Introduction to Service Design and Management (Spring 2025)

Abstract

The course offers a comprehensive exploration of service design and management, equipping students with essential processes, fundamental principles, methods, and tools. The course centers on the strategic design and management of services, incorporating digital components and applying expertise from various service design and management disciplines. Through lectures, in-depth case studies, and interactive hands-on exercises, students explore the characteristics and dynamics of 'service' and 'service ecosystems.' This course enhances students understanding of how services can be designed, efficiently managed, and thoughtfully implemented to deliver substantial value to users, service providers, and other stakeholders.

Description

The course educates professionals capable of leading and managing intricate digital service design processes across various phases of digital transformation in public, private, and non-profit sectors, as well as within complex networks of stakeholders. Students develop expertise in service thinking, service design methods, and tools, enabling them to apply these skills in diverse and dynamic service environments. Additionally, students learn how to initiate and facilitate collaborative processes effectively. The curriculum covers essential topics related to digitalisation of services, including service innovation, value co-creation, specific service design methods and tools, and tailored design management approaches applicable to service design projects.

Formal prerequisites

The course builds upon knowledge from the courses of the 1st semester of the DIM and KDDIT programs and students should have completed those courses or obtained similar knowledge elsewhere.

Intended learning outcomes

After the course, the student should be able to:

• Account for and apply basic Service Design and Service Management vocabulary, theories, methods, and tools.
• Recognize and analyze essential characteristics of services and service ecosystems and their stakeholders.
• Identify and apply appropriate service design and management methods and tools to approach and resolve problems in varying service settings and diverse organizations.
• Design and evaluate services using a suitable variety of service design methods and tools.
• Analyse and communicate complex and dynamic service environments and their parts using visuals, e.g., maps and diagrams.
• Develop and facilitate collaborative action in context of a service environment.
• Reflect on the complex and dynamic service environments and their parts considering the presented theories, methods and tools.

Ordinary exam

Exam type:
D: Submission of written work with following oral, External (7-point scale)
Exam variation:
D2G: Submission for groups with following oral exam supplemented by the submission. Shared responsibility for the report.