Service Design
What is Service Design?
Service Design is a human-centered methodology of understanding and organizing people, interactions, and processes to improve service quality and user experience for both employees and customers.
By integrating customer experience principles with business processes, service design can help public sector agencies identify opportunities to reduce costs while also boosting engagement and customer satisfaction.
Who We Are
We are a team of service designers with demonstrated expertise in design thinking and accessibility. We are passionate about crafting efficient, delightful services that users can navigate with confidence.
What We Do
Identify Service Gaps
Use human-centered design to identify the needs and challenges of city departments and their customers and design solutions to address them.
Leverage Research and Data
Leverage user research to identify areas for improvement, guide solutioning, and measure impacts.
Refine Service Experience
Use real-world feedback and performance metrics to iterate design solutions to ensure relevance, effectiveness, and long-term service quality.
Values
Design for People First
Prioritize the needs and experiences of users, residents, and stakeholders to enhance service delivery for all involved.
Support City Priorities
Strengthen the city's ability to deliver services that support public safety, housing and homelessness, health, and thriving Seattle priorities.
Equity and Inclusion
Committed to ensuring non-English speakers, people with disabilities, and members of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural groups are designed for.
Human-centered service design dismantles silos and unites departments around adaptive solutions--directly tackling real community needs and equipping cities to solve their most complex, urgent challenges with clarity and purpose. — Rob Lloyd, CTO
In ITD, we often face complex problems that require quick decisions and diverse solutions. Service design helps address these challenges by considering all perspectives and involving individuals in creating effective, inclusive outcomes. — Will Smith, Strategic Support Director/Chief of Staff
Timeline
Launched in March 2025, the Service Design Program aims to improve the user experience of city services beginning within the IT Department and expanding citywide over time.
Projects in 2025 include consulting on the enhancement of the organization's IT service request intake system and helping to define and test an AI-powered chatbot that answers common customer questions and connects them to support when needed.
In addition to identifying opportunities for service improvement, the team is responsible for building the program as well: defining best practices, developing processes, and laying the groundwork for long-term scalability and standardization.
The program also advises teams on measuring impacts and outcomes through tracking relevant metrics. Case studies from past projects will be published on this page soon.
2025
Establish the Program
Initial Pilot Consultations
2026
Standardize Process
Expand Scope, Citywide Consultations
2026 and beyond
Publish Case Studies
Show Measurable Impacts and Metrics
Looking Ahead
We're excited to serve all people in Seattle by helping to make government services easier to access, understand, and use. We design with a people-centered approach to create experiences that are delightful, inclusive, and effective for everyone.
