To create fulfilling service experiences, facility and design managers need support from methodologies capable of putting people, their experiences and behaviours at the centre of the entire design process. Human-Centred Service Design represents such an approach.

In the future, facility services managers will be asked to prioritize the design of a service delivery system that is built on an in-depth understanding of what creates value from a users’ perspective and is aligned with buyers’ willingness to pay.

To do so, facility services managers must explore methodologies that necessitate innovation and help to create service experiences that result in more satisfied users and more profitable enterprises.

Human-centred service design can be one of these methodologies. This method taps into the creative abilities we as human beings possess. Creative abilities that often get overlooked by conventional problem-solving.

By utilizing human-centered methods, design service managers and designers are inspired by behaviours rather than demographics, rely on dynamic conversations rather than scripted interviews and let the process take place in natural contexts rather than controlled settings.

User centered Design is the overarching framework of processes that integrates a broad set of practices around understanding the needs, wants, and limitations of end users. It can improve strategic decision-making as well as increase the effectiveness of individual programs and services. Many agencies and organizations claim to have a “client centric/human centered approach” however fall at key hurdles e.g. the final UAT phase or when some insight is put forward that shakes their view of the world!

Although some may argue me on this point I really think HCD and UCD are at their core the same thing. The social development sector tend to use human centered design more (think IDEO.org), as it encompasses their values better than calling beneficiaries “users”.