Use Your Data: Design and Evaluation of a Card-Based Ideation Tool for Data-Driven Services

Abstract

Using data can significantly improve service design and development. However, for businesses, developing data-driven services can be challenging. To address this, we have developed the Data Service Cards (DSCs), a card-based tool to inspire the design of data-driven services. This paper presents two cycles of a design science research (DSR) project, focusing on the second cycle of redesign and evaluation of the DSCs. We conducted a two-step evaluation, including surveys and external expert ratings of data-driven service ideas. Survey results indicate that the DSCs are a valuable tool for developing data-driven services and external experts consider services designed using DSCs to be of higher quality. With the DSCs, we provide practitioners with a tool that facilitates and improves service design and supports digital transformation. Further, we contribute to DSR literature with a rigorous experimental procedure and to service innovation by supporting the early stages of data-driven service innovation.