The Scottish Approach to Service Design (SAtSD)

Maturity assessment matrix

Engagement with SAtSD principles, tools, methods and community:

• Not Evident: No evidence of engagement with design methods and tools or community. Limited evidence of service design thinking or user-centred design practices.
• Limited: Some limited evidence of service design and/ or user-centred design practices. Limited awareness of the Scottish Approach to Service Design principles or engagement with the community.
• Growing: Awareness of usercentred design growing in parts of the organisation, though services are still designed for more than with their users. Some in the organisation are challenging non usercentred design practices. The organisation has good engagement across the community.
• Strengthening: Awareness and support for user-centred design and the principles of the Scottish Approach to Service Design is evident at many levels of the organisation. The organisation is regularly engaged with the community, contributing to and testing design methods and tools.
• Embedded: The Scottish Approach to Service Design principles are understood at all levels of the organisation. The organisation is heavily engaged in contributing to the a shared set of design methods and tools, as well as the community.

Capacity and capability for SAtSD:

• Not Evident: Heavy reliance on external capacity and capability to undertake user research and service design. Very limited ability to procure and manage service design projects that align to the principles of the Scottish Approach to Service Design  or usercentred design in general.
• Limited: Heavy reliance on external capacity and capability to undertake user research and service design. Limited ability to procure and manage service design projects.
• Growing: Limited in-house capacity to undertake service design, though procured projects do specify aligning to the Scottish Approach to Service Design and are well managed.
• Strengthening: Growing capacity to undertake service design. This includes procuring and managing  projects that embrace the Scottish Approach to Service Design. Larger organisations may have a number of user-centred design professionals in house
• Embedded: Strong internal capacity to manage and / or undertake service design projects. For larger organisations this might include having a full usercentred design team or teams in house. Design leadership is present in the executive team and / or board.

Focus on users and the life events / problems they need the service to solve:

• Not Evident: Services are designed around organisation needs rather than user needs. Projects have very limited or no focus on understanding ‘the problem’ before and during designing the solution. No awareness of related services.
• Limited: Users and their needs are less well attended to/understood than organisational needs, technology options, etc. User needs often lack robust user research to back them up. 
• Growing: Awareness of related services. Projects start with a focus on understanding ‘the problem’ as well as designing the solution. However that initial understanding of the problem is not continuously challenged and improved. Limited collaboration across related services.
• Strengthening: Projects have a good focus on understanding ‘the problem’ as well as designing the solution. Typically the problem definition stage takes a good proportion of the overall project lifetime and is continuously challenged and improved. Good engagement and collaboration across related services.
• Embedded: Projects have an early and strong focus on understanding ‘the problem’ as well as designing the solution. This understanding is continuously improved and challenged. Strong focus on related services, with shared view of user needs and alignment across the user experience.

User participation in project research and design activities:

• Not Evident: User engagement in designing services is limited to consultation, and some or no user research or usability and accessibility testing. Little user engagement in live service improvement. Engagement with users is heavily focused on engagement with stakeholder organisations and direct involvement of service users is rare.
• Limited: User participation in design is limited and is mostly in the form of being researched upon, invited to test prototypes late in the solution design phase etc. Users have little or no engagement in ongoing improvement of live services beyond being asked to participate in ‘satisfaction measuring’. There is some effort to directly engage service users as well as via stakeholder organisations.
• Growing: Users are engaged in some stages of projects from inception to problem and solution definition through to live delivery. Participation tends to be more evident around designing and evaluating prototypes. Users participate in some of:
  • designing research agenda
  • framing ‘the problem’
  • making sense of user research and defining both the problem and possible solutions
  • prototyping and evaluating solutions
  • ongoing improvement of live services.
• Strengthening: Users are fully engaged in some or most stages of projects from inception to delivery. Participation in different activities and phases may not be consistent. Users participate in most of:
  • designing research agenda
  • framing ‘the problem’
  • making sense of user research and defining both the problem and
  • possible solutions
  • prototyping and evaluating solutions
  • ongoing improvement of live services.
• Embedded: Services are fully designed with and not just for their users. Users participate in all of:
  • designing research agenda
  • framing ‘the problem’
  • making sense of user research and defining both the problem and possible solutions
  • prototyping and evaluating solutions
  • ongoing improvement of live services.

User inclusion and accessibility needs for participation in design:

• Not Evident: Little or no attention to ensure that design activities undertaken with users are accessible and inclusive. 
• Limited: Design and research methods and tools are sometimes or often not accessible and inclusive for all design participants, both end users and organisation staff / teams. The importance of diversity in both user and staff team memberships is poorly understood. Encouragement for all users to participate is rarely or never backed up by accommodations.
• Growing: Design and research methods and tools are inclusive and accessible for some design participants, both end users and organisation staff / teams. The importance of diversity in both user and staff team memberships is limited or inconsistent. Encouragement for all users to participate is not always backed up by accommodations.
• Strengthening: Design and research methods and tools are inclusive and accessible for most design participants, both end users and organisation staff / teams. The importance of diversity in both user and staff team memberships is understood, though encouragement may not always be backed up by accommodations.
• Embedded: Design and research methods and tools are inclusive and accessible for all design participants, both end users and organisation staff / teams. The importance of diversity in both user and staff team memberships is well understood and accommodated.