The User-Service-Technology method for service analysis and design

ICT-enabled services affect the way people behave and interact in their daily life practices. The substantial progress in mobile technologies, in particular, as a result of the rapid advances in mobile technologies, the proliferation of mobile devices (e.g. smartphones, sensors, etc.) and their ever-increasing capacities for interconnectedness and computing operations, enables ubiquitous service provision and offers opportunities for service innovations, especially for more personalized and higher value services. Mobile devices, especially smartphones and tablets, serve today as a multipurpose tool in the everyday life practices of the people and, hence, mobile services are embedded in the life of the user in a

‘smart’ and flexible way, anytime and anywhere. For this, we focus on the analysis of mobile services as key drivers for the ‘digitization of life’ and the ubiquitous service provision.

We consider it is difficult to see mobile services, applications and devices in separation of the user, his activities and intentions. For this, we propose a method for the analysis and design of mobile service from the user’s perspective. The user’s perspective emphasizes on the use of mobile service in the daily activities of the user, rather than on the processes and the technologies of the provider. The user’s perspective suggests the discussion about service use (i.e. what the customer does with the service) and service value (i.e. what are the outcomes of service use) can be even more important and insightful for service innovations than the discussion about service apps and technologies.

The proposed method for mobile service analysis and design includes the User Domain, the Service Domain and the Technological Domain (User-Service-Technology Method). In the User Domain, the key requirements refer to the activities and the tasks of the user (what is performed), the context of the user (when and where) and the value for the user (why). In the Service Domain, the key requirements refer the services that are used (what is provided). In the Technological Domain, the key requirements refer to the mobile apps, the devices and the technologies (technological context) that are used for the service production and delivery (how service is provided). The User-Service-Technology method for service analysis and design is depicted in figure 6.2.

Figure 6.2: The User-Service-Technology method for mobile service analysis and design

The three domains are connected and interrelated. The relationship between the user task and the service denotes the concept of service use. We consider service use is developed as a concept in the interaction between the user and the mobile service (as different users can make different use of a service, according to their specific customer logic). Therefore, service use is described as a result of the particular use of a mobile service in a specific task of the user.

The providers can only suggest indicative service uses and make value propositions, but they cannot dictate or control the use of service by the user.

The analysis of service use can reveal the customer logic and individual or collective service use patterns.

The relationship between the service and the Technology Domain refers to the business and technological models that are used for service provision. For example, service providers can offer mobile service directly to the end user with the use of mobile computing technologies and Internet and wireless

technologies; or in a different way, they can provide mobile service via the cloud, with the use of cloud resources and cloud computing technologies.

The method addresses the basic questions of what, how, when, where and why in service analysis and design. The concept of service is user-driven in this method and refers to ‘what’ functionality is delivered to the user, while the user activities and tasks refer to ‘what’ does the user do with the service. The context refers basically to ‘when’ and ‘where’ a service is used. The user value refers to the utility for the user from a certain service and refers in general to ‘why’ the service is used. The concepts of the technological domain refer to ‘how’ the service was developed and delivered to the user.

6.1.1 The user domain

The User Domain includes the analysis of activities, tasks, the context of the user and the service value for the user (table 6.1).

User activity. It refers to what the user is doing in his life. User activities are, for instance, working, driving, travelling, eating, resting, exercising, studying, etc.

The description of the different user activities provides the daily life practices and their analysis can reveal the lifestyle patterns, the routines and the habits of the user.

User task. Each activity can be further analyzed into tasks, i.e. specific actions.

Tasks refer to what the user is doing as a part of executing his activities. For example, when travelling, the individual can read the news, listen to the music, talk on the phone, work on the laptop, play a video game, eat, communicate on social media, etc.; when working, the an office worker can take notes, write reports, maintain archives, send e-mails, communicate with colleagues and customers, etc. Services support the individuals in the execution of their tasks.

User context. It refers to the prevailing physical and social conditions, as well as to the situation of the user. It involves the social context (e.g. relationships in social apps), personal context (e.g. personal characteristics, needs or preferences) and environmental context, which includes the location, the time and other environmental conditions (e.g. weather conditions). User context is important for the development and delivery of context aware, personalized and smart services.

User value. It refers to the value of the service for the user, or else the utility/

benefit the user gains as a result of the use of the service. User value is difficult to be precisely described, analyzed and assessed, however it is extremely useful to be taken into account in order to gain some insight ‘why’ the individual uses a service – or uses services in general. There are several categorizations of customer value in the literature that can be helpful in this. We consider the categorization of Sheth, Newman and Gross (1991) is useful for the value analysis of mobile services in this method.

Table 6.1: The characteristics of the user domain

A variety of activities the user performs in his daily life, such as:

Service is used in the daily tasks and activities of the people, as a part of their life practices. Hence, the concept of service here refers to the physical world (not to computing or software services) and provides real world effects. The mobile service in particular is an electronic service that can be provided, accessed and used with the use of mobile technologies and mobile devices. It represents the functionality (e.g. in terms of communication, information exchange, entertainment, economic transactions, etc.) that is received from a provider in order to support the activities and tasks of the user. The mobile service interrelates, hence, the activities/ tasks of the user in the User Domain and the mobile apps, devices and other technologies in the Technological Domain that are used to provide this functionality. The mobile service is different from the mobile app, which is the means for the provision of mobile service and can provide many mobile services (it is further discussed next). This way, the concept of the mobile service is not determined solely by the mobile apps and technologies, but is it shaped as a result of the combination of the provided functionality with the activities and the practices of the user.

6.1.3 The technological domain

The Technological Domain refers to the provider’s concerns about the production and delivery of mobile services as a part of its business operations. It includes the analysis of mobile apps, devices and the technological context for service provision (table 6.2).

Mobile App. It refers to the software means for the production and delivery of mobile service as the business offering to the user. A mobile app can be devoted to the delivery of one service or can be used for the delivery of many services. For instance, a mail app is closely related to the delivery of mail service, while a fitness app can provide services related to tracking running routes and performance, measuring calories burnt, scheduling tasks, as well as listening to the music (entertainment), interacting with peers (communication), etc.

Mobile device. It is the equipment that is used by the user in order to receive and use mobile services. Mobile devices facilitate the provision of mobile services and intermediate and connect the physical world of the user with the virtual world of the mobile services. Mobile devices can include mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, notebooks/ ultrabooks, navigation devices, wearables/smartwatches and a wide array of other specialized devices for the delivery of specialized service (e.g. medical devices for monitoring, testing, analyzing results, alerting, etc.). Mobile devices have enhanced computing and sensing capabilities today that can support the development of smart environments and of ubiquitous computing apps and services. They can support the delivery of services, their better adaptation to the user’s characteristics and needs, the development of novel services and novel business model (e.g.

models of mobile cloud computing).

Technological context. It refers to the various computing and software technologies that are used for the development, management and dissemination of mobile services (e.g. software development platforms, mobile computing technologies, service-oriented technologies, virtualization and cloud computing technologies, etc.), the hardware technologies (e.g. sensors, recognition/

reading devices, etc.), and the network technologies needed for the provision of mobile services (e.g. telecommunication and Internet networks, mobile and wireless networks, virtual networks, cloud networks, etc.). There are several works for the analysis and design of system and network architectures. In this paper we aim to put forward the user’s perspective in the analysis and design of mobile services and we emphasize on the user’s domain and the service domain. The technological context is not directly a user’s concern.

Service providers have a different outlook on mobile service and different priorities and concerns than the users. Providers are interested in the functional and non-functional requirements of mobile apps, such as their features and functionality, the technological requirements for service delivery and connectivity, the quality of service, security issues, etc. All these provide the basis for the value proposition of the mobile service, which represents the provider’s promise to the user for the benefits/ value he will receive when he uses the service. The value proposition represents the provider’s view on

service use and value, as potential value that is related to potential and indicative uses of the service.

Table 6.2: The characteristics of the technological domain

Mobile app

(based on Google Developers Mobile App Categories)

• Entertainment

• Business

• Learning

• Travel & transportation

• News

• Social networking

• Health and fitness

• Shopping

• Navigation

• Computing

• Lifestyle

Mobile device

• Phones/ Smartphones

• Tablets

• Notebooks/ ultrabooks

• Navigation devices

• Wearables

• Special purpose/ field devices (e.g. medical devices)

Technological context

• Computing technologies

• Software technologies

• Hardware technologies

• Network technologies