Service Thinking in Design of Complex Sustainment Solutions

Abstract

Delivering contracted performance levels for service based on the sustainment of complex engineering systems is a necessary but not sufficient condition for user satisfaction. Service is received in a context that is shaped by the state of mind of the customer—perceptions, biases, memories, intentions and patterns of thinking. Service teams need to understand the “mind of the customer”, complementing the “voice of the customer” used in requirements development. The chapter considers how service solutions are designed and suggests that the state of mind of the customer needs greater consideration during solution development. The service team functions in the social dimension to understand the customer’s mind and harmonises the service solution. The dominant thinking style in social space is characterised as “service thinking”, complementing the system thinking style which dominates in the conceptual space of product-service systems.