Designing Methodology for Innovative Service Systems

Abstract

We are interested in establishment of research methodology of serviceology.

We use “service” in its widest meaning and define “X service” as a provision and utilization of X, where X is something or some system.

This paper describes a constructive methodology to design new service systems. We have been working on formalizing the process of design and synthesis, or constructive science, as FNS diagram. It is an infinite loop of generation, interaction (of the system) with the environment, analysis, and scripting (and then back to generation). Service in its narrow sense corresponds to generation and interaction parts where a generated system is actually put into service. Service in its wider sense corresponds to the whole FNS loop.

Design is an important part for a good service. We also extend the definition of design to its widest meaning. Then, service becomes an important part of design process. Therefore, service loop and design loop refer to each other. They form a kind of fractal structure composed of such mutual recursive relations between service and design. Service loop as a whole and design loop as a whole are in fact two different views of a synthetic process.

Information technology (IT) plays an important role when we design an innovative service system. As an example, we report our design and implementation of Smart Access Vehicle System in Hakodate.