Strategies for Successful Service Innovation
Tuesday, October 23, 9:15-10:00 AM
by Mark Jones
Nearly every service company wants to introduce market-changing new services. But innovation is rare among service companies, much less new services that dramatically change the marketplace. There are several factors contributing to this lack of innovation: service companies are typically siloed, there are many competing agendas, and change is expensive in service companies, so safe ideas win. But there are ways that service companies can raise their chances of developing a truly innovative service and get it to market. This talk will present strategies that have allowed IDEO to successfully collaborate with a broad range of service companies in designing and piloting radically innovative services. We will discuss what service companies can do to avoid common mistakes and improve their chances for market-changing innovation.
About Mark Jones
As the lead for Service Design and Innovation for Chicago, Mark works closely with service companies seeking to reinvent how they serve their customers. Mark’s extensive design background and his broad experience in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies allow him to uncover user issues and convert them into actionable design strategy. Recent projects include retail banking, designing new search services for Gen Y and rethinking how a union engages its members.
Mark brings 14 years of research and design experience to IDEO. Prior to joining IDEO 7 years ago, Mark was a Researcher at Accenture, where he applied user-centered design methods to develop innovative solutions in the areas of smart environments, wireless services and collaborative tools.
Mark’s research philosophy is based on the principle that the introduction of new services can fundamentally change how people live their lives. Mark’s leadership focuses on anticipating the nature of those changes and exploring how they influence the design approach of next-generation products and services. Mark talks frequently about innovation in services and teaches Service Design at the Institute of Design at IIT.
Mark has a BA in Fine Arts from Amherst College, an AAS in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and a Master of Design from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology.