Services Design Techniques:Services Blueprint

Polina Baranova

Derbyshire Business School

Services Definitions

‘Any activity or benefit that one party can

offer to another, which is essentially

intangible and does not result in the

ownership of anything’ Philip Kotler 2004

‘Services can be bought and sold, but cannot be dropped on your foot’(!) Gummesson 1987

Services

• are largely intangible• have benefits• are perishable (time and place dependent)

– cannot be stored or transported• are inseparable from the service provider• are often inconsistent or variable in quality

– especially personal services eg hairdressing• cannot be owned

What is a 'Process'?

• 'If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.'

W E Deming

• '… a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end.'

The New OXFORD Dictionary of ENGLISH (1998)

Process Types in Services, Silvestro et al 1992

•EquipmentEquipment•Contact timeContact time

•CustomisationCustomisation•DiscretionDiscretion

•Back OfficeBack Office•OrientatedOrientated

LowLow VolumeVolume(Number of customers processed (Number of customers processed

per day)per day)

ProfessionaProfessionall

Service Service ShopsShops

MassMass

LowLow HighHigh

HighHigh•PeoplePeople

•Contact timeContact time•CustomisationCustomisation

•DiscretionDiscretion•Front Office OrientatedFront Office Orientated

MediumMedium•People/EquipmentPeople/Equipment

•Contact timeContact time•CustomisationCustomisation

•DiscretionDiscretion•Front Office/Back Front Office/Back

OfficeOffice•OrientatedOrientated

Var

iety

Var

iety

Definition of a service ‘process’

‘The actual procedures, mechanisms, and flow of activities by which the service is delivered – the service delivery and operating systems’

(Zeithaml, Bitner & Gremler, 2006)

Process mapping: Flow Charting

Actually map what tasks are happening to determine the flow of the process

Operation, Task or activity

Movement – people, materials, information

Inspection

Delay or pause in the process

Storage

Receptionist fills out work order xWork order placed in ‘waiting job’ box xJob picked up by Operator and read xJob taken to copying machine xOperator waits for his turn on machine xOperator loads paper xOperator sets machine xOperator performs the copying xOperator inspects the copying xJob taken to Cashier xJob waits its turn for processing xCashier raises Invoice xCashier takes payment xCashier packages the job x

Flow Chart

Accounting

PRINTING DEPT

COLLATING DEPT

GLUING, BINDING, STAPLING, LABELING

POLYWRAP DEPT

SHIPPING

Vendors

Receiving

Warehouse

Purchasing

PREPRESS DEPT

Process Flow DiagramSource: Heizer J., Render B., (2006) Operations Management, 8th edition, p257

Customer

Customer sales representative

Information flowInformation flowMaterial flowMaterial flow

Blueprinting• Design of the services• More sophisticated version of flowcharting:

– Flowcharting – existing processes;– Blueprinting – grater detail of service design from the customer

point of view:• Main Stages in customer journey through the service process;• Definition of standards for each front-stage activity;• Physical and other evidence of front-stage activity;• Principal front-stage participants;• Line of visibility;• Back-stage actions;• Support processes involving other service personnel;• Support services involving information technology.

Blueprinting

A visual representation of a service process showing:– Principle

functions– Timing and

sequencing– Participants

involved– “Line of

visibility”– Tolerance

levels– Feedback

loops

Developing a Blueprint

• Identify key activities in creating and delivering service

• Define “big picture” before “drilling down” to obtain a higher level of detail

• Distinguish between “front stage” and “back stage”

• Clarify interactions between customers and staff, and support by backstage activities and systems

• Identify potential fail points; take preventive measures; prepare contingency

• Develop standards for execution of each activity— times for task completion, maximum wait times, and scripts to guide interactions between employees and customers

Advantages of Blueprinting

• Blueprint differentiates between what customers experience “front stage and the activities of employees and support process “backstage”;

• Blueprint shows how customers and employees interact;

• Blueprint highlights possible fail points in the process;

• It highlights the areas of excessive wait;

• More in-depth analysis of service encounter – crucial stage of service process redesign.

Identifying Fail Points

• High risk areas in service delivery where things could go wrong;• Errors include:

– Treatment errors—human failures during contact with customer• e.g. lack of courteous or professional behavior, failure to

acknowledge, listen to, or react appropriately to the customer • Areas of excessive wait – could annoy customers and lead to

negative customer experience

– Tangible errors—failures in physical elements of service• e.g. noise pollution, improper standards for cleaning of

facilities and uniforms, equipment breakdown

• Aim of fail-safe procedures is to prevent errors

• Areas of wait – reducing an opportunity for excessive wait

F

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