Designing Services With Function Analysis

A structured process for designing services that maps customer requirements to required functions and means is described, with the capacity to engineer even intangible service qualities into delivery systems.

Abstract

Services exist to perform certain functions. Service functions may entail someaction that the consumer wants performed orbe intended to give sensory satisfactionto the consumer. This paper describes a structured process for designing servicesthat maps customer requirements to required functions and means. Examples aregiven in the nightclub industry for entertaining and protecting guests, creatingexcitement, and facilitating guest interaction. The process structure comes fromquality function deployment and the analytical tools come from function analysis. Theresult is a design methodology with the capacity to engineer even intangible servicequalities into delivery systems. The key is using function analysis to specify andobjectify service design concepts. While traditional approaches to service designfocus on means and technologies, function analysis forces the designer back to thefunctions. This is done because no amount of examining means can make trulyinnovative change possible.