What do you get when you bring together a group of researchers interested in service design, digitalisation and work environments? Apparently, two very productive days in Linköping. With surprisingly glorious weather as a bonus! ☀️
We have just had our first kick-off meeting for our new research project, “Tjänsteprototypande som metod för att forma digital arbetsmiljö” (Service Prototyping as a Method for Shaping Digital Work Environments).
The project addresses a familiar problem: new digital systems in healthcare are often introduced with promises of making work easier and more efficient. But sometimes the reality is rather different. More stress, new tasks, unclear responsibilities and workflows that nobody quite anticipated.
What if we could explore these consequences before introducing the technology, rather than discovering them afterwards?
That is exactly what we want to investigate!
Over the next two years, we will develop and evaluate a method using service prototypes to help healthcare organisations anticipate how new digital technologies might affect employees’ work environments, and explore how implementation processes can be adapted to prevent problems before they arise. Think of it as a rehearsal for digitalisation, where we can identify potential challenges and make adjustments before the technology is introduced.
Our research team brings together Johan Blomkvist, Fredrik Bodell, Marcus Persson and Åsa Cajander, combining expertise in service design, human-computer interaction and digital work environments.
During our two days in Linköping, we got started on planning the research, discussing methods and figuring out how to turn our ideas into something useful in practice. There were plenty of interesting discussions, new ideas and probably enough research questions to keep us busy well beyond the project’s two years.
A great start, a lovely team and sunshine in Linköping. What more could you ask for from a research kick-off?
Now the real work begins! 🚀