Why Service Design Blueprints Matter even if Process Maps exist
Recently I joined a project with more than 2 years of history. Naturally, there is a large archive of documentation, including process maps. My mandate is to produce a service design blueprint (or simply, a service blueprint). Predictably, I face a few raised eyebrows from team members who question the need for yet another map.
What a good question.
What is a service blueprint and is it necessary when process maps already exist?
Let’s explore.
What a Process Map does (and doesn’t do)
A process map describes, on granular level, what a person or a system does to accomplish a task. Essentially, it is a task-centric flow chart, illustrating how work gets done, step by step.
For instance, in an insurance company, a process map shows exactly how an underwriter goes from taking a case, completing risk assessment, and providing a quote.
Process maps are needed to ensure internal operations are carried out accurately and consistently. For that purpose, many tend to zero in onto silo-ed units.
However, when the goal is to improve customer experience, process maps alone don’t always tell the full story. It does not show what the customers experience or the larger ecosystem that affects such experience. That’s where service blueprints come in.
What a Service Blueprint adds
A Service Blueprint depicts the end user/customer’s step-by-step journey (experience), along with roles, systems, and processes responsible for delivering that experience. Some version also capture customers’ emotions such as confusion or frustration.
This provides a 360 view of factors that can impact a customer’s experience, from direct touchpoints (front stage) to behind-the-scene activities (back stage).
For instance, a slow hand-off between business units, though invisible from the customer, inevitably cause delays that will eventually be felt by these customers.
In sum, Service Blueprints is great for connecting operations to the customer experience.
Takeaway
Process maps help you optimize operations.
Service blueprints help you align operations with customer experience.
When you merge the two perspectives, you start spotting friction points you’d otherwise miss. In particular, service blueprint provides an important perspective: what it actually feels like to be your customer.