Short answer
Design integrated product-service systems that actively guide users in discovering and evolving the meaning of your product.
- Field
- Innovation & Design
- Source
- Journal of technology management & innovation (2017)
- Method
- Case Study
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
Combining products with services can lead to a deeper, evolving user understanding and appreciation of a product's value, beyond its initial intended purpose. This innovation & design research insight is drawn from a 2017 study published in Journal of technology management & innovation. Using Case study, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Design integrated product-service systems that actively guide users in discovering and evolving the meaning of your product.
Integrated Product-Service Systems Drive Innovation of Meaning
Combining products with services can lead to a deeper, evolving user understanding and appreciation of a product's value, beyond its initial intended purpose.
Journal of technology management & innovation · 2017
Key Findings
- 01Services can guide users in dynamically reconstructing the meaning of a product.
- 02Users employ metaphors to create consistency between products and services.
- 03The focus shifts from intended meaning to user-received, evolving meaning.
Application
Design takeaway
Design integrated product-service systems that actively guide users in discovering and evolving the meaning of your product.
How to apply
When designing a new product, simultaneously design the accompanying service. Consider how the service can educate, support, and inspire users to find new value and meaning in the product over its lifecycle.
Project actions
- 01Consider how a service component could enhance the user experience and meaning of your designed product.
- 02Think about how users might interpret your product's function and value beyond what you initially intended.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Focuses on the often-overlooked aspect of user-received meaning.
- +Provides a practical case study of product-service integration.
Limitations
It can be challenging to isolate the exact impact of the service on user meaning versus the product itself.
Reliability & validity
The qualitative nature of meaning reconstruction may present challenges in achieving high reliability and objective validity without rigorous qualitative analysis techniques.
Think critically
To what extent can designers intentionally engineer a user's 'epiphany' or 'Innovation of Meaning' through product-service integration, or is it an emergent property of user interaction?
Design Principles
"Meaning is co-created through the dynamic interaction between product, service, and user."
This challenges designers to consider the entire user journey, not just the physical product. By integrating services, designers can influence how users perceive and derive meaning from their creations over time, fostering stronger user engagement and brand loyalty.
What This Means for Your Design
When you buy a product and get a service with it (like an app for a gadget), the service helps you understand and appreciate the product in new ways, and this understanding can change over time.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use this research to justify designing a product-service system, explaining how the service will enhance user meaning and adoption.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
The integration of product and service offerings has been shown to be a powerful driver for 'Innovation of Meaning' (IoM), where users dynamically reconstruct and evolve their understanding of a product's value beyond its initial intended purpose. This research suggests that by designing complementary services, designers can actively guide users in discovering deeper meanings and fostering a more profound connection with the product.
Source
Journal of technology management & innovation
Technology Epiphany and an Integrated Product and Service
journal · 2017
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about integrated product-service systems drive innovation of meaning?
- Design integrated product-service systems that actively guide users in discovering and evolving the meaning of your product. Evidence: Journal of technology management & innovation (2017).
- Why does "Integrated Product-Service Systems Drive Innovation of Meaning" matter for design?
- This challenges designers to consider the entire user journey, not just the physical product. By integrating services, designers can influence how users perceive and derive meaning from their creations over time, fostering stronger user engagement and brand loyalty.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Design integrated product-service systems that actively guide users in discovering and evolving the meaning of your product.
- What were the main findings?
- Services can guide users in dynamically reconstructing the meaning of a product.. Users employ metaphors to create consistency between products and services.. The focus shifts from intended meaning to user-received, evolving meaning.
- What research method was used?
- Case Study.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2017 journal from Journal of technology management & innovation.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing a new product, simultaneously design the accompanying service. Consider how the service can educate, support, and inspire users to find new value and meaning in the product over its lifecycle.
- What are the limitations?
- The findings are based on a single case study within a specific industry (medical devices), which may limit generalizability.