VISUAL
Services and the VISUAL language
Ragnhild Halvorsrud
SINTEF ICT
16. Feb 2015
VISUALVISUAL
Content
• Introduction
– About VISUAL
– Services
– Perspective on service delivery
– Customer journeys and main terminology
• VISUAL background and basic terms
• Visual elements and syntax
• Symbols
• Diagrams
• More advanced use of VISUAL
VISUALVISUAL
About VISUAL
• VISUAL goal– develop a visual language for service design
– serving as a "bridge" from a service concept to service specification
• VISUAL "products"– terminology and notation to specify services
– methods, tools, prototypes
• About VISUAL– Innovation project (BIA) running until March 2016
– partners: Halogen, FINN.no, DIPS, Hafslund, SINTEF, University of Linköping
– The main components of the visual language have been made publicly available, see www.visualproject.org
VISUALVISUAL
What is a service?
• The service sector is dominating the world's economy
• A growing recognition of the service sector
• Problem: there is a diverse understanding of what constitutes a service,
and scoping of the term service itself has been much debated over the
years.
• Consensus:
– a service has a process nature
– it concerns "exchange of value"
VISUALVISUAL
Understanding services through the goods-services continuum
Service organizations
Goods – "a thing" Service – "an act"
Mudie and Pirrie (2006)
Service is part of the offer Service is the offer
VISUALVISUAL
"A unified service theory"
Source/
Supplier
Production
process
User/
Customer
input outputtraditional
operation
model
SupplierProduction
processCustomer
input outputunified
service
theory
Customers are both suppliers of input
and consumers of outputs
Sampson (2010)
Services are production processes wherein each
customer supplies one or more input components
for that customer's unit of production
VISUALVISUAL
Customer journeys
• "Walking in the customer shoes"
• Common denominator
– Always the customer's perspective
– A time dimension
– Divided into steps
Stefan Holmlid & Shelley Evenson (2008)
"Bringing Service Design to Service Sciences,
Management and Engineering"
VISUALVISUAL
VISUAL background and basic terms
VISUALVISUAL
Service delivery - theory versus reality
Theory: the intended service delivery
• can be planned and modelled
• often described with a blueprint
• may contain sub-branches, according
to defined conditions
Reality: the actual service delivery
• the execution of a service may
deviate from the plan
• it always results in an experience
• the experience is subjective, context
dependent, and changes over time
"Services exist in two different states of being.." Lynn Shostack (1982). How to design a service. Eur. J. Marketing 16, 49-63.
How can we
describe the real-
time execution of a
service?
VISUAL makes a distinction between hypothetical or planned services (theory),
and real-time execution of a service.
VISUALVISUAL
About the VISUAL language
• VISUAL is a language for modelling and visualisation of services in terms of customer journeys
• VISUAL is particularly targeting standardized, electronically mediated services that are repeated in high volumes
• VISUAL distinguishes between three types or states of journeys
1. Generic journey ("service delivery - theory"):
the set of expected customer journeys in a service,
often containing decision points and branches
related to specific conditions in the service
2. Expected journey ("service delivery - theory"):
a specific customer journey as intended by the
service provider, given the service conditions
3. Actual journey ("service delivery - reality):
the real customer journey as it happened in real life
(right: showing a deviation from the expected)
VISUALVISUAL
Terminology
In VISUAL, a touchpoint is an instance of communication or
interaction between a service provider and a customer
In VISUAL, a customer journey is modelled as a sequence of
touchpoints and actions to achieve a goal
VISUALVISUAL
Visual elements and syntax Customer journeys
VISUALVISUAL
1. Customer journey diagram,
sequential view:
for visualizing expected and actual
customer journeys with few actors
involved
Overview of VISUAL diagrams
• These are the main diagram types in VISUAL for describing service delivery
• The elements of these diagrams will be explained in the next slides
2. Customer journey diagram,
deviation view:
for visualizing actual customer
journeys
3. Swimlane diagram:
for visualizing expected and actual
customer journeys with many
actors involved
VISUALVISUAL
Customer journey: main diagram elements
The main diagram elements of VISUAL, used to visualize customer journeys
14
start of
customer journey
end of
customer journey
touchpoint
connectors
action decision point
VISUALVISUAL
Customer journey
• A customer journey is a sequence of touchpoints and actions involved for a customer to
achieve a specific goal.
• Touchpoints and actions will be further described in the following slides.
• The scope of a customer journey should be defined.
– What is the start of the customer journey?
– What is the end of the customer journey?
Touchpoints are instances of
communication or interaction
between a customer and a
service provider
Actions are non-communicative
events or activities conducted by
a customer or service provider
as part of a customer journey
VISUALVISUAL
Touchpoint
• Touchpoints are represented as circles
• The touchpoint boundary carries information about
– the actor initiating the touchpoint
– the status of the touchpoint
• The symbol area of the touchpoint carry information about
the channel carrying the touchpoint, or the device being used
touchpoint
boundary
symbol
area
service provider customer
completed missingonly used for
actual journeys
failingonly used for
actual journeys
Actor
Status
other actor
The colour of the boundary indicates
the actor initiating the touchpoint
• green: service provider
• orange: customer
• purple: other actor
The boundary style indicates the status
of the touchpoint
• solid boundary: completed
• dashed boundary: missing
• crossed touchpoint: failing
Example: service
provider sends an
e-mail to customer
Example: customer
fails to retrieve ticket
VISUALVISUAL
Action
• Actions are presented as rounded squares containing text, and no symbols
• Actions in VISUAL do not involve direct communication, but can still be part
of an expected journey
• For example, when a customer is to report electricity consumption, he/she
reads the meter before reporting the result through a communication event
(SMS) with the service provider.
Example:
The example describes touchpoints and actions in
relation to meter reading and reporting
The touchpoints involve communication with the
service provider, in contrast to the actions. Lisa reads
the meter
Lisa receives
request to report
meter value
Lisa reports
the meter
value via SMS
VISUALVISUAL
Decision point
Decision points are used for generic costumer journeys, and refer to points in time
where a customer journey branches into sub-journeys
<describe condition><outcome 1>
<outcome 2>
VISUALVISUAL
Touchpoint descriptions and identifiers
• Touchpoint descriptions may be added to provide a contextual description of the situation
– We recommend to keep the touchpoint description relatively short
• Touchpoint identifiers may be added for easy referral to specific touchpoints, and the first letter depend on the status of the touchpoint
– For expected journeys: T1, T2, T3, …
– Expected touchpoints of actual journeys : E1, E2, E3, …
– Ad-hoc touchpoints of actual journeys: A1, A2, A3, …
– Missing touchpoints of actual journeys: M1, M2, M2, …
– Failing touchpoints of actual journeys: F1, F2, F3, …
• When rich descriptions are needed, the diagram can be accompanied by a table holding the explanations and a reference to the touchpoint identifier
Touchpoint description
Touchpoint identifier T1
<Description of T2> <Description of T3> <Description of T4><Description of T1>
T2 T3 T4
VISUALVISUAL
Symbols
VISUALVISUAL
About the VISUAL symbols
• The symbols of VISUAL serve different purposes.
– Touchpoint symbols communicate the channel or device that carries the
touchpoint.
– Actor symbols represent the actors in a customer journey (customers,
employees, service providers)
– Health care symbols are currently a mix of both touchpoint and actor symbols
related to the health domain
– Customer experience symbols represents the customer's subjective
experience of a touchpoint
VISUALVISUAL
Overview of all VISUAL symbols
Touchpoints Health care
Employees
Users
Customer experience
Service providers
VISUALVISUAL
Touchpoint symbols – page 1 of 2with context
telephone
conversation
chat
SMS
social media
message
tablet
smartphone
letter
call centre
app on PC
app on tablet
app on
smartphone
PC/laptop
shop counter
internet/globe
internet via PC
internet via
tablet
internet via
smartphone
VISUALVISUAL
Touchpoint symbols – page 2 of 2with context
face-to-face
conversation
telephone
message service
self-service
machine
service desk
payment
shopping
invoice
store
social media
interaction
fax
bank
logistics
package
technician
(visit)
VISUALVISUAL
Actor symbols - generalusers, employees, service providers
employeesusers
service providers
VISUALVISUAL
Health care symbolspatients, doctors, nurses, secretaries, institutions, systems
patients
doctor - general
practitioner
doctors
nurses
chief nurse
health secretaries
secretaries/receptionists
hospitals
hospital post office
hospital computer system
patient medical record
Doctors
• the medical doctors carry a stethoscope, to distinguish them from nurses
• general practitioner has a dedicated symbol
Nurses
• several symbols are needed, as they may have different roles/responsibilities
Health secretary is a specialization, and is therefore distinct from mercantile
secretaries and receptionists
VISUALVISUAL
Customer experience symbols
• Smiley symbols are used to visualize the customer's experience
• Generally, these symbols should be used for actual journeys to indicate an
individual's experience of a specific touchpoint
• The symbols can be used to match a 5-point or 3-point Likert scale
very satisfied satisfied neutral very unsatisfiedunsatisfied
VISUALVISUAL
Diagrams
VISUALVISUAL
1. Sequential view:
for visualizing expected and actual
customer journeys
About the VISUAL diagrams
VISUAL v2.1 contains three diagram types for visualizing customer journeys. The diagrams are
convenient for different purposes
In the following, examples of the diagram types will be provided.
• For sequential and deviation view, the service archetype "movie experience" will be used to
demonstrate the diagram types
• For swimlane view, the service archetype "changing utility provider" will be used to demonstrate the
diagram type
2. Deviation view:
for visualizing actual customer
journeys
3. Swimlane view:
for visualizing expected and actual
customer journeys with many
actors involved
VISUALVISUAL
Customer journey, sequential view
• This type of customer journey consists of a sequence of touchpoints in chronological order
• The sequential view is used for visualizing expected and actual journeys
• Sequential view is convenient:– For expected journeys, when the temporal order of the touchpoints can be pre-determined
– For actual journeys, when the expected journey is unknown, and a comparison of the two is not doable
• Example: A customer buying a movie ticket online, receiving confirmations by e-mail and SMS, then retrieving the ticket from a self-service machine at the movie theater and showing the ticket at the entrance
Journey type: Expected
order and
pay via web
confirmation
SMS
confirmation
retrieve
ticket
ticket control
at entrance
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5
VISUALVISUAL
Sequential view – Examples expected journey
Expected customer journey consisting of a sequence of touchpoints in chronological order, with journey phase
Expected customer journey consisting of a sequence of touchpoints in chronological order, with timeline
Expected customer journey
consisting of an unordered
touchpoint sequence
Journey type: Expected
order and pay
ticket via web
confirmation
SMS
confirmation
retrieve
ticket ticket control at
entrance
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5
order and pay
ticket via web
confirmation
SMS
confirmation
retrieve
ticket ticket control at
entrance
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5
Home Movie theatre
day 1 day 2
order and pay
ticket via web
confirmation
SMS
confirmation
retrieve
ticket ticket control at
entrance
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5
VISUALVISUAL
Customer journey, sequential view
Actual customer journey with timeline consisting of:
• three completed expected touchpoints (E1-E3)
• one missing touchpoint (M1)
• one failing touchpoint (F1)
• one ad-hoc touchpoint (A1)
Actual customer journey consisting of:
• four completed expected touchpoints (E1-E4)
• one failing touchpoint (F1)
• one ad-hoc touchpoint (A1)
failing
touchpoint
ad-hoc
touchpoint
missing
touchpoint
failing
touchpoint
ad-hoc
touchpoint
Journey type: Actual
order and pay
ticket via web
confirmation
SMS
confirmation
retrieve
ticket
ticket control
at entrance
E1 E2 E3 E4 F1
calls to get
refund
A1
day 1 day 2
order and pay
ticket via web
confirmation
SMS
confirmation
retrieve
ticket
ticket control
at entrance
E1 M1 E2 E3 F1
calls to get
refund
A1
day 3
VISUALVISUAL
Deviation view
• The deviation view shows the actual journey as a comparison to the expected journey
• The deviation view is convenient:
– When the notion of an expected journey can be defined
– For providing an intuitive comparison between expected and actual journey
• The touchpoints are identified by a unique identifier dependent of the status of the
touchpoint:
– Expected touchpoints: E1, E2, E3, …
– Ad-hoc touchpoints: A1, A2, A3, …
– Missing touchpoints: M1, M2, M2, …
– Failing touchpoints : F1, F2, F3, …
VISUALVISUAL
Customer journey, deviation view
Touchpoints are shown in two different layers. See descriptions in in figure.
Expected
touchpoints
Deviations
E1
M1
E2 E3
F1
A1
All the expected touchpoints
are shown in the upper level
All the deviations (ad-hoc, missing
and failing touchpoints) are shown
in the lower level
Missing and failing touchpoints that
are part of the expected journey
appear as gray "ghost" symbols in the
upper "expected touchpoints" level
Missing and failing touchpoints that
are part of the expected journey
appear in the lower "deviations"
level showing status and initiator
When a deviation touchpoint follows as a direct
consequence of an ad-hoc, missing, or failing
touchpoint, it is displayed vertically below the
touchpoint it originated from (as shown in this
visualization)
When an deviation touchpoint follows an ad-hoc,
missing, or failing touchpoint, but is not directly
connected to the previous touchpoint, it is
displayed horizontally beside this touchpoint
Journey type: Actual
VISUALVISUAL
Customer journey, deviation view
• Customer journey consisting of a sequence of expected touchpoints (E1-E4) and
with one missing touchpoint (M1)
Expected
touchpoints
Deviations
retrieve
ticket
E3
order and pay
ticket via web
SMS
confirmation
ticket control
at entrance
E1
M1
E2 E4
confirmation e-mail
is missing
Journey type: Actual
VISUALVISUAL
Deviation view - example
• Customer journey consisting of sequence of expected touchpoints (E1-E4), with
one failing touchpoint (F1) that generates an ad-hoc touchpoint (A1)
Expected
touchpoints
Deviations
customer contacts
service desk
self-service machine
out of order
F1
A1
order and pay
ticket via web
confirmation
SMS
confirmation
ticket control
at entrance
E1 E2 E3 E4
Journey type: Actual
VISUALVISUAL
Deviation view - example
• Customer journey including sequence errors and where one touchpoint
fails (F1) and generates an ad-hoc touchpoint (A1)
Expected
touchpoints
Deviations
order and pay
ticket via web
confirmation
SMS
confirmation
ticket control
at entrance
E1 E2 E3
F1
E4
A1
customer contacts
service desk
self-service machine
out of order
Journey type: Actual
VISUALVISUAL
Swimlane diagram
• Each actor has a separate swim lane
• A touchpoint is represented as a "vertical pair"– the initiator/sender has a dark background
– the receiver has a light background
– an arrow connects the sender and receiver
• Time extends in the horizontal direction
Touchpoint (sender)symbol area text area
Action(no sender/receiver)
text area
direction of time
Example diagram
Touchpoint (receiver)symbol area text area
VISUALVISUAL
Swimlane diagram – part 1
Customer
Power
supplier
Bank-
related
Grid
company
Tele-
marketing
Calls the
customer and
offers electricity
deal
Receives call from
telemarketing
and agrees to
electricity deal
Sends request for
agreement
confirmation and
meter reading
Receives request
for agreement
confirmation and
meter reading
Sends agreement
confirmation and
meter reading
Receives
agreement
confirmation and
meter reading
Sends info about
the agreement
being processed
Receives info
about the
agreement being
processed
Customer
info is sent
to power
supplier
Receives
customer
info
Reads
the meter
Example: ordering a new electricity deal from a utility company
Journey type: Expected
VISUALVISUAL
Swimlane view – Example expected journey (part 2)
Customer
Power
supplier
Bank-
related
Grid
company
Tele-
marketing
Calls
customer for
a welcome
call
Receives
welcome
call
Sends
notification
for meter
reading
Receives
meter reading
notification
Sends
the meter
Receives
the meter
reading
Reads
the meter
Sends invoice
to be
forwarded to
customer
Receives
invoice to be
forwarded to
customer
Receives
invoice
Pays
invoice
Invoice
ready for
customer
Receives
payment
Expected journey of ordering electricity from a utility company
Journey type: Expected
VISUALVISUAL
More advanced use of VISUAL
VISUALVISUAL
Journey phase
• When convenient, a customer journey may be divided into journey phases
• The journey phases can be based on e.g. the location where the touchpoints are initiated,
periods or phases of the journey, or other convenient ways of dividing the journey into
phases.
• Example: air travel
– Phase 1: Ordering ticket online and preparing for the trip
– Phase 2: Traveling to the airport
– Phase 3: At the airport of departure
– Phase 4: During the flight
– Phase 5: At the airport of arrival
journey phase journey phase
VISUALVISUAL
Unordered touchpoint sequence
• An unordered touchpoint sequence is a
group of touchpoints that occur in an
arbitrary order
• This notation is useful when visualizing
customer journeys that include groups
of touchpoints that occur with no pre-
defined sequence
• The notation can only be used for
visualizing expected journeys
No connector between the
unordered touchpoints
Brackets that group the
unordered touchpoints
VISUALVISUAL
Concurrency
• In general, a customer journey may describe both sequential and concurrent touchpoints and
actions.
• The UML fork/join notation is used for this purpose.
• In the example below, touchpoint T3 happens simultaneously as T4 and T5 is carried out.
• A typical situation is a telephone conversation (T3), where e-mails are being sent during the
conversation s (T4, T5).
The second heavy
bar ("join")
indicates end of
concurrency
T3
T4
T1 T2 T6
The first heavy bar
("fork") indicates
start of concurrent
touchpoints
T5
VISUALVISUAL
Timeline
Timeline
• When convenient, a timeline can be introduced to the customer journey to emphasize the
detailed timing of when different touchpoints occur
• The touchpoints are positioned according to the relevant time
• Timeline can be used for both expected and actual journeys
day 1 day 3 day 8day 2