Anna Weber — CCO - chief creative officer at Brainly
The design process at Pomelody. Children treated like adult users deserve high-value, polished products.
Design Processes
🇵🇱 Polish
Design Processes
How Service Design methodology helps design an effective research process - a case study of the Donateo x Socjomania project
About
In this talk, we will study the case of a project that shows how the Service Design methodology can help design an effective research process. The process not only illustrates consumer perceptions of the product. It also adds value and identifies areas for development in the overall service.
In designing the research process, we looked at Donateo's offering not just as a product, but as a full-scale service, where the physical artifacts are only one component, and the layer of the final customer's habits, beliefs and experiences determines the most important thing - whether they will use the solution. We designed the research to evaluate the product, map customer experience, and identify potential gaps and opportunities for the service. We will talk in detail about how we approached the challenge of designing the research in the vein of Service Design. We will outline how Service Design values guided us through the process. We will also explain how data helped identify business risks and opportunities for Donate
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From the recording
Talk in brief
A Donateo case study showing how service-design methods shaped both a micro-donation product and its research process. Donations move directly to a selected organization, so trust, terminal communication, partner credibility, and proof of impact are part of the service. Pilot research exposed unclear questions and allowed the team to revise the study before scaling it. Co-creation brought organizational knowledge into the solution, while labels and zero-step communication helped customers understand the action before interacting. The result demonstrates research as an evolving service process rather than a single validation event.
Key takeaways
- 01
Design the complete donation service chain
The interface, payment terminal, organization, money flow, and follow-up communication jointly determine customer trust.
Watch from 3:02 - 02
Use a pilot to repair the research design
Early sessions expose unclear questions and assumptions before the team invests in a larger sample or fixed protocol.
Watch from 10:39 - 03
Co-create with people who hold service knowledge
Partner organizations contribute operational reality and credibility that an external product team cannot invent alone.
Watch from 16:03 - 04
Communicate value before the first interaction
Labels and advance explanation let customers decide whether to participate without surprise or perceived wasted time.
Watch from 21:13 - 05
Measure the practical effect after launch
Qualitative inquiry remains useful when real operation exposes communication gaps the original study did not cover.
Watch from 26:10
Read edited transcript highlights
These concise notes were edited from automatic captions and checked against the talk structure. They are not a verbatim transcript.
The donation interface is only one service touchpoint
A micro-donation travels through the customer, terminal, payment flow, selected organization, and the organization’s later use of funds. Trust depends on this complete chain. Service design makes the dependencies visible so the team can ask who owns each moment, what the customer understands, and how the promised social value is demonstrated.
Watch from 3:02A pilot protects the larger research investment
Questions that look clear in a workshop can confuse participants or produce evidence unrelated to the decision. A pilot gives the team permission to examine the interview, task, and wording as part of the prototype. Revising the protocol after early sessions improves the quality of later evidence instead of carrying a flawed method into a larger study.
Watch from 10:39Co-creation adds knowledge and legitimacy
Partner organizations understand donor concerns, operational constraints, and how impact can be evidenced. Involving them helps the product avoid unrealistic promises and gives customers a credible source of accountability. Co-creation is not automatic agreement; it is a structured way to place distinct knowledge and responsibilities inside the service decision.
Watch from 16:03Communication begins before the customer is asked
A person should understand that a donation option exists, where the money goes, and whether participation is optional before reaching the decisive terminal step. Clear labels reduce surprise and frustration. This zero-step communication respects attention and lets the customer enter the interaction with a useful mental model rather than decoding it under time pressure.
Watch from 21:13Launch creates new research questions
A pilot cannot predict every breakdown in real operation. Once the service runs, customer behavior, staff explanations, terminal context, and partner communication may expose gaps. Teams should return to qualitative inquiry and operational evidence, then adjust the service rather than treating the original research report as permanent proof that the design works.
Watch from 26:10
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