On the use of feature models for service design: The case of value representation

Abstract

Current findings in the field of service science have revealed many specific characteristics of service systems, but these results have not yet been fully adopted by the service engineering discipline. In particular we are now aware that the value proposition of a service is not only vital for its success but also deeply depending on context and co-creation. So far, there is only limited work on considering this fact for the design of service systems. In this paper, we discuss the utilization of feature modeling, which is known from the software engineering domain, for service design. We argue that feature modeling offers considerable potential to not only represent value from diverse perspectives but also to involve service customers in participatory service design. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.