3 Critical Roles in Product and Service Development: Value Creation
Service Designers, Product Managers, and Business Developers
The cooperation between Service Designers (desirability), Product Managers (feasibility), and Business Developers (viability) is a dynamic and iterative process.
It ensures that the final product or service not only meets user needs but also achieves business objectives, leading to a successful market fit.
The service designer brings the user perspective, the product manager balances this with product strategy, and the business developer ensures alignment with broader business goals and market opportunities.
USER RESEARCH AND INSIGHTS
The service designer leads user research efforts, but the product manager and business developer provide input on what user segments are most valuable from a business perspective.
Together, they ensure that the insights gathered are actionable and align with both user needs and business goals.
PRODUCT AND SERVICE VISION
The product manager sets the product vision, which is informed by the service designer’s understanding of user needs and the business developer’s market insights.
The service designer helps visualize how this vision can be implemented through the user journey, while the business developer ensures it aligns with potential business opportunities.
FEATURE PRIORITIZATION AND ROADMAPPING
The product manager, in collaboration with the service designer, prioritizes features based on user value and business impact.
The business developer may weigh in to ensure that features that open up new markets or revenue streams are given appropriate consideration.
PROTOTYPING AND TESTING
The service designer typically leads the prototyping and testing phases, but works closely with the product manager to ensure that the prototypes align with the product strategy.
Business developers may use these prototypes to validate assumptions with potential partners or in new markets.
GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY
The product manager and business developer collaborate on the go-to-market strategy, ensuring that the product launch is aligned with both user needs (as informed by the service designer) and business opportunities.
Service designers might ensure that marketing and support channels provide a consistent and positive user experience.