People, Activation, Execution: The Layers of Service Design

SDN's Dec 2014 issue of the Touchpoint Magazine focuses on adjacent disciplines and success in creating lasting service innovation. In a contributing article, I am dissecting the core layers of service design and how they map against key stakeholders – here is a quick preview: 

In a world where marketing is all about creating meaningful and enduring brand experiences, brands are seeking for winning formulas to bring about that change. Fully executed Service Design projects can lead through breakthrough innovation in customer experiences, and they depend on true collaboration across practice lines.

In this article for Touchpoint, Service Design Network’s peer reviewed publication, I share my experiences as the CXO of InReality. Essentially, there are three levels that define a successful service design engagement: People, Activation, and Execution. These are the defining ingredients of any Service Design engagement. The article focuses on these three collaborative layers, concentrating less on methods and processes and more on integration and communication around those layers. A highlight of the analysis is Service Design's rigorous focus on the systems aspect of successful SD implementations. Marketers and other brand stakeholders will find this layer model useful for planning and executing better service design projects.
The full article can be found in Service Design Network’s Touchpoint Vol. 6 No. 3 – “Blurring Boundaries”.