This paper presents the results from a qualitative study that examined how the transitions from service concepts through specification to implementation occur. Twelve people working in service organisations and service design agencies in Norway, were interviewed about their experience and opinions. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo10, and thematic analysis was applied to confirm the results from NVivo10. We found that there was a big communication gap between service concepts and implementation especially inside the service organisations. To bridge this gap, we propose two solutions: strengthening service design thinking inside the service organisations and having better methods and tools that support rigorous service specification. The results of the study can be useful to service organisations who wish to have deeper insight into the transition process, in addition to service designers and researchers to have a better understanding of the service design and development challenges inside service organisations.
service design methods and tools, service development process, communication in service design
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