Rewiring operations with service design and AI
Summary
A Fortune 50 organization faced systemic inefficiencies stemming from siloed data, disjointed processes, and inconsistent communication. Teams struggled with manual workarounds, fragmented systems, and slow response times. Our team was tasked with identifying where generative AI could drive real business value—not just excitement. Over three sprints across multiple domains, we used immersive research, service mapping, and co-creation workshops to reveal hidden pain points and architect practical AI-powered solutions. We developed ten ready-to-build concepts, each with a business case, technical blueprint, and cost-savings estimate. Two of the top concepts were prioritized into MVP plans for seamless handoff to internal teams. The result: faster response times, increased labor efficiency, and millions in projected savings.
Key Insights
-
•
AI's impact is limited unless integrated coherently in existing workflows and systems.
-
•
Fragmentation and handoff failures, not AI itself, cause operational breakdowns.
-
•
Shadowing frontline workers is crucial to uncover real points of friction where AI can assist.
-
•
Focusing on human friction rather than technology placement changes the solution space.
-
•
Repetitive verification work is a key target where AI can reduce cognitive load.
-
•
Mapping end-to-end journeys with emotions and data flow helps shift conversations from blame to action.
-
•
Defining AI archetypes as verbs fosters shared language across disciplines.
-
•
Early alignment on ownership, governance, and success metrics prevents pilot failure.
-
•
Balancing bold transformation with credible, build-ready pilots maintains momentum.
-
•
Service design’s role is to humanize the organization around AI, not just humanize AI itself.
Notable Quotes
"AI wasn’t the obstacle. Fragmentation was."
"I spent 40% of my day verifying what the system already knows."
"When the system feels chaotic, visibility is your superpower."
"Seeing frustrations next to system data shifted conversations from blame to true standing."
"Service design’s role isn’t to humanize AI, it’s to humanize the organization around it."
"The real shift wasn’t speed, it was also trust."
"Transformation isn’t just about prototypes; it’s about designing governance."
"Don’t overlap sprints. Context slips and decisions unravel."
"Co-creation only works when it has boundaries."
"The linguistic shift from we have AI to we’re redesigning how we work signals maturity."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"If we focus on energy management data points instead of just saying sustainable, that wins over more people."
Amy ParnessScaling Sustainability: Complementary strategies that drive long-term success
May 29, 2025
"ADHD isn’t actually a deficit of attention, but instead trouble regulating it."
Jessica NorrisADHD: A DesignOps Superpower
September 9, 2022
"Design challenges in interviews don’t really help and are often inequitable and exhausting for candidates juggling full-time jobs and family."
DesignOps and The Great Talent War of 2021
August 19, 2021
"Remote work is totally different from working from home during a worldwide pandemic."
Ana FerreiraDesigning Distributed: Leading Doist’s Fully Remote Design Team in Six Countries
January 8, 2024
"When you look at data without training, confirmation bias makes you just find what you already believe."
Steve Portigal Chris Chapo Kelly Goto Christian RohrerDiscussion
May 13, 2015
"The DEO looks at all business problems as design problems, solvable through creativity, imagination, and metrics."
Maria GiudiceEmpowering change: Reigniting purpose, passion and impact in research
March 13, 2025
"If we stay focused on research maturity alone, we'll have problems in the coming years because the ecosystem around us is changing."
Megan Blocker Lada Gorlenko Fatimah Richmond Molly StevensWhat UX research maturity looks like and how we get there [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
November 9, 2023
"A design project can become the catalyst for conversations where teams realize they have not talked to each other."
Jorge ArangoMeeting of the Waters: Designing for Successful Inorganic Growth
August 12, 2021
"Design systems weren’t built until inconsistent experiences across teams made it undeniable."
JJ KercherA Roadmap for Maturing Design in the Enterprise
June 15, 2018
