When designing a PSS, designers try to find a balance between flexibility and control to create effective and socially responsible value for users and other stakeholders.
GRIP was about how designers achieve a balance between flexibility and control when designing PSS, leading to the creation of effective and socially responsible value for users and other stakeholders. When designing from a system perspective, the creative control of design is structurally lower than in product design. The designers have to deal with complex, dynamic environments and need to negotiate decisions with a range of stakeholders. The PSS development process is less formalized and is characterized by a high level of co-creation and co-production. This raises questions like how tight should the designer's grip on the processes and outcomes of design be, when working together with end-users and other partners in PSS development?
What questions were being answered?
Teams from 3 universities and Industry partners were working together to answer the question: How do designers strike a balance between flexibility versus control when designing PSS, leading to the creation of effective and socially responsible value for users and other stakeholders?
What have the teams achieved?
Using generalised cases, the team has monitored and measured work related stress in the office environment in order to gain a broader understanding of the problems of the issues of flexibility and control. This helped to create the methodological support needed for the design of effective and commercially viable PSS with a high societal value.
Timeframe and communication:
Grip started in 2011 and finished in 2015. Throughout the project, we have published in a range of professional journals, including the development of manuals for the effective design of healthcare and service industry PSS. Progress was published via this website and explored in workshops.
Who was involved?
Scientific partners: Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology and the Design Academy Eindhoven;
Industry partner: Philips Design.
Project leaders
dr. Evelien van de Garde, Delft University of Technology
Dr. Dirk Snelders, Eindhoven University of Technology
- Getting a GRIP on work-related stress: designing services with users and other committed stakeholders Garde-Perik,E. vn de; Snelders,D.; Thompson, M. The paper discusses implications for the design of co-created multi-stakeholder PSS, by introducing the Grip Service Model, which allows committed partners to bring in their expertise, and to foresee and exploit their personal/commercial opportunities. The GRIP approach to the design of PSS can be seen as a combination between a classical User Centred Design process, and a collaborative process of New Service Design. Download
- Design and semantics of form and movement Garde-Perik, E. van de, Trevia, F., Henriksson, A., Geurts L., Ullerup,H. After 1,5 years of research the GRIP project decided to develop the relaxation space, which offers employees an adaptive environment that reacts to their presence by creating a personal environment, varying in size, sounsdscape and animated light. The environment stimulates paced breathing, meditation and helps employees to become more aware and in control of their personal response to stressors and relaxation. Download
- Getting a GRIP on Work Related Stress: Design & Evaluation of a Nature Inspired Relaxation Space Van de Garde Perik, E, Trevia, F., Henriksson, A., Geurts, L., Ullerup, H. The paper presents the design rationale and subsequent evaluation of the relaxation space 1.0. Experts with backgrounds in design, research and healthcare have evaluated the design of the relaxation space, which resulted in very positive responses regarding the low effort required and the high quality of the relaxation experience provided by the design.
http://www.inderscience.com/jhome.php?jcode=IJART
Fragrant Breaks Reminder is an example of an Ambient Experience solutions (based on reactive environments that provide a more public (and thus social) type of feedback to people. By tickling the senses and offering different types of mental triggers, an environment can stimulate you to become more aware of your body and mind. Subtle fragrances, sounds, haptics and visuals can be (sub)conscious cues for people in the environment to take a moment for themselves, and nudge people into different norms and values about relaxation at work. Fragrant Breaks Reminder releases frangrance to temporarily distract you from work, and subtly remind you to take a coffee, perform some physical activity, go into nature, or take a break.
