There are many stages and processes involved in service design before any new product or service is brought to market. This concept offers many benefits for both the customer and the service provider. While the customer is guaranteed reliable, usable, desirable, and fast service, the provider gets adequate profit, long-term success, and customer satisfaction in return.

The first and most important step in the service design process is research. Thorough research on multiple levels is required before launching any new service or product. The reports developed after insightful research help the provider to understand the customer’s requirements and also the type of service that is currently available in the market. Exploratory research techniques are used to understand the current situation and gain a deeper understanding of customers, their needs and expectations. The next step is generative research in which the focus is on exercises and activities that will reveal how to respond to exploratory research findings. The final stage is the evaluative research that helps to validate if the service or the recommendations designed really satisfy the need of the client or end user.

The service or product development process can be categorized into four stages, beginning with design, analysis, development, and then market introduction. Each of these is interconnected and can be thought of as a feedback loop. The design process can involve both product and service design in equal measures and is presented as a blueprint, physical model, prototype, or business plan. When designing a physical product, multiple features and attributes of the product are considered to make it effective and efficient. And while a service is being designed, the new idea is presented through creative and meaningful representations. Typically, both the fuzzy and procedural approaches are used during design; in the fuzzy approach, the importance is in the idea. Executives are asked to come up with creative, genuine, unique, and technologically advanced ideas that can be implemented into the product or service. The procedural approach uses a more methodological form of planning and delves into the product or service.

There are several tools that are used in this process; Along with the physical elements, interactions with people are also an important part during development. Sometimes just an improvement to the existing service will be addressed which requires a deeper understanding of the current service, its strengths and weaknesses and customer feedback gained in the form of feedback and surveys.

The success of any service experience is highly dependent on an integrated service design program that has been seamlessly implemented into the process. Creating a service model allows the organization to carefully consider all the issues and factors inherent in managing a particular service. The first step is to analyze and identify the weak points of the service, then create a time frame to make the necessary changes and the final step is to analyze the user reaction and the profitability of the service.