Culture change
Adopting a service design-led approach to our improvement activities requires a culture change in how we do things.
To begin with, you may find this way of thinking unfamiliar, even challenging, especially if you are used to having control over what you do.
Part of the ethos that underpins service design is:
- Engagement will take place with multiple stakeholders.
- Multiple perspectives will be captured in the course of the service design journey.
Therefore, most of the tools in this toolkit are meant to be used in a collaborative environment.
Participants in the service design process work together to identify problems and solutions. As such, many tools require group working and consensus to be agreed. Most of the tools can be used either face-to-face or online.
Skills needed within your service design team
Ensuring the following skills are covered by members of your service design team will increase the chances of your service design activity reaching a successful outcome:
- Skills in research techniques, including question design for surveys and interviewing, and data analysis.
- Facilitation techniques and other individual and group interviewing skills.
- Project and change management skills.
The tools included in this resource will be most effective where they are used by people with the skills and knowledge mentioned above.
Engagement activity
When carrying out engagement activity, you should bear in mind the good practices set out in:
- National Standards for Community Engagement. (nd) What are the National Standards for Community and who are they for? Available at: voicescotland.org.uk (Accessed: 15 December 2023).
- Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland. (2023) 7 Golden rules for participation. Available at: cypcs.org.uk (Accessed 15 December 2023).
- Used in Education and Children and Families.
Shared learning
Sharing your experiences with the rest of the organisation helps us all learn. To this end, after you have carried out your service design activity, you should:
- Consider submitting a case study for inclusion in this resource.
- Share your experiences and lessons learned.
- What worked well?
- What pitfalls can you help others to avoid and how did you overcome them?