&Schneider,J.(2011).ThisisServiceDesignThink-ing:Basics,Tools,Cases.Hoboken,N.J:Wiley.
•Tripp,C.(2013).NoEmpathy–NoService.DesignManagementRe-view,24(3),58–64.
Further Steps•Open-endedinterviewswithstudents(possibleSummer2014)•Affinityclusteringasagroupactivity(Spring2014)•Toolevaluation&comparativebenchmarking(withotherDataServicesteams)•“ADayintheLife”sessions-staffteachesstaff•Finishingserviceblueprint-groupactivity•Groupoutreachactivities-increasecohesivenessofcommunication•Furtherimplementation?
Methodology & Activities
Ryan Clement | Data Services Librarian
Reed College, Portland OR
Research Data Access & Preservation Summit 2014March 26-28 | San Diego, CA
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