If you want to make a service that works well and makes your users happy, in a decent amount of time, then you need to engage in testing and prototyping. How is this different than what most companies do? Because most companies don’t invest in testing, especially with the user in mind. They make services that they think are good, that benefit their company, then launch them into the world and wait to see what happens. Few companies are spending the time to thoughtfully create service design with the intention of creating a desirable service for their users. They’re not walking through their own services in the shoes of the customer. And most companies aren’t taking advantage of feedback, analytics, and big data to improve their services. This is an opportunity for you to make a real difference with customers. Customers are used to bad services. Make yours better than the rest.

How? By testing and prototyping.

Here are 3 tools you can use to make sure your service goes above and beyond your customer’s expectations.

Mock Ups

Design teams tend to create mock ups for products, but why not for services? A mock up is physical model of a product or service so that the designers and testers can visualize the process. They might include a collage of pictures or illustrations. They are the precursors to prototypes.

Constructive Interaction

During this tool, users or potential customers walk through the service while talking out loud everything that they are thinking at each step. Evaluators literally get into user’s heads to know if they like something or not. This tool is better if two users go through the service at the same time.

Usability Testing Tools

There are several ways to find out how easy a service is to use. You should test users in as realistic settings as possible to get accurate results.
  1. You can observe different users going through the service without them knowing you are watching.
  2. You can watch them, then ask them why they made each action.
  3. You can also give them a set of tasks with a service and have them fill out a short survey after each task with specific questions.
  You should also test many different kinds of users to make the most out of testing. No service has only one kind of user; it should work for anyone who wants or needs to use it. Creating prototypes makes sure you are planning accurately and effectively how to make the best user. Testing makes sure that your service is understandable, desirable, and that it actually works. Never force your customers into services that you haven’t planned out and tested. This process takes time, but it will help you more than you can imagine in the long run.  

Service Design Testing and Prototyping Takeaways

  1. Testing and prototyping your service is how you make sure your service is functional, useful, and desirable.
  2. Mockups are physical models of the service.
  3. Constructive Interaction is where customers walk through the service speaking what is on their mind at each point.
  4. There are three main ways to test usability, but all are about observing customers going through a service and getting in their head.
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Star of Discovery Channel’s “Undercover Billionaire,” Grant Cardone owns and operates seven privately held companies and a private equity real estate firm, Cardone Capital, with a multifamily portfolio of assets under management valued at over $4 billion. He is the Top Crowdfunder in the world, raising over $900 million in equity via social media. Known internationally as the leading expert on sales, marketing, and scaling businesses, Cardone is a New York Times bestselling author of 11 business books, including “The 10X Rule,” which led to Cardone establishing the 10X Global Movement and the 10X Growth Conference, now the largest business and entrepreneur conference in the world. The online business and sales educational platform he created, Cardone University, serves over 411,000 individuals and Forbes 100 corporate clients throughout the world. Voted the top Marketing Influencer to watch by Forbes, Cardone uses his massive 15 million plus following to give back via his Grant Cardone Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring underserved, at-risk adolescents in financial literacy, especially those without father figures.