Service Blueprints. Complexity made simple.
A service blueprint is a diagram that illustrates the interactions between various service elements within a customer journey. It extends beyond customer journey maps to include complex, multi-channel, and cross-functional services. Each blueprint corresponds to specific customer journeys and associated user goals, allowing for multiple blueprints for different scenarios within the same service.
Definition: A service blueprint visualizes relationships between service components—people, props, and processes—directly linked to touchpoints in a customer journey. It's particularly useful for complex scenarios involving multiple touchpoints or requiring cross-functional coordination.
Service blueprints are a tool used in service design, but very well applied by Product teams. It allows visualization and optimization of the processes involved in delivering products and services with great user experiences. Teams can identify inefficiencies, streamline operations, and improve both employee and customer experiences.
Why a Service Blueprint? They look so complex...
Service blueprints offer a comprehensive understanding of a product or service and its underlying resources and processes, both visible and invisible to the user.
Blueprints offer a holistic view of service delivery, making them strategic tools for planning and decision-making. They help you align on goals, identify improvement areas, and prioritize initiatives based on their overall service impact.
Key Elements of a Service Blueprint
Customer Actions: Steps and interactions customers perform to achieve their goals
Frontstage Actions: Visible actions performed by employees or technology interacting directly with the customer.
Backstage Actions: Activities occurring behind the scenes to support frontstage actions.
Processes: Internal steps and interactions supporting service delivery.
Lines: Visual separators distinguishing different interaction levels.
Evidence: Props and places are part of the service experience.
Service-Blueprinting is done via Workshops, not alone.
Service-blueprinting workshops require planning and hands-on facilitation. These workshops help organizations form a shared language and understanding of the experiences they provide. Additionally, the process of creating service blueprints forces holistic thinking and informs project planning. Service blueprints often have the greatest impact when created collaboratively.