A visual interactive method for service prototyping

Abstract

Purpose – Despite the importance of the service design process, existing prototyping methods still have technical limitations, thus hampering the development of realistic service-experience simulations that can effectively reproduce service delivery situations and environments. In this study, a service-prototyping method based on 3D virtual reality (VR) technologies, the physical environment of a test bed, and related standard management procedures are described. In addition, a service-prototyping process for a servicescape is proposed based on a case study of an actual duty-free shop. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a qualitative approach, using case studies to undertake a design and improvement plans for brand guidance structures for the brand observation convenience of customers in a duty-free shop. Findings – The findings of the study suggested environmental components and concept of 3D VR based test bed as an effective tool at the stage of service prototyping the core of new service development (NSD), and introduced practical methods for service prototyping in actual duty-free shop. The case study is significant due to the fact that it proved validity and practicality of the methods applied to service prototyping topic derivation and test process through target service analysis rather than optimal alternative selection. Practical implications – This study emphasizes the importance of prototyping during NSD and the value of the service prototyping test bed for practical use. It also proposes guidelines for the establishment and management of the test bed. Originality/value – In terms of service design research, this study also presented detailed operating procedures and methods through the new concept and in-depth case study of service prototyping using 3D VR technology.

Understanding the use of Virtual Reality in Marketing: A text mining-based review

“…Virtual reality has been a technique employed by practitioners and academics to plan, develop and communicate new and existent products (e.g., goods, services, places, destinations, packages) or brands (Mujber et al, 2005;Guttentag, 2010;Cheng & Wang, 2011;Shen & Khalifa, 2012;Bae & Leem, 2014;Dad et al, 2016;Ketelaar et al, 2017).…”

“…Here, VR can help greatly in the interaction with consumers and even with other stakeholders. Indeed, VR allows simulation of real processes and products for different purposes, for instance, staff training, prototype design, manufacturing optimization and marketing (Choi & Cheung, 2008;Bae & Leem, 2014), meeting market demands (Duffy & Salvendy, 2000;Souza, Sacco & Porto, 2006), by increasing product quality and giving a faster response to the market (Manesh, Schaefer & Hashemipour, 2011), and reducing uncertainty about consumer acceptance (Rosenberger & Dechernatony, 1995).…”

Development of a Rapid Co-Prototyping Environment for Industrial Services

“…Prototyping is proposed as a key function in NSD for ensuring the fulfilment of value proposition of a service (Kindström and Kowalkowski, 2009). Prototyping has been used for conceptual studies of services, creating empathy for users, communicating with stakeholders, designing service logic as well as testing the service concept (Bae and Leem, 2014). Prototyping supports communication, saves resources by enabling the identification of problems in early stages (McCurdy et al, 2006), and manages uncertainty of new ideas (Blomkvist, 2014).…”

“…This ensures the functionality and feasibility of a solution as an outcome of prototyping activity (Parker and Heapy, 2006;Jégou and Manzini, 2008). Several environments have been developed for supporting service prototyping, for example ServLab (Fraunhofer IAO Laboratory, Germany), S-Scape (KITECH, South Korea) SINCO (University of Lapland, Finland) (Bae and Leem, 2014). The service prototyping environments use digital representations, such as 3D models, videos and photos, which can be shared, evaluated and used for idea generation.…”

“…The service prototyping environments use digital representations, such as 3D models, videos and photos, which can be shared, evaluated and used for idea generation. The testbeds dedicate to service-interaction design in order to support an internal management process through simulations, and apply methods from the fields of service engineering, service design, and service marketing (Miettinen and Kuure 2013;Bae and Leem 2014). In addition, and SFB / Transregio 29 (Rurh-Universität Bochum, Germany) has developed an industrial PSS development process (Nguyen et al, 2013), and operationalised process included also prototyping phase (Nguyen et al, 2014) .…”