Understand the moving parts of your service
Creating blueprints — visual maps of the service and all of its touch points — lets teams visualize the service, gain a more holistic perspective and better understand all of the moving parts.
This service blueprint template is ready to be duplicated and used in your own projects so you can start taking action right away.
To use Mural’s service blueprint template, built by Practical by Design, follow the steps outlined below.
The first step is to outline the exact scenario you’re looking to analyze, adding a title and short description to the template that will make the purpose clear to all stakeholders.
Using the legend on the left side, fill out your blueprint across the different steps and elements. Begin with the steps, and then add touch points, actors (people engaging in the process), systems, policies, data streams, and more.
Once you’ve got all the steps in place, add a phase timeline indicator to help delineate any different phases in the process or journey.
Once your current process data are in place across all the steps and elements, brainstorm and identify any issues or areas for improvement with your team.
To get the most out of your service blueprint template with your team, you should:
The purpose of a service blueprint is to provide a comprehensive and visual representation of the service delivery process. It helps teams understand the various touch points, interactions, and dependencies involved in delivering a service to customers. By mapping out the service blueprint, teams can identify potential pain points, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement within the service delivery process.
Service blueprints also facilitate collaboration and alignment among cross-functional teams. They provide a shared understanding of the service delivery process, enabling teams to work together to optimize and enhance the customer experience. Additionally, service blueprints can be used to communicate and align stakeholders, ensuring everyone involved in the service delivery process is on the same page.
In summary, the purpose of a service blueprint is to improve the overall service delivery process, enhance the customer experience, and foster collaboration among teams.
While both customer journey maps and service blueprints are tools used in collaboration design, they serve different purposes and focus on different aspects of the customer experience.
A customer journey map is a visual representation of the customer's interactions and touch points with a product or service. It helps teams understand the customer's emotions, needs, and pain points throughout their journey. Customer journey maps are often used to identify opportunities for improvement and to align teams around a shared understanding of the customer experience.
On the other hand, a service blueprint is a detailed operational tool that focuses on the behind-the-scenes processes and interactions required to deliver a service. It maps out the various steps, actions, and interactions between different stakeholders, such as employees, systems, and physical touch points. Service blueprints help teams identify potential bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement within the service delivery process.
In summary, while customer journey maps focus on the customer's perspective and emotions, service blueprints provide a more holistic view of the service delivery process and the interactions between different stakeholders.
Building a service blueprint involves several steps:
Identify the service
Clearly define the service you want to blueprint. Understand its scope, objectives, and the key stakeholders involved.
Map the customer journey
Begin by mapping out the customer journey, identifying the various touch points and interactions the customer has with the service. This helps you understand the customer's perspective and emotions throughout the process.
Identify front-stage and back-stage actions
Differentiate between the front-stage actions (visible to the customer) and the back-stage actions (invisible to the customer) involved in delivering the service. This helps you understand the operational processes and interactions required.
Define support processes
Identify the support processes, systems, and resources required to enable the service delivery. This includes any technology, tools, or personnel involved in the process.
Map interactions and dependencies
Visualize the interactions and dependencies between different stakeholders, such as employees, systems, and physical touch points. This helps you identify potential bottlenecks and areas for improvement.
Analyze and optimize
Review the service blueprint and identify areas for improvement. Look for opportunities to streamline processes, enhance the customer experience, and eliminate any pain points or inefficiencies.
Iterate and refine
Service blueprints are not static documents. Continuously iterate and refine the blueprint as you gather feedback, implement changes, and improve the service delivery process.
Mural is the only platform that offers both a shared workspace and training on the LUMA System™, a practical way to collaborate that anyone can learn and apply.