A Framework for Design Research in the Service Science Discipline

The emerging discipline of Service Science Management and Engineering (SSME) apart from developing theories strives to build and evaluate IT artifacts of utility for the service economy. Especially due to the interdisciplinary character of this new discipline and the imprint of rather behavioral science oriented disciplines, for some problem areas only few innovative artifacts have been scientifically published and evaluated. To counter this deficiency, we present a research framework for design research in the service science discipline. The framework is based on design (science) research literature and widely acknowledged service science perspectives. It addresses three dimensions: (1) four IT artifact types, (2) four perspectives on the service science, and (3) three levels of abstraction. Using the framework, gaps in the service science discipline yet to be addressed by IT artifacts can be identified. On the other hand, if abundant IT artifacts can be identified for any of the proposed research areas, artifacts might need to be systematized or combined

A framework for the elicitation and analysis of Information Technology service requirements and their alignment with enterprise business goals

As the economies of the world have become increasingly dependant on Information Technology (IT) services, there is a need for service designers and developers to focus on co-value creation between service providers and service consumers. Developers need to conduct a more rigorous and systematic identification, elicitation, and analysis of IT service requirements than ever before so that the resulting IT services are closely aligned with the enterprise business requirements. Research in Services Science from the business and management discipline has mostly focused on the delivery and management of services experience from the business perspective. Much of the research focus in Service Oriented Computing (SOC) so far has been on the design and delivery of services (especially Web Services), but engineering of IT service requirements has received much less attention. The overall aims of the proposed research is the design and development of an integrated framework and its supporting toolset for the systematic identification, elicitation, and analysis of IT service requirements that satisfy consumers' needs and are closely aligned with their enterprise business goals. © 2010 IEEE

The design and engineering of innovative mobile data services: An ontological framework founded on business model thinking

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This research investigates mobile service design and engineering in the mobile telecommunications industry. The mobile telecommunication business is shifting from one that was voice-centric to one that is almost all data-centric; thanks to recent rapid advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The underlying reasons behind this shift can be traced back to two main issues that are interlinked. The first and major reason is that telecoms (telecommunication companies) are trying to generate new revenue streams based on data and information transmissions, given the saturation of the voice market. This is rational given the market opportunities in one direction and the pressures being generated by the current economic downturn from the other direction. The second reason relates to the flexibility of data, compared to voice. Indeed, the number of services that can be developed on the basis of data are much greater than those that can be developed on the basis of voice. However, the design and engineering of successful and innovative mobile data services has proven to be a complex undertaking. The number of effective mobile data services is relatively small and the revenue generated from such offerings has generally been below expectations. This research develops an ontological framework to help in changing this situation, and making mobile services engineering more effective and successful, following the design-science research paradigm. Design-science research, in general, aims to solve unstructured but relevant organizational or social problems through the development of novel and useful artefacts. As the current research aims to help in solving the mobile data services engineering dilemma by developing a purposeful ontological framework, the design-science research paradigm is deemed fitting. Within this paradigm, the author develops a novel design approach specified for ontology engineering, termed “OntoEng”. This design approach is used in this research for developing the ontological framework. The developed ontological framework is founded on business model thinking. The idea is that creating innovative mobile data services requires developing innovative business models. Indeed, innovative business models can help translate technological potential into economic value and allow telecoms to achieve their strategic objectives. The ontological framework includes the development of an ontology, termed “V4 Mobile Service BM Ontology” as well as “Mobile Key Value Drivers” for designing and engineering innovative mobile data services. The V4 Mobile Service BM Ontology incorporates four design dimensions: (1) value proposition including targeting; (2) value architecture including technological and organizational infrastructure; (3) value network dealing with aspects relating to partnerships and co-operations; and finally (4) value finance relating to costs, pricing, and revenue structures. Within these four dimensions, sixteen design concepts are identified along with their constituent elements. Relationships and interdependencies amongst the identified design constructs are established and clear semantics are produced. The research then derives six key value drivers for mobile service engineering as follows: (a) Market Alignment; (b) Cohesion; (c) Dynamicity; (d) Uniqueness; (e) Fitting Network-Mode; and (f) Explicitness. The developed ontological framework in this research is evaluated to ensure that it can be successfully implemented and performs correctly in the real world. The research mainly utilizes case analysis methods to ensure the semantic correctness of the ontological framework. Indeed, the developed ontological framework is employed as an analytical lens to examine the design and engineering of three key real-life cases in the mobile telecommunications industry. These cases are: (1) Apple’s iPhone Services and Applications; (2) NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode Services; and (3) Orange Business Services. For further validation, the developed ontological framework is evaluated against a set of criteria synthesized from ontology engineering and evaluation literature. These criteria are: Clarity; Coherence; Conciseness; Preciseness; Completeness; and Customizability. The developed ontological framework is argued to make significant contributions for theory, practice, and methodology. For theory, this research provides (1) a novel ontological framework for designing and engineering mobile data services; (2) a unified framework of the business model concept; and (3) a new design approach for ontology engineering in information systems. For practice, the current research provides practitioners in the telecommunications industry with systematic and customizable means to design, implement, analyze, evaluate, and change new and existing mobile data services to make them more manageable, effective, and creative. For methodology, the use of the design- science research paradigm for ontology engineering signifies the focal methodological contribution in this research given its novelty. This research also contributes to the understanding of the design-science research paradigm in information systems as it is relatively new. It provides a working example in which the author illustrates how recognizing design-science research as a paradigm is essential and useful to the research in information systems discipline

An Exploration of Contact Centre Service Management Within a Service Science Context

This research explores the strategic purpose and value of contact centres and service management practice within a service science context. Within this context, contact centre services were viewed as evolving service systems that are too complex to be understood using 'one-best' management paradigm. The literature of the last two decades revealed four irreconcilable strands of research on contact centres: cost focused, quality focused, hybrid, and systems' thinking oriented contact centres. However, the alignment of value propositions of contact centres with the nature of customer service work performed and service management practice adopted in these centres remains to be clarified. Within the emerging service science discipline, this issue deserved further attention given the evolving importance of contact centres to the organisations and customers. A qualitative approach was undertaken to address the aim and research questions set out for this study. Semi structured interviews were conducted with elites - independent consultants that design contact centre services for telecommunication services organisations and senior managers from one of the biggest telecommunications service providers in the UK. In addition, secondary data sources including industry reports and organisation specific documentation were used to triangulate the findings of this study. Thematic analysis of the data revealed that the service management practice in contact centres is driven by three objectives: reducing cost-to-serve, leveraging quality of service, and seeking opportunities to add value to both organisations and customers. The attributes of customer service work and management practice are informed by Taylor's scientific and Fayol's administrative management, and Seddon's systems' thinking approach. As such, service management practice requires Ambidexterity - a 'fit-for-purpose' adoption of scientific, administrative and systems' thinking by managers - to attain the objectives of service management. This study contributed to service science discipline by abstracting a deeper understanding of contact centre services and developing a theoretical framework of service management

Sustainability of innovations in healthcare: A systematic review and conceptual framework for professional pharmacy services.

BACKGROUND: Implementation science emerged to address the challenges associated with the incorporation of evidence-based innovations into practice. Once the challenge is overcome, the ultimate goal is to achieve the sustainability of innovations to promote their continuity and long-term integration. Assessment tools and measures have been designed to assess the sustainability of innovations in research and practice environments. However, the variability of assessment tools available becomes a challenge for policy makers, researchers and practitioners, particularly when deciding how to evaluate the sustainability of innovations. OBJECTIVES: to identify conceptual approaches and assessment tools for the sustainability of healthcare innovations and to develop a specific discipline-based framework for the sustainability of professional pharmacy services. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted in January of 2019 using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. General information regarding the conceptual approaches (based on Nilsen's classification), assessment tools and the factors affecting the sustainability of the healthcare innovations was retrieved. RESULTS: From 3123 articles screened, 132 articles were selected from which 106 conceptual approaches and 26 assessment tools were identified. Several key factors moderating the sustainability of the innovations in healthcare were identified (e.g. funding, adaptation). A framework for the sustainability of professional pharmacy services is proposed based on these factors. It presents three performance domains influencing the service sustainability (i.e. environment, social and economic). CONCLUSIONS: The identified approaches in different healthcare settings have allowed the adaptation and design of a specific framework for pharmacy. The core factors included in the proposed framework are moderators of the sustainability process and should be considered in sustainability studies and evaluations. This framework will guide pharmacy practice researchers and practitioners to measure and achieve the sustainability of professional pharmacy services. Furthermore, the adaptation of this framework will allow its application to other healthcare settings. (Registration number CRD42018092160)

Investigating in-service teachers' STEM literacy: the role of subject background and gender

Background: STEM literacy has increasingly become a significant educational goal worldwide. Teachers’ STEM literacy is of utmost importance in mediating students’ learning. Although many teacher preparation programs are being structured to accommodate the changing educational landscape there is still limited understanding of how teachers engage with STEM. Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to provide a comprehensive framework for tracing teachers’ STEM literacy which can be adapted for empirical investigations. The paper provided both a theoretical framework which consists of STEM knowledge, ability and attitudes and a methodological approach for tracing teachers’ STEM literacy. Sample: This study was conducted with 97 compulsory education teachers (48% female) in China. Overall, 66.0% of the participants taught science in primary and secondary school, 16% taught technology and 17% taught mathematics. Design and methods: The study was guided by two research questions: (a) What were the relationships between the elements of in-service teachers’ STEM literacy? (b) What differences, if any, were there in in-service teacher’ STEM literacy in terms of their subject background and gender? A pilot study confirmed the validation and reliability of the research tool. A series of t-tests and analyses of variance were performed to identify the status quo and any significant differences in teachers’ STEM literacy. Pearson Correlation analysis was conducted to measure the strength of the relationships between each two variables. Conclusions: The results suggested that the Teachers’ STEM Literacy Survey was valid and reliable for examining teachers’ STEM literacy and indicated (a) teachers performed well in the discipline knowledge (especially in scientific knowledge), but problem-solving ability (PSA) and STEM career interest (CI) were limited; (b) gender differences existed in teachers’ self-efficacy to PSA. Mathematics teachers had relatively lower confidence in PSA and (c) CI might have no correlation with teachers’ understanding of STEM knowledge and STEM ability

Designing a novel virtual collaborative environment to support collaboration in design review meetings

Project review meetings are part of the project management process and are organised to assess progress and resolve any design conflicts to avoid delays in construction. One of the key challenges during a project review meeting is to bring the stakeholders together and use this time effectively to address design issues as quickly as possible. At present, current technology solutions based on BIM or CAD are information-centric and do not allow project teams to collectively explore the design from a range of perspectives and brainstorm ideas when design conflicts are encountered. This paper presents a system architecture that can be used to support multi-functional team collaboration more effectively during such design review meetings. The proposed architecture illustrates how information-centric BIM or CAD systems can be made human- and team-centric to enhance team communication and problem solving. An implementation of the proposed system architecture has been tested for its utility, likability and usefulness during design review meetings. The evaluation results suggest that the collaboration platform has the potential to enhance collaboration among multi-functional teams

The moderating influence of device characteristics and usage on user acceptance of smart mobile devices

This study seeks to develop a comprehensive model of consumer acceptance in the context of Smart Mobile Device (SMDs). This paper proposes an adaptation of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model that can be employed to explain and predict the acceptance of SMDs. Also included in the model are a number of external and new moderating variables that can be used to explain user intentions and subsequent usage behaviour. The model holds that Activity-based Usage and Device Characteristics are posited to moderate the impact of the constructs empirically validated in the UTAUT2 model. Through an important cluster of antecedents the proposed model aims to enhance our understanding of consumer motivations for using SMDs and aid efforts to promote the adoption and diffusion of these devices

Interdisciplinary working in service design: case studies for designing touch points

The paper argues that interdisciplinary design can be successful in services design. It offers information about 2 case studies in which interdisciplinary teams address design services problems. The paper explains the design method employed in the case studies. It also identifies “user design centred” as the main concept that drove the design approach. It explains the meaning of “user centred design”, of “services design” and highlights the importance of “interdisciplinary services design”. The paper also offers a framework for interdisciplinary working in service design. KEYWORDS: Service Design, Touch Points, Interdisciplinary workin

Methodological bricolage: What does it tell us about design?

This paper explores an approach to design research that is becoming more prevalent in practice-based doctoral studies and examines what it tells us about the current state of design research. A previous examination of design PhD case studies has shown that the bricolage approach is evident in a majority of contemporary practice-based design PhDs [1]. The usual academic norm of using an established method or methodology is often discarded in favour of a ‘pick and mix’ approach to select and apply the most appropriate methods. Does it suggest a discipline in crisis, where existing methods are unfit for purpose? Or does this suggest that design as a discipline is maturing and developing a distinct research model? Is design undisciplined? The paper answers these questions by proposing that design researchers navigate a complex, indeterminate and temporal framework where the bricoleur is the best operative