Involving users in service co-creation

The role of users in service design is changing from one of passive research subjects to one of active co-designers and content creators. Users are the best experts in their everyday lives and therefore have great potential as sources of innovation. In this paper, we describe three different co-creation approaches that facilitate involving users in service innovations: the Owela (Open Web Lab) online co-creation platform, the Ihme innovation showroom and Living Labs. Owela is at its best in early ideation and concept design. Ihme is at its best when people can look at and experience physical demos or proofs of concepts. Living Labs enter the picture when the service already exists and is developed further during use. With all three co-creation approaches, direct designer-user interaction turns the designer's mindset from technical features to user experience. This facilitates the design of services that are better accepted by users and more successful on the market.