A recent piece from the Interaction Design Foundation reviews some of the more prominent principles of Service Design Thinking. Service Design Thinking is a special set of design approaches that support the creation of seamless services and experiences for customers and clients of any organization whether a traditional business or a college or university. With that in mind, it is useful to consider some lessons from service design that might guide the development of online learning experiences or services.
The service design principles cover a good deal of ground but among the more immediately relevant ones are the advice to focus on the needs of the end user by providing a unified and efficient service to undergird a seamless experience. In the case of online learning, the goal would be to create processes that support rather than interfere with learning. This sounds simple, and it is, until you consider the many online learning offerings that seem to have been assembled by committee. Such a condition typically arises out of development activities that play to the strengths and the convenience of the offering organization and its staff.
The principles provide important guidance for any effort to develop a well functioning service for users. These include guidance on the general development activities, the means of designing processes, data systems, technology components, and the organizational arrangements supporting the initiative. Although the principles do incorporate some inherent tensions, they represent important perspectives that could be considered to improve a range of online learning opportunities.
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