Developing a Practical Process to Help IT Consulting SMEs to Design New Services
Anuradha, Anuradha (2017)
Anuradha, Anuradha
Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu
2017
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017060712849
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017060712849
Tiivistelmä
The objective of this Thesis is to develop a process for small and mid-sized IT enterprises (IT SMEs) to design services. The research approach used in this Thesis was a qualitative case study. The process has been developed for the case company and suggested as a model for IT SMEs. It is expected that the process should be cost-effective, easily implementable and adaptable to changes.
The current state analysis of the case company finds many shortcomings in currently used process. There is a lack of cooperation between the company and customer. The communication between team members is not sufficient. The roles and responsibilities of personnel are not properly defined. In this regard, various best practice and literature were explored.
The data collection techniques used in this process is qualitative. Data was collected by semi-structures interviews, questionnaires and workshops. The study was conducted in real-life context focusing on solving a contemporary challenge in the case company. Also, the various best practices and tools used in different industries are found from literature The findings from current state analysis and literature survey has been used to build a proposal for service design process.
This Thesis proposes a four-step process which combines the concepts of Double Diamond Approach, Stage-Gate model and Scrum. The proposed process is both stage-based and iterative-incremental. This proposal suggests use of several design tools at different stages of process. The process model and use of design tools helps in defining roles and responsibilities of personnel and describing activities and tasks in comprehensible format. The proposal specifies the channels of communication between members at different stages. The outcome is a process which helps the company in cost-effective and high quality service design. The process is also easy to learn and implement.
The current state analysis of the case company finds many shortcomings in currently used process. There is a lack of cooperation between the company and customer. The communication between team members is not sufficient. The roles and responsibilities of personnel are not properly defined. In this regard, various best practice and literature were explored.
The data collection techniques used in this process is qualitative. Data was collected by semi-structures interviews, questionnaires and workshops. The study was conducted in real-life context focusing on solving a contemporary challenge in the case company. Also, the various best practices and tools used in different industries are found from literature The findings from current state analysis and literature survey has been used to build a proposal for service design process.
This Thesis proposes a four-step process which combines the concepts of Double Diamond Approach, Stage-Gate model and Scrum. The proposed process is both stage-based and iterative-incremental. This proposal suggests use of several design tools at different stages of process. The process model and use of design tools helps in defining roles and responsibilities of personnel and describing activities and tasks in comprehensible format. The proposal specifies the channels of communication between members at different stages. The outcome is a process which helps the company in cost-effective and high quality service design. The process is also easy to learn and implement.