A case study approach to examining service information requirements

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a case study approach to examine and assess the information required to underpin services for particular industrial service offerings. The focus of this paper is on the means by which service information requirements may be extracted and understood, as opposed to on how service information requirements are subsequently used. The term service information requirements refers to a set of information needed to support the delivery of a service to a customer. The area of service information requirements is a new, and a less researched, area compared with product information requirements. Service is important for both product and service delivering organizations as companies move toward the provision of integrated solutions. Within manufacturing, one of the most significant trends is toward servitization, in particular for high-value, complex goods, where the focus of the product and service providers is on the associated service delivered. Information is important in service as a means of enhancing decisions. The information has no direct value, but the impact of improved information quality can reduce costs or enhance service decisions. In the context of product servicing, the information can provide details about the condition and usage of the product. In a service delivery context, information provides the specification of the customer to enable service delivery decisions to be made. © 2008 by International Federation for Information Processing.