This rapid ethnographic study explored how a 'mobile health education' app might impact preschool teachers and students, interact with organizational protocols and policies, and align with the preschool culture. The researcher evaluated the app's early Pre-K content and user experience. With a systems thinking approach, this study revealed the lived-experiences and processes in preschools around Austin, Texas. The outcomes of this study guided the client with more human-centered approaches to researching and designing their apps and services.

This thesis investigates the influence of organizational culture on customer experience through a comprehensive study of a global supplier of home repair products. By combining organizational analysis and consumer research, this research draws on anthropological principles to explore the nuances of family governance and their effects on behavior, customer experience, and product design. The results of this study present insightful information on product perception and actionable strategies to improve product design, branding, and messaging in order to enhance customer experience and drive sales. Drawing on organizational anthropology and the utilization of critical reflexivity, this thesis provides a deeper understanding of how family-owned businesses can leverage research to challenge their cultural assumptions about products, consumers, and their organization, in order to effectively implement customer-centric solutions and drive organizational behavior, customer experience, and product development.

The pension system in Sweden today is a very simple system. Taxed incomes generate pension incomes, paid out monthly after retirement. Yet the topic seems riddled with emotions; guilt, shame and anxiety over what you should or should not do. Increasing inflation, population age and climate change are projected to pose big threats to pensions in the coming decades. By 2060, pension incomes are projected to diminish substantially. Yet the future brings hope too; the gender gap in pension incomes is today at 30% and is projected to go down to 4% by 2040 as the changing view on women in the workplace and policy making is evening the (occupational) field. To learn about pension on the personal, professional and societal layers, I conducted conversations with professionals working for the pension agency, banks, savings solutions and researchers at economics and sociology departments at universities, as well as with individuals with pension planning on their minds (or not). The professionals argued that financial literacy teaches how simple the system is while the individuals feel overwhelmed and confused, showing that the system is not complicated but feels complicated. This dissonance became the space for designing. I propose to look at money as an actor we have a relationship with, to scale away guilt, shame or anxiety and leverage the positives. Through the strategic use of reflection, we learn about our ongoing relationship with money; formed in childhood, and shaped by everyday life planning towards the future. Thus, we grow towards a life where money serves us by investing in our values, hopes and dreams. As we change our financial behaviour today, we change our relationship in the future. The value of money does not start with the currency, but with the intention of use, in the hopes and dreams of a person that wants to spend their time with families and hobbies, not with stocks and funds. Looking at financial planning more holistically shows how the established system is biased, rejecting those that do not speak the language. We as designers can be mindful of this and make more inclusive tools to learn this financial language. Insofar the system can be changed is what I examine through speculative futures methods and designs.

Aim: As the ageing population in China increases, support required from family caregivers for older relatives living with long-term health conditions also increases. This being so, this thesis explored the experiences and perceptions of current and prospective family caregivers, under the culture of Xiao (孝; filial piety). Design and Methods: Phase 1 was conducted with 19 Chinese students using 3 focus groups to gain greater familiarity with the culture and inform the main study (Phase 2). Adopting a social constructivist philosophical position, data for Phase 2 were obtained from three generational sub-samples: only-children affected by the One-Child Policy (OCP), parents affected by OCP, and family caregivers in the workforce, totaling 23 participants through virtual in-depth interviews with participants in mainland China. Interviews were translated, transcribed, and analysed using reflective thematic analysis. Findings and Conclusion: Phase 1 confirmed the centrality of the concept of Xiao to attitudes and beliefs around future caregiving for parents. Phase 2 findings’ overarching theme was ‘Competing pressures’, which comprised of three inextricably linked themes: (i) Caregiving beliefs, (ii) Contextual factors, and (iii) Caregiving conditions. Participants expressed meaningful desires to fulfil obligations, reflecting value-based convictions, stemming from their socio-cultural environment. Stressors experienced reveals structural and personal barriers to seeking support. Ultimately, extensive demands and limited coping strategies could diminish meaning in caregiving. This thesis makes a novel contribution on perceptions and experiences of family caregivers of older relatives within China as a collectivist society. Findings have implications for research, policy, and practice, highlighting the need for culturally attuned services to build resilience.

The purpose of the essay is to study why and how the Swedish Transport Administration has applied quality management and service design. This study applies the institutional theory and theory behind New Public Management. Total Quality Management and service design are used as study objects. A qualitative method with an abductive approach has been used. The authors use primary and secondary data, which have been collected through semi-structured interviews and (final) reports from the Swedish Transport Administration. According to the employees and (final) reports, The Swedish Transport administration was motivated to apply quality management due to faults in the facilities, and service design due to lack of railway descriptions. The Swedish Transport Administration's quality management work takes place, among other things, through the four-step principle, the project model and ISO standards when working on railways. The Swedish Transport Administration works with service design from an outside and in perspective, to understand its customers and to create successful outcomes in the organization. This is done by, among other things, introducing service maps and creating value for customers. / Syftet med uppsatsen är att studera varför och hur Trafikverket har tillämpat kvalitetsstyrningsarbete samt tjänstedesignarbete. Denna studie tillämpar den institutionella teorin och teorin bakom New Public Management. Total Quality Management och tjänstedesign används som studieobjekt. En kvalitativ metod med en abduktiv ansats har använts. Författarna använder sig av primär-och sekundärdata, vilka har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer samt (slut)rapporter från Trafikverket. Enligt de anställda och (slut)rapporterna, motiverades Trafikverket till att tillämpa kvalitetsstyrning på grund av fel i anläggningarna och tjänstedesign på grund av bristande järnvägsbeskrivningar. Trafikverkets kvalitetsstyrningarbete sker bland annat genom fyrstegsprincipen, projektmodellen och ISO standarder vid arbete på järnväg. Trafikverket arbetar med tjänstedesign utifrån ett utifrån- och in perspektiv, för att förstå sina kunder och skapa framgångsrika utfall i organisationen. Detta genom att bland annat införa tjänstekartor och skapa värde för kund.

[pt] Em 2017 o número de pessoas com 60 anos ou mais chegou a um bilhão, e atingirá os 2,1 bilhões em 2050 (ONU, 2017). No Brasil acrescenta-se o fato de estarmos envelhecendo em ritmo acelerado. Entre 1940 e 2017 (IBGE, 2018), passamos a viver 30 anos a mais. Nesse cenário, e sob o olhar do Design, esta tese busca contribuir para a longevidade com qualidade, a partir de serviços de extensão universitária. Para tanto, foram investigados e correlacionados os eixos temáticos: o público 50 mais (faixa etária correspondente à transição entre vida laboral e aposentadoria); empreendedorismo sênior (que inclui empreendedorismo social, autoempreendedorismo e intraempreendedorismo) e extensão universitária (conceito recorrentemente revisto em fóruns de pró-reitores de extensão). O percurso metodológico foi estabelecido a partir de minha atuação no Programa de Educação Continuada PUC-Rio mais de 50 e teve como base o Design de Serviços e métodos participativos, de observação participante e de associação livre de palavras. Este trabalho foi guiado pelo Design Emocional e resultou no Programa de Iniciação Científica e Tecnológica Sênior PUC-Rio (PICT Sênior), caracterizado pela participação do 50 mais em grupos de pesquisa da PUC-Rio. Esse serviço, replicável, foi criado com a colaboração de professores pesquisadores de diversos departamentos da universidade, e com o suporte da Coordenação de Iniciação Científica; da Coordenação Central de Extensão, da Vice-Reitoria de Desenvolvimento e da gerencia de Recursos Humanos. O primeiro protótipo, realizado entre outubro de 2017 e setembro de 2018, atendeu seis 50 mais+; o segundo, com previsão de término para janeiro de 2020, atendeu o mesmo número de participantes. O PICT Sênior se revelou um novo caminho para o público 50 mais, oferecendo-lhe papeis de colaboradores e empreendedores da própria vida e confirmando a universidade como espaço para a promoção da longevidade com qualidade. / [en] In 2017 the number of people aged 60 and over has reached one billion, and will reach 2.1 billion by 2050 (UN, 2017). In Brazil we add that we are aging fast. Between 1940 and 2017 (IBGE, 2018), we started to live 30 years more. In this scenario and under the Design view, this thesis seeks to contribute to longevity with quality, from university extension services. To do so, the following thematic axes were investigated and correlated: the 50 public (the age range corresponding to the transition between working life and retirement); senior entrepreneurship (including social entrepreneurship, self-entrepreneurship, and intrapreneurship) and university extension (a concept that is re- peatedly revised in extension pro-rector forums). The methodological course was established from my performance in the Continuing Education Program PUC-Rio mais de 50 and was based on the Design of Services and participatory methods, participant observation and free association of words. This work was guided by Emotional Design and resulted in the Programa de Iniciação Científica e Tecnológica Sênior da PUC-Rio (PICT Senior), characterized by 50 participation in research groups at the PUC-Rio. This replicable service was created with the collaboration of research professors from various university departments, among others and support of the Coordination of Scientific Initiation; Central Extension Coordination; ViceDean of Development and Human Resources. The first prototype, carried out from October 2017 to September 2018, served six 50, and the second, scheduled to end in January 2020, met the same number of participants. The PICT Senior was a new way for the 50 audience, giving them a role of collaborator and entrepreneur of life itself, confirming the university as a space to promote longevity with quality.

The purpose of the study has been to execute an investigation on digital collaborative services, and their connections to onsite activities, throughout empirical experimentation, with a combined participatory design methodology and lab approach. The research focused on how an online platform, in addition to onsite events, could seed a public collaborative service. The chosen context for prototyping the service was the Rome’s library network, where during a phase of economic and job crisis, the library role is even more crucial, as one of the most locally active user centered services. The library wants to readdress its mediation ability towards educational activities who present an unsaturated potential, aimed at increasing users long term job potential and labour market orientation.
The workshops with local students, library staff, and local NGO, highlighted the need of an online platform in combination with onsite events, that could fill the main gaps that prevent the building of continuos relations with the users, adding a new core touchpoint will change the user experience of the current service, generating a new service flow.
The online and onsite service was tested in the month of July 2014, with 5 seminars, and a decent online participation, focusing on the main feature of the service: directly influence the service, to actively choosing its contents, the most voted events’ themes that become seminars.
The users are able to adapt the service to their personal needs, making the system modifiable, creating dialog between the users and the service, sharing many communal traits with a meta-design environment. 
The current state of the service prototype can not be considered a collaborative service, since the users can reach the role of co-designer - even if can be considered a social innovation project. However this service prototype has the potential to seed a transformation towards a public collaborative service. The user could gradually build a continuos relation to the service, as far as becoming a co-provider.

The purpose of the thesis is to apply the service design perspective to map value creation processes within digitally complex GIS-services. Services are becoming increasingly prevalent within organizations today, and it is crucial to continuously develop them to meet customer needs. Since existing services are used regularly, incremental development is required to maintain their relevance. By applying principles from service design, a deeper understanding of value creation processes within various digital services can be achieved. Utilizing the service design perspective in mapping the value creation processes of digital services is feasible, but it requires active involvement from all stakeholders. In this paper, we explore the application of the service design perspective using a combination of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and Service Blueprint as framework. By examining this combined framework with a focus on service design perspective on Geographic Information Systems (GIS-services), we contribute to expanding the research field of service design. The results indicate that mapping a value creation process using this approach is possible, but there is room for further improvement.

<p dir="ltr">In response to the need for a modernized platform in the medical device industry, this thesis introduces the design of a comprehensive digital B2B (business to business) marketplace. The objective is to provide buyers with a user-friendly interface for streamlined purchases and communication with sellers, while empowering sellers with tools to expand their reach and simplify operations. The methodology involved a combination of on-site case studies, literature reviews, industry research, and user surveys to inform the design process. Through the use of wireframing and user interface design, a cohesive two-part digital service was developed to meet the specific needs of both buyers and sellers effectively.</p><p dir="ltr">The results demonstrate a successful integration of buyer-centric features for enhanced purchasing and seller-centric tools for efficient order fulfillment. For buyers, the marketplace offers an easy-to-navigate interface, transparent pricing, and improved communication channels with sellers. For sellers, it provides a platform to showcase products, manage inventory, and engage with potential buyers. The practical implications of this marketplace highlight the current lack of transparency in pricing and the potential benefits for both buyers and sellers through increased control and direct sales opportunities. By enabling manufacturers to market their products directly, the marketplace offers a solution to reliance on third-party sellers, ultimately enhancing efficiency and transparency in the medical device procurement process.</p>

Die Konferenz »Entwerfen – Entwickeln – Erleben« bietet ein besonderes Podium zum Austausch von Wissenschaft und Praxis entlang des Produktentwicklungsprozess mit einem Schwerpunkt Industrial Design. Der vorliegende Band enthält Beiträge der Sessions zum Industrial Design sowie ausgewählte Posterveröffentlichungen der Konferenz 2016. Darin werden Themen und Ansätze von der Anwenderintegration, neuen Prototypen, Service Design, User Experience und der Gestaltung von Emotion über Design in der Digitalen Revolution und für eine nachhaltige Zukunft, Design in mobilen und für Sicherheitsanwendungen bis hin zu Designmanagement, Feasibilitydesign und Reengineering vorgestellt und diskutiert. Die Technische Universität Dresden und technischesdesign.org ermöglichten in Kooperation mit der Gruppe Virtuelle Produktentwicklung der Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft für Produktentwicklung (WiGeP) und dem Rat für Formgebung die fachübergreifende Diskussion des Schwerpunkt-Themas inmitten der interdisziplinären Dresdner Wissenschaftslandschaft. Ein zweiter Band »Entwerfen Entwickeln Erleben 2016« (ISBN 978-3-95908-062-0, herausgegeben von Ralph Stelzer) fasst die Beiträge zur Konstruktionstechnik und zur Virtuellen Produktentwicklung zusammen.