Data science for service design : an exploration of the opportunities, challenges and methods for data mining to support the service design process

This research identifies the opportunities for data science to support the service design process through exploration of data science methods for service designers. Designers and their teams search for a data tech- niques overview from their perspective as designers, while current liter- ature is fragmented and technical. This research explores methods to help them get started. It evaluates if the techniques meet the designer’s needs and fit the design process with user-centred activities, such as shadowing sessions and workshops. As a result, this thesis contribute to the diversity of the designers’ methodology toolkit. They increase the validity of user research, make hidden information accessible with spe- cialised user research tools and help designers in their creative process through relevant resources, inspiration and an alternative perspective. Together these results encourage organisations to mature with data sci- ence resources for design projects so that their services benefit from more informed designers.