Lecture Description

Designing services is different from designing products. In contrast to products being discrete and tangible objects, services are co-produced by people and only provide value when they are actually used. Digital services represent a specific category of services and specifically leverage and integrate information technology in the service delivery process. 

The aim of this course is to introduce key concepts and theoretical foundations of digital service design. Furthermore, a management perspective looking at the entire service lifecycle, covering the organizational and team level as well as state-of-the-art digital service design processes (e.g. agile, lean, continuous delivery) is provided. Finally, an introduction of important digital service design practices and tools supporting user research, conceptualization & prototyping as well as evaluation is given.

The lecture is complemented with a Digital Service Design challenge, where students leverage practices and tools from the lecture to suggest improvements for an existing digital service. The challenge is carried out in cooperation with practice partners (e.g. Commerzbank).

Learning Objectives

The students

• get a deeper understanding of design in general and specifically understand what digital service design comprises
• can conceptualize and operationalize usability, user experience, service experience, and customer experience
• understand the underlying mechanisms for a successful interplay between individuals, teams, and the organization within the entire digital service lifecycle
• learn the most important digital service design practices & tools  
• apply digital service design practices & tools in a real-world scenario

Lecture Content

• Definition and key concepts of digital service design and related terms
• Introduction to the business and design perspective of a service design project
• The digital service design process from strategy through planning and prototyping to launching the digital service.
• Practice-oriented capstone project focusing on the design of a real-world digital service

Course Schedule

Course Grading

Assessment consists of a written exam (60%) and a written deliverable (40%) as part of a group work on a practice-oriented IS case study. Further details about the case study will be provided within the course.

Course Materials

Students will be provided with all necessary materials before each session. Readings are available through the university’s electronic library resources or via the Internet.  The materials to be used in this class provides students with both content and background for the topics introduced and discussed in the course. Students are required to have a look at the mandatory material in order to allow for an efficient classroom experience. Optional readings are introduced as part of the lecture and provide students with the opportunity to extend their understanding beyond the material discussed in class.

Contact: