This paper presents a case study where a research team applied service design tools through the design process of new financial services for the poor. Service design tools were applied to immerse the research team into the reality of small business owners, which were also microcredit customers, living in poor neighborhoods of Northeast Brazil. Such tools were helpful not only to enforce a user-centered approach for the project but also to understand the stakeholder’s expectations and aims. Design activities consisted of contextual interviews with small business owners and research team interaction and ideation, including: fieldwork debriefing with pictures; journey maps; personas; scenarios; service design blueprint; wireframes and mockups. We present lessons learned from the application of this user- centered design process supported by service design tools.
service design tools, design process, field research, collaborative
teamwork, financial services
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