Service Design in Korea

In November 2011, our own Gavin Maguire, was one of eight speakers at the 2nd International Conference on Knowledge Intensive Service Industry, attended by over 800 people in Seoul, Korea.

Audience of the Knowledge Intensive Service Industry conference

Gavin discussed importance of increasing Service Design capabilities in house and the move in the industry towards the impact of Service Design:

While the benefits of employing Service Design are increasingly understood, there are many factors that contribute to the degree of effectiveness or impact of the activity. Through 11 years of working with organisations across sectors, Engine Service Design has built an understanding of the tools, methods, and considerations that are important for the success of Service Design activities. Engine has seen how there are different levels of organisational capability around Service Design which in turn affect the nature of what organisations can expect from their engagement with the activity. Through illustration with real-world examples, this talk aims to convey an understanding of the key concepts, tools and practices which need to be understood in order for organisations to get the most out of service design. The talk explores the factors that can help organisations to increase their level of Service Design capability ֖ and in doing so, increase the impact of their Service Design activity.

Gavin made good use of his time in Korea and also;

• Spoke at the inaugural party of the Korean Service Design Network

• Attended the Korean Service Design Council’s inaugural event, and

• Ran a Service Design workshop (on user-centred proposition building) at Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, for graduate students and researchers.

The conference speakers and organisers