Purpose

This paper aims to develop and apply a service design method that allows for stronger recognition and integration of human activities into the front-end stages of the service design process.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a discussion of different service design perspectives and activity theory, the paper develops a method called activity-set mapping (ActS). ActS is applied to an exploratory service design project to demonstrate its use.

Findings

Three broad perspectives on service design are suggested: (1) the dyadic interaction, (2) the systemic interaction and (3) the customer activity perspectives. The ActS method draws on the latter perspective and focuses on the study of human activity sets. The application of ActS shows that the method can help identify and visualize sets of activities.

Research limitations/implications

The ActS method opens new avenues for service design by zooming in on the micro level and capturing the set of activities linked to a desired goal achievement. However, the method is limited to activities reported by research participants and may exclude unconscious activities. Further research is needed to validate and refine the method.

Practical implications

The ActS method will help service designers explore activities in which humans engage to achieve a desired goal/end state.

Originality/value

The concept of “human activity set” is new to service research and opens analytical opportunities for service design. The ActS method contributes a visualization tool for identifying activity sets and uncovering the benefits, sacrifices and frequency of activities.

中文翻译：

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ActS – 基于人类活动集的服务设计

目的

本文旨在开发和应用一种服务设计方法，该方法允许对人类活动进行更强的识别并将其整合到服务设计过程的前端阶段。

设计/方法/方法

在讨论了不同的服务设计观点和活动理论之后，本文开发了一种称为活动集映射 (ActS) 的方法。ActS 应用于探索性服务设计项目以演示其使用。

发现

提出了关于服务设计的三个广泛视角：（1）二元交互，（2）系统交互和（3）客户活动视角。ActS 方法借鉴了后一种观点，侧重于对人类活动集的研究。ActS 的应用表明，该方法可以帮助识别和可视化活动集。

研究限制/影响

ActS 方法通过放大微观层面并捕获与预期目标实现相关的活动集，为服务设计开辟了新途径。但是，该方法仅限于研究参与者报告的活动，可能会排除无意识的活动。需要进一步研究来验证和改进该方法。

实际影响

ActS 方法将帮助服务设计者探索人类为实现预期目标/最终状态而参与的活动。

原创性/价值

“人类活动集”的概念是服务研究的新概念，并为服务设计提供了分析机会。ActS 方法提供了一种可视化工具，用于识别活动集并揭示活动的收益、牺牲和频率。