Service design is not mostly convincing other people to do service design

It’s catchy. And many people feel that’s what they do. And you’ll be doing it a bit I don’t doubt.

If you’ve talked to a service designer over the last few years (or been one) you’ve probably heard some variation on that theme. That the job is mostly convincing other people to let them do their job.

It’s a good ear worm but it’s a bad brain worm.

Telling people that’s what the thing is is setting them up to fail. No one wants a methodological pedant who mostly preaches and rarely practices on a team.

No one wants to hear how they’re doing it all wrong by someone who appears to only say that.

If there’s something I’ve seen a lot of the last few years in the service design world, then it’s a lot of pedantry about what is or is not service design. Or how “these aren’t the true conditions” or this or that. And a lot of people trying to do good work spending too much time arguing about what it is rather than getting on with it. 

Lots of people following a “preaching and throwing rocks process” rather than getting their hands dirty. Spending time “evangelising” rather than just getting on.

If showing is powerful and telling less so, then it’s about showing how it works. Through doing it rather than talking about doing it. By helping combine various views and helping make better decisions based on that.

It’s done by helping teams visualise and talk about complex things. And be able to add their skill set and viewpoints into it.

It’s done by ensuring teams are held to account by the users actual expectations and experiences. And weaving those viewpoints into business and technical discussions.

Yes it’s hard. But it’s done by doing not telling.

Now people might say, yeah that’s what they meant. But is it what’s happening? If 90% of the work is advocating for service design it must be done by doing. And not preaching and explaining the theory.

If it really is just convincing other people of the approach then it’s a pyramid scheme not a path to better products and services. So it’s got to be mostly about facilitating and designing how services are offered.

Better products and services are made by getting stuck in. Not by disappearing and working on futures that’ll never happen. Or by preaching a set of conditions to do work that’ll never materialise.

Service design starts in the stony rubbish. That’s where things take root. Not in a perfect world where things are cultivated and manicured.

No service design is not mostly convincing other people to do service design. It’s by using tools and techniques to make services and products better. Designing services together. Not preaching about the conditions or what jobs are called.