Service design is about understanding and addressing the real needs of people: developing solutions that are not only effective but also come from empathy, equity and inclusion. By focusing on the human experience, service design helps to build skills, confidence, and community cohesion, proving that its principles are as valuable in the living room as they are in the boardroom.
Being part of Dundee & Angus College means that our service design training and education is there to support corporate strategy and development and to make an impact on local communities around us.
The work we supported in Linlathen, Dundee is a great example of this, demonstrating how service design can empower families facing education and employment challenges to support resilience and collaboration. This approach not only addressed immediate needs for local people but also sowed the seeds for sustainable change to make families lives better.
Background
The Dundee Pathfinder is a collaborative initiative between the Scottish Government, Dundee City Council (DCC), the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), and Social Security Scotland. This partnership aims to tackle child poverty through a holistic, community-based approach. Dundee was chosen as a pathfinder area to test systemic changes by bringing together local partners to overcome barriers and efficiently use resources tailored to the individual needs of families.
Value of Service Design
The Service Design Academy (SDA) was engaged by the Dundee Pathfinder team to apply the Scottish Approach to Service Design (SAtSD). The aim was to create services centred around the needs of families rather than the organisational structure of the service providers. This approach helped to uncover innovative solutions, provide a supportive environment for reflection, and identify opportunities for scaling the initiative to other areas.
Community Engagement
In addition to the work undertaken by SDA, Dundee & Angus College Learner and Community Engagement team (LACE team) was also a key part of the Pathfinder project by employing a whole family learning model to facilitate cross-generational impact. To fully understand the needs of the community, the LACE team embedded themselves in the Linlathen Hub and the Community Food Larder, gaining invaluable understanding of the lived experiences and insights into community perspectives. Through these conversations, the team were able to understand the residents’ needs and co-design learning opportunities to achieve the biggest impact. The learning opportunities offered were a direct result of working with the community to meet their needs and aspirations.
Key participants included representatives from Dundee City Council, DWP, Social Security Scotland, Enable Brooksbank Centre, Access to Industry, and local families from Linlathen. These stakeholders participated in a three-day series of workshops designed to tackle the challenges of delivering integrated, effective support to reduce child poverty.
The workshops were structured around the Double Diamond design process, which includes four phases: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. This framework guided the participants through an exploration of current challenges, identification of core issues, development of solutions, and planning for implementation.
Design Challenge
The design challenge was: “How might we re-evaluate our services to deliver a whole family approach to people in Linlathen, Dundee, and our communities?”
Day 1
The focus was on understanding the current state of services and identifying key challenges. Participants explored empathy, biases, and assumptions, using tools like empathy mapping and knowledge capture to frame their understanding.
Day 2
This day centred on user research, with participants conducting listening sessions with local families to gather insights into their experiences and needs. The data collected helped to refine the understanding of existing barriers and opportunities for improvement.
Day 3
The final day was devoted to developing prototypes and planning for future service models. Participants engaged in activities like the Service Model Canvas and Backcasting to envision a scalable and sustainable pathfinder initiative.
Outputs
The workshops produced several key outputs, including detailed insights into user experiences, a refined understanding of the design challenge, and a set of prototype solutions. The exercises led to the creation of a vision statement for the pathfinder and identified “7 Bold Steps” necessary for achieving this vision, such as
- building community relationships
- securing dedicated funding
- enhancing data sharing among partners.
Overall, the Dundee Child Poverty Pathfinder has successfully increased employability opportunities for 188 families in Linlathen, who face various inequalities. This has provided essential support for parents to secure income, directly addressing child poverty among the 256 children in these households. This has been done with the support of many partner agencies in Dundee across the employability ecosystem including Dundee & Angus College’s LACE team.
Katie Murrie, lead educator at SDA said: “Our small contribution to the wider project demonstrates the potential of service design to transform public services by focusing on user-centred, collaborative approaches. Those already working on the Pathfinder project naturally employed a ‘designerly’ mindset, starting with empathy, focusing on connecting with members of the community with lived experience, and building relationships across the community and beyond.
When SDA were asked to help bring a service design approach to the project, it was clear that we were there to provide a structure for the Pathfinder work to continue, not to change mindsets and demonstrate the value of service design like we would normally start a project like this with – that was already demonstrated clearly from the co-design approaches taken, research data collected and more importantly, from the strong relationships that had been forged within the community. In my eyes, those relationships have been the key to success in this project.”
Perception vs reality of what designers do
Ernest Hemingway coined the phrase “iceberg theory” as a writing technique where the writer only shares superficial details, allowing the reader to work out implicit detail and the deeper story for themselves. As a creative technique, it offers freedom for our imagination.
However, when it comes to solving business problems, the “Iceberg Principle” has serious implications. It suggests that we cannot see or detect most of a situation’s data. We have to dig deeper to understand root cause. The iceberg is a useful visualisation in business to remind us that what we are aware of and what causes problems are two completely different things.
Iceberg Principle
a theory that suggests that aggregated data can hide information that is important for the proper evaluation of a situation.
Monash University, Marketing Dictionary
https://www.monash.edu/business/marketing/marketing-dictionary/i/iceberg-principle
Adam StJohn Lawrence uses the iceberg to reflect on how service design/design thinking is perceived (workshops and sticky notes) and what it really does (e.g. research and implementing change). Adam asking the question, “why it’s hard for service design to get attention” suggests that the value of design is not being given the appreciation or prominence it deserves. What designers do, and the impact they make is not always properly understood.
Graphic by Adam St John Lawrence
The Service Design Academy team wanted to explore the perception gap by bringing the iceberg exercise to life at UX Scotland. This 3-day conference gathered over 300 designers, researchers and other user-centred professionals Edinburgh over 3 days in May 2024 to learn, share and connect with their community
At the conference, we introduced our “perception vs. reality” iceberg to uncover the hidden depths of delegate’s roles. Participants were asked two simple questions:
What do people think you do?
What do you actually do?
The first question was all about perception—subjective and varied. The second focused on reality—grounded and tangible. To respect anonymity, and keep the exercise suitably fun for people to take part in conference breaks, we didn’t track individual responses for comparison. Rather, we themed answers above and below the line. We also had to recognise the safe environment where the questions were asked, so it did lead to some people “venting”, sharing that adding their thoughts felt like therapy!
Service Design Academy UX Scotland 2024
Above and below the line
What people think designers do
Responses were categorised into four main themes:
Creating Things
Many people believe (UX) designers primarily create things like websites or apps. This perception is based on the visible outputs of their work.
Superficial
There were amusing yet telling responses like “I talk all day” or “spends time on social media,” highlighting a surface-level understanding of their roles.
Creating Barriers
Some see them as the “GDPR police” or the ones who “say no to great ideas,”; that they often hinder more than help.
Helpers and Facilitators
Interestingly, some think of designers as “firefighters” or “therapists,” reflecting a belief that their primary function is to help others to achieve their goals.
The Reality of Design
When it came to what designers really do, the themes were notably different:
Creating Value
Their true role is to help emotionally and functionally connect with people. Designers reported that they create meaningful experiences that resonate with users.
Versatile Roles
UX and service designers wear many hats. Strategists, researchers, and problem-solvers, adapting to various challenges and responsibilities.
Challenging and Disrupting
constantly asking, “Why are we doing this?” UX roles involve questioning assumptions and pushing boundaries to improve user experiences.
Contributing to Organisational Success:
Beyond individual projects, designers play a critical role in creating an inclusive culture and driving the overall success of the organisations they work for.
Challenging Perceptions
The exercise at UX Scotland highlighted a significant gap between perception and reality in design. When designers communicate the value of their work, it’s crucial to share not just what is created (the “things”) but the thought processes, research, and decisions (the “outcomes”) that underpin design.
How can we bridge this gap?
Educate colleagues to explain the breadth and depth of your role to team members and stakeholders
Showcase impact by highlighting the positive outcomes of projects and work, from good user experience to business success.
Continuous learning by staying curious – keep asking critical questions of each other and colleagues.
Understanding and addressing the perception vs. reality gap can lead to a more accurate appreciation of the amazing work designers do every day.
UX Scotland Service Design Academy zone
Thank you
A big thank you to all the delegates and volunteers at UX Scotland who participated in the exercise, Connor Finlayson Kim Anderson and the Service Design Academy team for designing the iceberg activity and to Niloofar Kumblafor analysing the data.
A small step towards shaping how design is communicated in our organisations.
We’d love to hear what you think
For more insights and learning opportunities, visit sda.ac.uk or drop us a line at info@sda.ac.uk
We believe that building skills and capability in service design goes beyond gaining knowledge. It involves applying learning with real examples and developing skills through your experience with others.
If you are wondering how you can develop your skills further in service design or curious about how your colleagues could use service design to improve your organisation’s service offering, our open course programme can help.
Service Design Academy courses follow a pathway, progressing from service design awareness to working and practitioner level.
Raising awareness – Discover service design
Building knowledge and skills – Introduction to tools and methods
Putting service design into practice – Practical service design
Developing your professional practice – Professional development award
Hear what our learners have to say:
The practical approach to learning, the real world tools and templates we get to take away and their secret weapon - their facilitators! Energetic, engaging, super knowledgeable.
The team at SDA brought skills, experience, innovation and enthusiasm by the bucket load……The feedback we have received from the community members who were trained and supported by SDA has been incredibly positive.
A whole new way of doing things that will improve my working practices
The practical exercises and real-world examples we worked on during the course have undoubtedly enhanced my understanding of service design and its applications. I'm excited to apply this knowledge to make a positive impact on the experiences of those I serve.
About our courses
In this 7-hour course, you’ll develop your awareness of the mindset, approach, and principles of service design. You will learn about the process used to design services, how to describe a service, and discover the relationship between services and you.
Wednesdays 10 & 17 July 2024
Thursdays 22 & 29 August 2024
09:30 – 13:00
Live and online
Price: £250
Find out more and book here
This introductory course has been designed for you to grow your knowledge of the value of service design. You’ll learn how to engage with people, identify problems and create innovative solutions to bring plans into reality.
4 x 3.5 hours
Thursdays 6, 13, 20 & 27 June 2024
Wednesdays 4, 11, 18 & 25 September 2024
09:30 – 13:00
Live and online
Price: £595
Find out more and book here
This comprehensive 5-day introduction offers a hands-on, learn by doing insight into the process of service design. You’ll build on your existing knowledge and expand your toolkit to develop a deeper understanding of the service design process.
Wednesdays 5 June – 3 July 2024
Thursdays 24 October – 21 November 2024
09:30 – 13:00
Live and online
Price: £1795
Find out more and book here
In this accredited 6-month programme, you will learn-by-doing how to design better services for people. Here’s what you can expect from the course:
- 1. Tools and Methods: learn about the tools and methods used in service design and how to
use them in your job. - 2. User Research: how to do research to find out what people need from a service.
- 3. Co-design: how to work with people who use services to design them together.
- 4. Communication: learn how to talk about and reflect on your service design projects.
13 August 2024 – 10 March 2025
28 January 2025 – 18 August 2025
Live and online
Price: £4200
Find out more and book here
2-day online masterclass
A course for anyone looking to improve their colleagues’ experience.
- Develop a people centred approach to create the future of work in your organisation.
- Build an understanding of the importance of the end-to-end employee experience.
- Learn how you can increase employee satisfaction.
- Leave with an implementation plan.
To arrange a chat with our team to find the right course for you contact us info@sda.ac.uk
Are you aware of service design but have been wondering whether you want to develop your skills further in this field? Could it be helpful to your business or career advancement?
Perhaps you are curious about the value of supporting your employees to use service design to improve your service offering?
Service design helps you design services well. It equips you or your team members with the tools and knowledge to solve problems by taking a human-centred design approach.
Our Professional Development Award (PDA) in Service Design, which is accredited by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), is a training programme designed to empower learners to grow as confident service design thinkers and leaders in order to transform the organisations they work in.
Who is the PDA in Service Design for?
The PDA in Service Design is ideal for someone who:
- Wants to become a service designer.
- Has been in service design roles and wants to consolidate and evidence their knowledge by obtaining a qualification.
- Is looking to empower their team to develop skills to innovate and problem solve.
- Is in a job role where they want to adapt their current service offering to better suit what customers and colleagues need. They want to create impact by making things work better with the improvement of team processes and working environment.
- Is looking to enhance their future job prospects by upskilling in service design.
The PDA is popular for people who already has a good understanding of what service design is but wants to be able to use it to create positive change. Learners join us from many different roles including digital transformation, organisational development, project and change management.
Service Design Academy Workshop 2024
What’s unique about this PDA in Service Design?
- It is delivered part-time and online, offering you flexibility with your work and the opportunity to build collaborative skills in remote environments.
- Our online and interactive learning labs give you a safe space to practise new methods and techniques with other learners on a relatable design challenge.
- Across the 4 units in the course, you’ll apply everything you learn straight back in the workplace, with your practical assessments based on challenges you or your business are facing.
- On completing the course, you’ll be able to demonstrate that you have the skills, experience and confidence to drive change.
Lauren Mancke Unsplash
Benefits of gaining the PDA qualification
Here are the 6 main benefits of undertaking the PDA in Service Design with the Service Design Academy:
1. Evidencing your service design experience
Acquiring new skills and knowledge through the PDA can improve your career prospects. At the end of the course, your portfolio will demonstrate to your existing employer of your capability.
2. Skills Development
The PDA in Service Design involves training and learning experiences that improve your skills in areas such as user research, prototyping, customer journey mapping, and other relevant aspects of service design.
3. Problem-Solving
Service design focuses on solving complex problems related to user experiences and service delivery. The PDA can enhance your ability to identify, analyse, and solve problems in innovative ways to help your business or organisation thrive.
4. Stay up to date with industry trends
Service design is an evolving field, and staying current with the latest trends, tools, and methodologies is crucial. This course provides insight into emerging trends and best practices to set you up to be the best service designer you can be.
5. Cross-functional collaboration
Service design often involves collaboration and co-designing across various disciplines, including business, technology, and user experience. The PDA can equip you with the ability to co-design and work effectively in cross-functional teams.
6. Business Development
For those interested in entrepreneurship, a background in service design can be valuable for creating and optimising services, whether launching your own start-up or contributing to innovative projects within existing organisations.
Our next PDA in Service Design cohort starts in August 2024.
Find out more and book your place here: https://www.sda.ac.uk/pda-service-design/
If you have any questions please email info@sda.ac.uk to arrange a chat with one of our consultants.
Bringing service design principles into project management can improve outcomes and lead to happy stakeholders. It offers project managers a toolkit that supports effective delivery. By focusing on user needs, experience, and value delivery, service design gives project managers the opportunity to create effective solutions with users.
Service Design Academy helps to give project managers the framework, tools and skills to face the complex challenges of managing scope, resources and stakeholders’ expectations.
Here’s just some of the ways service design capability can help:
Solving problems
Projects are all about solving problems and service design methodology can turbo-boost problem-solving skills. Learning about user research, journey mapping, prototyping, and testing can help project managers better understand complex challenges, explore innovative solutions, and make more informed decisions throughout the project lifecycle.
Getting closer to users
Service design is all about understanding and empathising with the people who use your services. Bringing these needs into every stage of a project can be confident that the final product or service meets what people need and expect.
Holistic view
The entire service experience is looked at, considering all touchpoints and interactions between users and the service. Project managers benefit from this approach by identifying potential gaps or opportunities for improvement across the entire project lifecycle, leading to more integrated solutions.
Collaboration
Service design always encourages collaboration and interdisciplinary teamwork. Project managers can enjoy taking this collaborative approach to facilitate better communication and co-operation among team members from different teams, leading to more cohesive project execution and outcomes.
Iterative and agile
Service design asks for an iterative and agile mindset; continuous learning, adaptation, and improvement. Project managers can apply this mindset to project management practices, helping to respond to changing requirements and stakeholders’ feedback ultimately enhancing project agility and resilience.
Buy-in
Stakeholders are involved in co-design activities meaning that project managers can use participatory approaches to build stronger relationships with stakeholders, and give them a sense of ownership and commitment.
Value
Service design creates value for everyone, aligning project goals with user needs and business. Project managers can give the assurance that projects will deliver value and impact, ultimately contributing to growth and sustainability.
Service Design Academy L-R Kim Anderson, Connor Finlayson, Maralyn Boyle & Caryn Gibson
If you’d like to find out more about how Service Design Academy can build service design capability to help your business get to where it needs to be please get in touch info@sda.ac.uk or go to our website https://www.sda.ac.uk/newsroom/
What does a good experience look like for the people you work with? The Service Design Academy can help you challenge your assumptions by understanding what matters most for a purpose-led and motivated team.
11 and 18 June
10:00 – 16:00
Online and Interactive
Find out more here
When people are happy at their work, good things happen in that business.
James Timpson, CEO of the high street and online home services company Timpson’s Group, talks about “Upside Down Management” . Business success comes down to two things: the satisfaction of its staff, and what it gives back to society.
James Timpson – Picture Credit: The Times
People vs Employee Experience
It’s important to think about how you frame good employee experience. At the Service Design Academy, we like to focus on “people” rather than “employee” experience.
We believe that this subtle change in language can have a positive impact on mindset when creating these experiences. Breaking down the hierarchical assumptions around the word “employee” allows everyone who works with an organisation to be seen as a unique person – whatever they do and however they do it.
Taking a service design approach offers the perfect way to improve people experience because it will always involve people front and centre.
Led by Service Design Academy educator Kim Anderson, our Design Your People Experience course will give you and your colleagues the mindset, and tools to build your new people experience plan.
Find out more here
Book Your Early Bird (£595 before 30 April) place now
If you are interested in this course being customised for a group of 8 or more colleagues, please email our Business Manager Maralyn Boyle m.boyle@dundeeandangus.ac.uk
If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Specialist service designers have a critical role to play in the development and improvement of services with large organisations. Their jobs are challenging and often clearly defined in terms of role and function
Their focus is on improving and optimising the end-to-end experience of a service. They research user needs, collaborate with stakeholders, and use design thinking to create human-focused solutions. Through prototyping and testing, they refine and make service delivery better for users.
However, many of the organisations Service Design Academy works with simply do not have the luxury of being able to resource a full team of professional service designers. However, they recognise there is a need to build capacity, skills and knowledge to drive change and transform services to meet users’ evolving needs.
The ideal for these organisations is for an emerging community of non-specialist and committed individuals with service design skills and confidence. A community that understands that by taking this approach they’ll be equipped to adapt to change, evolving customer needs, and emerging market trends.
Why does it matter?
Creating a community within an organisation, where individuals and teams are aware of service design, leads to improved collaboration, a customer-focussed culture, and better problem-solving across different teams and departments.
In our experience of working with diverse organisations across different sectors there are some important reasons for not having one person or even a team responsible for service design. There needs to be a community.
What does a community look like?
A Shared Understanding
A community of individuals aware of service design principles establishes a shared language and understanding across different teams. This common ground helps in effective communication and alignment of goals. We learned a lot about shared language when we worked with The Centre of Civic Innovation Glasgow City Council
A Collaborative Culture
Service design often requires input from various departments. Building a community ensures that individuals from different teams have the space and empowerment to bring a 360 degrees approach to service delivery. We’ve enjoyed partnering with Edinburgh Napier University Information Services Directorate as their PMO makes amazing progress.
Breaking Down Silos
Service design can suffer in environments with departmental silos. A lack of big-picture thinking stifles creativity and leads to duplication and frustration. Creating a community encourages the breaking down of these silos, promoting collaboration, information sharing, and a more integrated approach to problem-solving.
Always keeping the customer in mind
The customer must be everyone’s concern. A community that is collectively aware of service design principles helps maintain a consistent customer focus across various teams. This alignment is crucial for delivering a seamless and positive customer experience.
Bit by bit - iterative improvement
A community will be geared for generating and sharing continuous feedback loops, allowing for regular evaluations and refinements of services based on insights from different perspectives.
Problem-Solving
When individuals across various teams are aware of service design principles, problem-solving becomes easier. The collective knowledge allows for a quicker identification and resolution of issues that may arise in service delivery. We loved working with ANGUSalive frontline staff with a customised “What’s your problem and how to solve it” programme.
Better People Experience
Having this conducive environment helps to provide a platform for employees to actively contribute to the improvement of services, creating a sense of ownership and pride in their work. Manchester City Council HR and OD had a clear vision of building service design capability to improve their people experience on our customised programme.
Facing Change together
A community that understands service design principles will lead to resilient mindsets – better equipped to adapt to changes, evolving customer needs, and emerging market trends.
If you recognise that service design is needed not just for you but for a wider group, we’d love to talk. We’ll find out more about your challenges and goals and you will learn what Service Design Academy programme meets your needs. info@sda.ac.uk
“A whole new way of doing things”
Data and service design work together closely. Data analysis and insights inform service design decisions around people – their behaviour, preferences, and needs.
At the same time service design can be used to design processes that capture relevant user information to improve products, services and experiences. Learning more about how data and design work together means that we can understand the relationship between information about people (data) and insights (the things we can learn).
Thanks to support from our partners Tay Cities Digital Skills and the Data Lab, the Service Design Academy at Dundee and Angus College was delighted to welcome 25 people working in data roles to a 14 hour live and online Service Design for Data Professionals course over four mornings in November.
Learners joined from a wide range of roles and functions including Data Analysts, Insight Analyst, Human Resources, Organisational Development and Improvement, Library Systems, Employability, Workforce Development, Policy and Programme management.
In our pre-training support survey, we discovered a variety of reasons learners had for wanting to learn more about service design:
– Developing new techniques to research and develop data analytics
– Problem solving in a project environment
– To have some tools and structure to use in the future will be very useful and help my audience understand the data better
Everyone shared the goal of wanting to learn how service design can help them to solve problems with (not just for) stakeholders.
The course was designed to help data professionals communicate and effectively engage people in the story and context of data, helping their organisations to make data-informed decisions.
Service design training helped them think through issues and problems and develop techniques and confidence to undertake user research, analyse and synthesise qualitative data, generate ideas, and create prototypes for testing and communication.
Kim Anderson, lead educator on this course shares what happened over the 4 mornings.
“Using the double diamond and its phases Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver the group were introduced to service design through a blend of theory and practical activities.
Working on a relatable challenge – the Future of Food – the group first gathered thoughts and experiences to then work in seven self-selected themes.
These themes covered diverse topics from Policy and Regulation to Education and Human Rights. To challenge their initial assumptions, learners made user research plans and learned interview techniques. We then showed the teams how to analyse and synthesise data. From there they worked on problem definition and then to generate ideas before prioritising, prototyping, testing, and iterating their ideas.
We love working with enthusiastic learners, and this first cohort of the service design for data professionals course didn’t disappoint. Each person gave it their all every week which created a fun, and supportive learning environment.
The group left with reflections on what they liked and what they had learned, and we’ve taken that feedback to update our next course running from the Friday 8th March.
Service Design Academy is passionate about offering a hands-on experience of service design as an approach to understand the issues and needs of people to collaboratively problem-solve. We hope a key outcome for our learners will be a shift in mindset; that working in a data role is seen as a service that supports many others within and outside their organisation. We look forward to hearing how the participants continue to use service design in their role.
We are incredibly grateful to Digitay and The Data Lab for giving Service Design Academy the opportunity to be part of a fantastic programme which will contribute to building new skills and opportunities for people in Tay Cities.”
Service Design for Data Professionals will run again four mornings 09.30 – 13.00 from 8th – 29th March with fully funded places for people living or working in Tay Cities available meeting the eligibility criteria.
We highly encourage those living or working in Dundee, Angus, Perth & Kinross and North Fife to take advantage of this valuable opportunity and apply for a funded opportunity to upskill.
For more information about Service Design Academy please contact Maralyn Boyle
01382 448868
Are you aware of service design but have been wondering whether you want to develop your skills further in this field? Could it be helpful to your business or career advancement?
Perhaps you are curious about the value of supporting your employees to use service design to improve your service offering?
Service design helps you design services well. It equips you or your team members with the tools and knowledge to solve problems by taking a human-centred design approach.
Our Professional Development Award (PDA) in Service Design, which is accredited by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), is a training programme designed to empower learners to grow as confident service design thinkers and leaders in order to transform the organisations they work in.
Who is the PDA in Service Design for?
The PDA in Service Design is ideal for someone who:
- Wants to become a service designer.
- Has been in service design roles and wants to consolidate their knowledge by obtaining a qualification.
- Is looking to empower and enable their team to develop their skills to innovate and problem solve.
- Is in a job role where they want to adapt their current service offering to better suit what customers and colleagues need. They want to create impact by making things work better with the improvement of team processes and working environment.
- Is looking to enhance their future job prospects by upskilling in service design.
It would suit someone who already has a basic understanding of what service design is but wants to be able to use it to create positive change in their workplace. Learners join us from many different roles including digital transformation, organisational development, project and change management.
What’s unique about this PDA in Service Design?
- It is delivered part-time and online, offering you flexibility with your work and the opportunity to build collaborative skills in remote environments.
- Our online and interactive learning labs give you a safe space to practise new methods and techniques with other learners on a relatable design challenge.
- Across the 4 units in the course, you’ll apply everything you learn straight back in the workplace, with your practical assessments based on challenges you or your business are facing.
- On completing the course, you’ll be able to demonstrate that you have the skills, experience and confidence to drive change.
8 Benefits of the PDA Service Design Course
Here are the 8 main benefits of undertaking the PDA in Service Design with the Service Design Academy:
1. Skill Enhancement
The PDA in Service Design involves training and learning experiences that improve your skills in areas such as user research, prototyping, customer journey mapping, and other relevant aspects of service design.
2. Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills
Service design focuses on solving complex problems related to user experiences and service delivery. The PDA can enhance your ability to identify, analyse, and solve problems in innovative ways to help your business or organisation thrive.
3. Stay Updated with Industry Trends
Service design is an evolving field, and staying current with the latest trends, tools, and methodologies is crucial. This course provides insight into emerging trends and best practices to set you up to be the best service designer you can be.
4. Validation of Expertise
Completing this accredited training course in service design can serve as a validation of your expertise. It provides a formal acknowledgment of your skills and commitment to staying current in your field.
5. Cross-functional Collaboration
Service design often involves collaboration and co-designing across various disciplines, including business, technology, and user experience. The PDA can equip you with the ability to co-design and work effectively in cross-functional teams.
6. Increased Job Satisfaction
Contributing to the improvement of services at your place of work or business with your enhanced skills learned through this PDA can not only increase the employee experience for your team but also create job satisfaction for you. The ability to make a positive impact on user experiences and business outcomes can be very rewarding.
7. Entrepreneurial Opportunities
For those interested in entrepreneurship, a background in service design can be valuable for creating and optimising services, whether launching your own start-up or contributing to innovative projects within existing organisations.
8. Career Advancement
Acquiring new skills and knowledge through the PDA can improve your career prospects. Employers often value employees who actively invest in their professional growth and development.
Our next PDA in Service Design cohort starts on Monday 4 March 2024. Find out more and book your place here: https://www.sda.ac.uk/pda-service-design/
One of Service Design Academy’s standout moments of 2023 was when we helped to co-design a unique lived experience tartan at CanDu Cancer Dundee Support Network’s conference at the V&A Dundee
People living with cancer, clinicians, health and cancer support specialists came together in November to share and learn about the value of lived expertise.
Everyone listened to stories about the physical and emotional challenges that people living with cancer and their families face. A thought provoking Q&A facilitated by Dundee and Angus College’s Claire Mackay brought a wide range of voices together
We learned that although cancer treatment is world-class, patient empowerment for mental and emotional wellbeing needs to be explored and elevated. Empathy is good, but it can only go so far. Space needs to be made for people’s lived expertise to be really heard. Collaboration is critical.
Design has an important part to play – not making assumptions about what people living with cancer need, but asking questions and listening to understand what the problems really are. Making sure that everyone’s voices are heard will shape future cancer services for the better.
In the afternoon participants local designers Linsey McIntosh and Gary Kennedy asked participants to think about:
💙 Why sharing lived expertise matters
💛 What practical and emotional needs must be met.
Thoughts and ideas were woven together as the warp and weft of a magical tartan.
Kim Anderson and Robbie Beautyman from Service Design Academy are now working on giving the lived expertise tartan a lasting legacy. They will analyse data gathered to synthesise into themes. This will help Dr Julie Wardrop and the CanDu team to share and continue to action with the Cancer Support community in Dundee and beyond.
Thank you to everyone for making this a unique day.
Peter Nurick Alison Connelly, Vicky Reid Gary, Linsey, Claire, Robbie, Kim, Aleksandra Daszyńska
There were some tears, some shared frustrations and lots of laughter with a fantastic sing-song to end the day with the fabulous Maggie’s Centres Dundee Choir
Thanks to all the partners and people who supported this event.
Macmillan Cancer Support Tayside Cancer Support John Alexander The ALLIANCE
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