Go Deeper with Certificate Programs
Human-Centered Service Design is part of a certificate program:
What You'll Learn
Week 1: Introduction
Watch a sneak peek
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Human-Centered Service Design—A sneak peek of the course
3 Video Lessons
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Service Surrounds Us—It’s all service—and we can design it
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Four Qualities of Great Service Organizations—Balanced, intentional, and human-centered moments that matter
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A Mentor Moment with Ilya—Getting started on service projects
1 Assignment
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We’ve crafted a series of project challenges for you to choose from, all designed to be the right size and scope for this course. You'll practice your selected challenge during the course and later you can bring your learning into your own work.
3 Discussions
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Think of some of your best and worst service moments. What effect they have on you in the moment?
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What can you learn from an organization that you personally believe offers great service? What qualities do they possess?
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What do you think will be difficult about the design process? What do you think will be easier?
Week 2: Expand the Journey
3 Video Lessons
- Understanding the Journey—An introduction to journey maps
- A Mentor Moment with Coe Leta—Gathering insights for your service
- Tips to Pick What Matters—The moments to design
1 Assignment
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Build Your Journey Map—Research your service, gather insights about it, and apply those to create a journey map.
3 Discussions
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In a service you recently experienced, what did the before and after moments look like for you? What were your emotions before and after?
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What tips or stories do you have when it comes to observing, interviewing, or gathering insights?
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Think about a customer service moment that you've had recently. Was there a specific moment that really impacted you? How did the moment make you feel?
Week 3: Make Moments Real
6 Video Lessons
- A Mentor Moment with Melanie—Bringing others in
- Generating New Ideas—Sacrificial concepts
- Generating New Ideas—Extreme prompts
- Generating New Ideas—Constraints
- Make it Tangible—Prototyping and measuring services
- A Mentor Moment with Susan—Prototyping service
1 Assignment
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Prototype Your Service—Prototype a moment of your service, get feedback, and iterate if necessary.
1 Discussion
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What do you find is the hardest part of getting others to participate in service brainstorms and prototypes?
Week 4: Share the Vision
3 Video Lessons
- A Mentor Moment with Melanie and Ilya—Staying the course
- Designing the Visible and Invisible—Creating a blueprint for your service
- Communicating the Vision—Beautiful ways to tell the story
1 Assignment
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From Journey Map to Blueprint—Expand your journey map into a service blueprint by considering the components required to bring your moments to life.
3 Discussions
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Did you receive any feedback during the prototyping phase that helped you move forward or that stymied you?
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How might you involve others into the design process at this stage?
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What are some examples of compelling ways that an organization has communicated a vision to you?
Week 5: Conclusion
2 Video Lessons
- A Mentor Moment with Melanie and Ilya—Parting thoughts
- Stay Flexible—Service is a tool, a prototype, a journey
1 Assignment
- Service Design Project Plan—Synthesize what you've learned and plan your next steps.
2 Discussions
- What is one learning or mindset you're most excited to bring into your daily projects? How do you think it will affect your work?
- What are some ways in which this course has changed your view on Service Design? How will you use your new perspective, or how have you already started using it?
Meet Your Instructors

Ilya Prokopoff
Partner at IDEO & Managing Director of IDEO San Francisco
Ilya launched IDEO’s Organizational Design group to help leaders drive lasting change in their organizations. He has worked with Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, the Gannett Corporation, and Intercorp. Illya holds a degree in product design from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Melanie Bell-Mayeda
Partner and Managing Director, IDEO San Francisco
Melanie helps lead IDEO’s design for change work, guiding organizations and leaders to realize their creative potential and bring value to new and emerging markets. She has worked with the North Face, Citibank, T-Mobile, and more. Melanie holds degrees from Harvard University.
Collaborate with a Global Community
Work with Expert Coaches
Our teaching team has extensive applied industry knowledge. They'll help deepen your understanding and application of the course content by facilitating written discussions, live video moments, and assignment feedback.
Expand Your Network
Join virtual live discussion groups for deeper conversation, reflection, and connection led by teaching team members and available multiple times a week across time zones.
Receive Feedback
Gain tips, techniques, and a downloadable feedback guide; and share and receive feedback on assignments from peers.



What Others Are Saying
Human-Centered Service Design
Cohort Course“Traditionally strategy is about creating a plan and roadmap for getting to a desired future state. This approach to strategy will help you make decisions today! It’s more about the choices you make today based on signals of the future than about the future itself.”
Human-Centered Service Design
Cohort Course“This course was tremendously valuable in terms of explaining the concepts and walking us through practice and real-life case scenarios. I found myself applying what I learned in my day-to-day without even thinking about it. It has changed the way I think on a deeper level.”
Human-Centered Service Design
Cohort Course“The concepts are solid, the faculty is credible (if not outright impressive), and the material is presented in an effective and efficient way. The learning community is engaged and supportive, and the tech tool is professional.”
Human-Centered Service Design
Cohort Course“This course brought a new perspective to traditional strategy building sessions. The concept of seeking external validation prior to selecting a strategic choice will challenge old ways of thinking.”
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Enroll As a Team
The practice and application of design thinking, innovation, and creativity is highly collaborative and team based—which is why we believe that learning is better together. Take a course as a team and develop new skills and mindsets, have deeper discussion during course kickoff and debrief sessions, and build a shared understanding.