Tapping into the future of service design.

Pioneering the future role of service design at the Ministry of Justice and defining a more applied role and responsibilities today.

001. Intro

As the sole service designer at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), I faced a challenge that required a bold, forward-thinking approach. The Criminal Injury Compensation Authority (CICA) needed more than just an understanding of service design principles—they needed these principles to be translated into tangible, actionable outcomes. A project about improving operational processes turned out to be very much about pioneering the future of service design. In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, service designers must go beyond creating awareness of the big picture; they must create prototypes, use data effectively, and even write code. I established a Service Design Lab that would serve as a testing ground for new ideas and technologies, setting a precedent for the future of our field.

002. Client

The Criminal Injury Compensation Authority was grappling with fragmented operational processes, leading to inefficiencies and poor user experiences. The challenge was clear: service design needed to move from theory to practice, from principles to prototypes. The client had never engaged in such a transformative project before, and it was my responsibility to bring them on this journey, demonstrating how service design could be made accessible, useful, and, most importantly, actionable. This required not just the application of design principles but the integration of data, technology, and rapid prototyping to deliver real-world results.

003. Strategic goals and challenges

  1. Implementing a system for quick prototyping and solutions

    Goal: To establish a system that could rapidly create Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), allowing multiple business areas to test and refine solutions quickly and collaboratively. The challenge was to demonstrate that service design could be more than a set of guidelines— those guidelines could be converted into a tool that was useful.

  2. Embracing holistic thinking and making it tangible

    Goal: The lab format aimed to promote a comprehensive view of the entire service journey that previously was hidden across projects. The challenge was to move from abstract principles of holistic thinking to an actionable prototype. An example that demonstrates what good looks like.

  3. Leveraging data and technology for better communication

    Goal: To use technology licensed by MOJ to make complex data understandable and actionable. The challenge was to show that technology could be used easily by business teams and was effective at delivering nuanced value.

  4. Define the role of service design in MOJ

    Goal: To demonstrate that service designers of the future must embrace tools like Power BI, write code, and create prototypes. The challenge was to show that these skills are not just nice-to-haves but essential for making service design truly impactful. Conversely, the use of service design as a facilitator of meetings massively underplays the capability.

004. Discovery phase

The Discovery phase was all about deeply understanding the problems faced by the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority and developing a view of the entire journey. I began by conducting extensive research, including interviews with stakeholders, employees, and users of the service. The goal was to identify the root causes of the inefficiencies and to gather insights that would inform the next phases of the project.

Key Activities:

  • Conducted in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and end-users to gather qualitative data.

  • Analyzed existing service processes to identify pain points and inefficiencies.

  • Mapped out the entire service journey to understand how different parts of the service interacted.

Outcome: I was able to create a map of the application process for compensation and how and where complaints from customers and employees emerged. It highlighted the need for a holistic approach to operational improvements as no team had visibility of the right information.

005: Define phase

Discovery insights were distilled into clearer, actionable goals. This phase involved working closely with stakeholders to define what success would look like and to create a strategic roadmap for achieving it. I hosted some discussions with senior leaders on their challenges and costs.

Key Activities:

  • Synthesised the research findings into key themes and areas of focus.

  • Worked with stakeholders to define the project’s goals, success metrics, and priorities.

  • Developed a strategic roadmap that outlined the steps needed to move from discovery to delivery.

  • Identified the key strengths of Power BI—such as its ability to integrate data, create interactive dashboards, and provide real-time insights—and ensured that our approach would maximise these capabilities.

Outcome: I achieved a clear direction for the project by creating a new more specific problem statement: how can we all have visibility of our individual key actions from each single issue? It became clear that our solution would be an internal process but we would have a requirement for technology to facilitate a better experience. I advocated for the use of Power BI highlighting our needs and its strengths, we set the stage for effective data-driven decision-making throughout the project.

006. Design phase

The Design phase was where ideas began to take shape. I started with a knowledge of the general characteristics of customer, employee and partner issues and created a workflow for an evaluation and co-design process called the service design lab. Using a basic journey I was able to define governance for change and set a prototype in motion by arranging the first lab session with relevant parties where we developed a set of prototype MVPs to a variety of inputs.

Key Activities:

  • Created wireframes and low-fidelity prototypes to test initial ideas.

  • Conducted co-design workshops with stakeholders to iterate on the prototypes.

  • Used Power BI to visualise data from multiple sources, creating dashboards that allowed us to track user interactions, operational metrics, and service outcomes in real time.

  • Integrated real-time feedback into the design process, using Power BI to quickly adjust and improve prototypes based on data-driven insights.

Outcome: During this test it became clear that we had the ability to consolidate a variety of management boards into this model of working. It was a challenge to overcome fear of new platforms, but my role as a service designer started to include more than facilitating but development as resources were limited. I decided to use templates to create a dashboard and used features to push dashboard insights to email updates which the participants thought was ground-breaking.

007. Delivery phase

I gained the support from the COO as a key sponsor in this endeavour. We diverted all management board meetings into a single service design lab with the revised goal of making decisions at meetings. This was a novel approach as previously, more meetings were often the result of board sessions, and the total cost of this removed strategic people and sometimes entire teams from solving customer issues to create MI.

Key Activities:

  • Tested the MVPs with real users to gather feedback and make final adjustments.

  • Implemented the refined solutions within the MOJ, focusing on scalability and sustainability.

  • Used the Service Design Lab as a framework to evaluate ongoing needs and co-design new operational processes with business stakeholders.

  • Employed Power BI to monitor the performance of the implemented solutions, track the effectiveness of the lab’s processes, and make ongoing improvements based on real-time data.

Outcome: The initial service design lab was a success, as employee, customer, and partner issues were converted into end-to-end requirements for MVPs for business change. Working in this way reduced committed hours of leaders by 18%. Testing of leaders and their teams on shared projects resulted in 80% awareness of project objectives and responsibilities. Prioritisation of resources improved as it was possible to delay £800K in previously committed spending towards more actionable items. Power BI was instrumental in tracking and refining both the operational processes and the lab itself - it ensured that we were able to scale quickly and keep our primary users engaged.

007. Critical analysis

Evaluating the Results

The project was a pioneering effort that pushed the boundaries of what service design can achieve. By moving beyond traditional design principles and embracing technology, we were able to deliver real, tangible outcomes that addressed the complex challenges faced by the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority.

Strengths:

  • Rapid Prototyping: The ability to quickly create and test prototypes was a major strength of the project. It allowed us to iterate rapidly and deliver solutions that were well-informed and user-centric.

  • Holistic Approach: The project’s focus on holistic thinking ensured that all aspects of the service were considered and addressed. This led to more cohesive and effective solutions.

  • Use of Technology: Power BI was instrumental in making complex data accessible and actionable, which was crucial for communication and decision-making throughout the project.

Challenges:

  • Stakeholder Engagement: Engaging stakeholders who were new to service design was a challenge. However, the use of data visualisation tools helped bridge this gap and facilitated better communication and buy-in.

  • Balancing Speed and Quality: While rapid prototyping was a strength, it also posed a challenge in ensuring that the speed of delivery did not compromise the quality of the solutions. Careful management of the iterative process was required to maintain this balance.

Future Opportunities:

  • Scalability: The success of the Service Design Lab opens up opportunities for scaling this approach to other parts of the MOJ and beyond. The lab could serve as a model for how service design can be applied in a rapid, impactful way across different sectors.

  • Continued Use of Technology: The project demonstrated the value of integrating technology into service design. There is a significant opportunity to further explore how tools like Power BI can enhance the design process and drive innovation.

008. Conclusions

Pioneering the Future of Service Design

  • This project at the Ministry of Justice was more than just a design initiative; it was a glimpse into the future of our field. As service designers, we are responsible for more than just the big picture—we must bring our principles into practice, create prototypes, and use technology to make our ideas tangible. The Service Design Lab was a tool for doing just that, transforming abstract concepts into real-world solutions that delivered immediate value.

  • The challenge we face as service designers is not just to understand the principles of our field but to apply them in ways that are accessible, useful, and testable. By embracing tools like Power BI, writing code, and creating prototypes, we can turn service design into a powerful force for change.

Challenge

  • I challenge my fellow service designers to embrace the future of our field. It’s not enough to be guardians of design principles—we must be the ones who bring those principles to life. By embracing technology and pushing the boundaries of what service design can achieve, we can redefine our role as leaders of innovation and change

Remember.

“Service designers are not coaches - our role is to determine how design delivers results and must do so before change or products are launched.”

More.

I happen to have a lot more information on this project and the methods I tried and eventually succeeded with. If you would like access to further case studies, data, or design files OR you would like some advice implementing this method at work then please send me a message below.