Professional Development for Service Designers

ISDI's Progressive Learning Approach

APPROACH

Sequential Learning

ISDI’s learning method, our approach, is a three-part graduated professional learning curriculum for those who want to learn how to build, launch and improve services.

The three parts to our approach include similarly-named books and online courses:

♦  The Apprentice (novice)

♦  The Journeyman (mid-level)

♦  The Master (Expert)

Purchased as either a book(s) or an online course(s), singularly or in combination, separately or bundled, the structure is designed to help learners progress through a sequence of how-to for designing, launching, and improving a service.

Sequential Learning Divided
Into Three Volumes

The Apprentice

Volume I

The Journeyman

Volume II

The Master

Volume III

Volume I, covering the foundation of service design, is for learners who have not been exposed to service design.

Volume II covers models and tools and tips – taking learners through the steps and process of designing a service.  This is intended as part reference, part refresher, but also for those who have a foundation and want to progress.

Volume III, which covers shaping user experiences, is for those learners who have designed services and want to improve their skills.

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ISDI is known for its sequential approach to designing a service.  The sequential approach appears in three online courses and three separate books that can be used independently or with the online courses.

Each help learners grow their knowledge and skills

ISDI Began As A Challenge

Steven J. Slater

After 30 years of designing and improving services, Steven, thinking the knowledge for building new lines of service would be valuable to businesses and organizations, began researching references or resources to pass on to clients.

Steven had been designing services for companies and organizations across the spectrum of industry sectors.  For instance, he had worked with businesses listed on Fortune 500 in aerospace and defense (Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Northrop-Grumman, and Boeing) along with Ford automotive and the U.S. Government, plus, companies on the Fortune 1000 list, including Duke Energy, Booz Allen Hamilton, Science Applications International, Host Hotels and Resorts (Marriott), and Anthem (Blue Cross/Blue Sheild).

In his search for existing resources, he discovered the field of service design as a mature pratie in Europe. Practitioners, there were using many of the same procedures, methods, and tools Steven  was using or had stumbled upon.

Otherwise, he came up empty when it came to thorough resources.

If it wasn’t for a business acquaintance who in 2015 suggested Steven, a former business reporter, write his own resource, ISDIs service design learning would never have come about.

Efforts Toward Getting It Right

Co-founders Steven and Naomi Lantzman spent 48 months assembling the content for how to design a service.

Their efforts involved:

  • Gathering techniques and vignettes (examples) from experiences and external sources (interviews, academic reports)
  • Further research to verify content (empirical evidence, origins of techniques, and bios of individuals credited)
  • Structuring the content into a logical sequence
  • Testing content 
  • Along with lots of re-writing!

"I use what I've learned with ISDI. "

 

J. Johns. Design Firm Sr. Manager. USA

"You are doing important work for our service design community. THANK YOU!."

 

P. Linkletter.  Professor. UK

"I encourage my team to continue their education with ISDI."

 

J. Patel. Service Designer. India