Engagement and Experience In Service Design

Abstract

This thesis was elaborated as part of a project developed for the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Prato, during a collaboration with the MIT-MEL. The final output of the project is the design of a strategy to support the Chamber of Commerce in the implementation of a new service to the district of Prato. Faced with current economical and social pressures, the Chamber of Com- merce of Prato expressed the need for internationalizing the district. Prato is an industrial district in Northeastern Italy, highly specialized in fashion manufacturing. However, the general fall in demand and competitive pres- sure of new supply markets had immediate repercussions on the exports and economic situation of Prato’s industrial district. The research question addressed in this study is: How can stakeholders be better engaged in the experience of a service provided by a public sector organization? In order to provide an answer to this question, a literature research was done and a case study was performed. To reach the objective, the project is structured in three main phases: re- search, design, implementation strategy. The service, named Fashion Valley, was developed during the collaboration period and used as a case study for this research. From the literature and context analysis, a list of design guidelines to reach a greater engagement and thus create better experiences was developed. These guidelines lead to the creation of Fashion Valley, a discovery and management web-platform for the companies of Prato and external designers. The service creates new business opportunities in the district and facilitates the manufacturing process. The value exists for designers, companies and con- sequently to the Chamber of Commerce. Fashion Valley promotes the district and fosters new business relationships. The business model developed is the unification of all the steps which need to be taken in order to achieve a cohesive service strategy. Steps can be clus- tered in three diðerent levels: the technology implementation, engagement initiatives and long-term strategy, and are represented in the service road. Technology refers to all the backend development and design work needed in order to build the web platform where the service will exist. Engagement initiatives are meant to promote the district, create connections between us- ers (e.g. workshops and pilot group) and happen through the existence of the service. They widen the already existing service touchpoints to not only digital but also physical experiences. Moreover a greater engagement of stakeholders will least to the continuity and exploration of the service opportunities over time. Furthermore the project outlines a strategy for the coming four years, thus the chamber will still need to be flexible towards any changes that might occur. The graduation research on the basis of this project has unveiled challenges inherent to the management of service design approaches within the public sector.