Métodos e técnicas para estruturação de pesquisa para projeto em design de serviço

Abstract

The primary objective of this thesis is to identify the research structure underlying the practice of service design. The specific objectives are (i) identifying the theoretical elements of service design, (ii) characterizing the methodologies adopted, (iii) identifying the research structures used by practitioners, (iv) identifying recurring terms, and (v) characterizing the specificities of research according to common-sense practices and scientific research. This study seeks to answer the following question: What characterizes the research structure in service design according to professionals' practices at Brazilian consultancies? Where are the convergences and divergences between practical and academic structures? This study is grounded in Design Science Research (DSR) and begins with a systematic literature review of the historical development, concepts, processes, and instruments of Service Design (SD). The second chapter focuses on the historical evolution of SD since the 1980s. The third chapter deals with conceptual characterizations, distinguishing definitions. The fourth chapter analyzes the panoramic structure of the SD process, emphasizing the research phase oriented toward professional practice. Chapters five and six describe the techniques employed: semi-structured interviews to identify practical design elements among practitioners and academics, and the card-sorting technique to visualize the macrostructure and terminology of research in SD. This revealed the components and subcomponents used by professional SD specialists and professors of design when structuring research. The result was guidelines for structuring research practice in SD. The interview analysis chapter identified four themes in the specialist sample and three themes in the professor sample. Furthermore, a framework for structuring research in DS emerged from the synthesis of the samples. This framework is composed of five levels: (a) two axes, (b) four phases, (c) twelve stages, (d) twenty-four activities, and (e) multiple tasks, which articulate methodological, structural, and terminological characteristics to fulfill specific objectives. Three specialists applied the card sorting technique, which validated the structural framework according to consultative practices and their interrelations. This answered the research questions. The study concluded that SD has its own research methods that are validated at the intersection of theory and practice. These methods strengthen the field as an autonomous discipline by promoting organizational impact based on epistemologica foundations.