Service Development Approach Research Articles

Developing and validating high-value patient digital follow-up services: a pilot study in cardiac surgery

BackgroundThe existing digital healthcare solutions demand a service development approach that assesses needs, experience, and outcomes, to develop high-value digital healthcare services. The objective of this study was to develop a digital transformation of the patients’ follow-up service after cardiac surgery, based on a remote patient monitoring service that would respond to the real context challenges.MethodsThe study followed the Design Science Research methodology framework and incorporated concepts from the Lean startup method to start designing a minimal viable product (MVP) from the available resources. The service was implemented in a pilot study with 29 patients in 4 iterative develop-test-learn cycles, with the engagement of developers, researchers, clinical teams, and patients.ResultsPatients reported outcomes daily for 30 days after surgery through Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and a mobile app. The service’s evaluation considered experience, feasibility, and effectiveness. It generated high satisfaction and high adherence among users, fewer readmissions, with an average of 7 ± 4.5 clinical actions per patient, primarily due to abnormal systolic blood pressure or wound-related issues.ConclusionsWe propose a 6-step methodology to design and validate a high-value digital health care service based on collaborative learning, real-time development, iterative testing, and value assessment.

Applying big data analytics to support Kansei engineering for hotel service development

PurposeLeisure and tourism activities have proliferated and become important parts of modern life, and the hotel industry plays a necessary role in the supply for and demand from consumers. The purpose of this paper is to develop guidelines for hotel service development by applying a service development approach integrating Kansei engineering and text mining.Design/methodology/approachThe online reviews represent the voice of customers regarding the products and services. Consumers’ online comments might become a key factor for consumers choosing hotels when planning their tourism itinerary. With the framework of Kansei engineering, this paper adopts text mining to extract the sets of Kansei words and hotel service characteristics from the online contents as well as the relationships among Kansei words, service characteristics and these two sets. The relationships are generated by using link analysis, and then the guidelines for hotel service development are proposed based on the obtained relationships.FindingsThe results of the present research can provide the hotel industry a comprehensive understanding of hotels’ customers opinions, and can offer specific advice on how to differentiate one’s products and services from competitors’ in order to improve customer satisfaction and increase hotels’ performance in the end. Finally, this study finds out the service development guidelines to meet customers’ requirements which can provide suggestions for hotel managers. The implications both for academic and industry are also drawn based on the obtained results.Originality/valueNow, in the internet era, consumers can comment on their hotel living experience directly through the internet. The large amount of user-generated content (UGC) provided by consumers also provides chances for the hospitality industry to understand consumers’ opinions through online review mining. The UGC with consumers’ opinions to hotel services can be continuously collected and analyzed by hoteliers. Therefore, this paper demonstrates how to apply the hybrid approach integrating Kansei engineering and online review mining to hotel service development.

Design Methodology of Microservices to Support Predictive Analytics for IoT Applications.

In the era of digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT) is emerging with improved data collection methods, advanced data processing mechanisms, enhanced analytic techniques, and modern service platforms. However, one of the major challenges is to provide an integrated design that can provide analytic capability for heterogeneous types of data and support the IoT applications with modular and robust services in an environment where the requirements keep changing. An enhanced analytic functionality not only provides insights from IoT data, but also fosters productivity of processes. Developing an efficient and easily maintainable IoT analytic system is a challenging endeavor due to many reasons such as heterogeneous data sources, growing data volumes, and monolithic service development approaches. In this view, the article proposes a design methodology that presents analytic capabilities embedded in modular microservices to realize efficient and scalable services in order to support adaptive IoT applications. Algorithms for analytic procedures are developed to underpin the model. We implement the Web Objects to virtualize IoT resources. The semantic data modeling is used to promote interoperability across the heterogeneous systems. We demonstrate the use case scenario and validate the proposed design with a prototype implementation.

‘Workplace Wellness’ – using psychological formulation and leadership to enhance staff wellbeing

In 2013 Slough Community Mental Health Team (CMHTE) for older people became one of the first Listening into Action (LiA) Pioneer Teams in Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. LiA is a method of change that allows ideas to emerge from the grassroots of an organisation, to create changes that are readily bought into by staff. The team’s Principal Psychologist, (first author), submitted the LiA project as an idea for service development and led the team through the piece of work over the year. The resulting changes in wellbeing were monitored longitudinally. Towards the end of the process, staff were re-interviewed, and interview answers were analysed thematically by the authors. In summary, this report describes a service development approach, while illustrating how psychological leadership can galvanise teams.

조합된 서비스의 성능 평가를 위한 Aspect 기반 테스팅 프레임워크

As service-oriented software is considered as one of solutions to fulfill the users` needs in internet service environment, it has been increased the demands of reliable service development by the composition of internet services. However a critical issue in the service development approach is to satisfy the performance requirement as well as the functional correctness for the developing services, because impatient user multiply clicks the request-button of service without a short waiting. This paper proposes a framework to examine the performance of composite service. Our testing framework provides the data of service response time to service developer by measuring the service execution time. We develope an Aspect-based timer service, and weave the service with existing services to measure the execution time. Additionally, we perform some experiments to confirm the usefulness of performance test for composite service. This framework can support to develop a good performance service by substitution of the dragging service with another new service that will be a component of composite service.

Linking service development methods to interoperability governance: The case of Egypt

While administrations, and especially e-government “followers,” have been recommended adopting service-oriented architecture (SOA) for the purpose of implementing G2G interoperability, the challenges of reaching this objective remain significant. General guidelines for service development and SOA governance are published, but in view of many self-contained units and IT departments on all administrative levels as well as widespread outsourcing of software development there is a lack of sharing “best practices” how to implement SOA step by step in the area of e-government. In particular, it is unknown to what extent administrations are able to follow existing service development approaches, and there is no research addressing the contribution of service development methods towards governance, i.e. developing and managing government interoperability. In this research the case of Egypt, where SOA was chosen as the main interoperability approach, has been explored in terms of to what extent the current approach to service development supports the interoperability governance, and what kind of changes in the development methods and their application would yield improvements in interoperability governance. The case analysis on practical and strategic level leads to proposing success factors related to linking the methodology of developing G2G services to the overall effort of interoperability governance. These factors, divided into interoperability problem perception, method scoping and deliverables, measurement of goal achievement, and methodological commitment, can be used as hypotheses in future research and as guidelines for improving the interoperability governance in administrative practice. Based on studying the case of Egypt, this research proposes success factors related to linking the methodology of developing G2G services to the overall effort of interoperability governance: ► Shared understanding of SOA challenges related to government interoperability is the key for stakeholder cooperation. ► Any chosen and applied method should be described by the interoperability dimensions addressed and the output delivered. ► Strategy and instruments are needed to measure the method's contribution to solving interoperability challenges. ► Linking enforcement and acceptance of a service development methodology is crucial for ensuring stakeholder commitment.

The impact of organisational culture on the delivery of person-centred care in services providing respite care and short breaks for people with dementia

Ensuring the development and delivery of person-centred care in services providing respite care and short breaks for people with dementia and their carers has a number of challenges for health and social service providers. This article explores the role of organisational culture in barriers and facilitators to person-centred dementia care. As part of a mixed-methods study of respite care and short breaks for people with dementia and their carers, 49 telephone semi-structured interviews, two focus groups (N= 16) and five face-to-face in-depth interviews involving front-line staff and operational and strategic managers were completed in 2006-2007. Qualitative thematic analysis of transcripts identified five themes on aspects of organisational culture that are perceived to influence person-centred care: understandings of person-centred care, attitudes to service development, service priorities, valuing staff and solution-focused approaches. Views of person-centred care expressed by participants, although generally positive, highlight a range of understandings about person-centred care. Some organisations describe their service as being person-centred without the necessary cultural shift to make this a reality. Participants highlighted resource constraints and the knowledge, attitudes and personal qualities of staff as a barrier to implementing person-centred care. Leadership style, the way that managers' support and value staff and the management of risk were considered important influences. Person-centred dementia care is strongly advocated by professional opinion leaders and is prescribed in policy documents. This analysis suggests that person-centred dementia care is not strongly embedded in the organisational cultures of all local providers of respite-care and short-break services. Provider organisations should be encouraged further to develop a shared culture at all levels of the organisation to ensure person-centred dementia care.

Reducing in-patient readmissions: A service development approach

Reducing in-patient readmissions: A service development approach

P54 Might financial cuts drive NHS decision-making “downstream”? A qualitative study of factors affecting public health decision-making

ObjectivesTo explore the process of public health decision-making, and the role of research evidence, taking cardiovascular disease (CVD) as a case study.DesignIn-depth interview study.Setting and ParticipantsOver 30 public health policy-makers...

Facilitating partnership working in public health: evaluation of a clinical service development approach

BackgroundUK health policy identifies partnership working as fundamental to tackling health inequalities. Related to this is the development of a multi-disciplinary public health workforce, including an increase in the public health role of primary care nurses. Within this policy context, a primary care trust in the north of England established a community health team (CHT) in September 2005 to improve intra- and inter-agency working for public health. The Clinical Microsystems (CMS) framework informed the process of development, an approach not previously applied to public health.AimThis paper describes an evaluation of the CHT and presents the key lessons learnt in terms of what worked and did not work in the context of the CMS framework.MethodsParticipants were members and wider stakeholders of the CHT from three professional groups: individuals holding relevant strategic posts in the Public Health and Nursing Directorates within the Primary Care Trust, health visitors and school nurses, and voluntary sector staff. Focus group (n = 9 focus groups) and postal questionnaire (n = 21) data were collected at baseline, 6 and 12 months post-implementation. Participants’ views on the implementation of the CHT were explored within the ‘five Ps’ (purpose, population, people, processes and patterns) of the CMS framework.FindingsSix themes emerged from the focus group data that illustrated key issues for the implementation of the CHT: ‘agreeing the focus,’ ‘strong leadership,’ ‘the challenge of communication,’ ‘managing workloads and new ways of working,’ ‘success of the CHT’ and ‘outside influences.’ Communication and heavy workloads were identified as key barriers to the success of the CHT in the questionnaire data. These data highlight the complex and evolving nature of public health partnership working and identify important issues that might usefully be considered in future initiatives of this kind.

New service development using GAP-based QFD: a mobile telecommunication case

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a customer-oriented structural development approach. Along the gaps in the circle of service satisfaction, a new model of service quality function deployment (SQFD) has been established to develop new service. The purpose of this paper is to provide a new service development approach both in terms of academic model and practical application. A Chinese mobile telecommunication case study (tariff package design) has been employed to verify and revise the model. The findings are that, although a concise model is adopted unusual according the actual service situation, the GAP-based QFD model expands the investigative scope of GAP study from GAP 1 and/or GAP 5 to GAP 1 to GAP 5. It has also been found that it is a useful tool to develop new service using a reasonable and delicate combination of Kano model, SERVQUAL scales, and GAP circle, although several further directions are presented in the latter part of the study.

An MOF2-based Services Metamodel.

As Service-Oriented Computing is gaining mainstream adoption, Services are emerging as core-building blocks of today’s applications. In particular, web services have become the most common technology manifestation of the service-oriented computing paradigm. Basic open-standards that enable web services such as WSDL, SOAP etc. have evolved and stabilized over a period of time. However issues such as service composition, policy definition and enforcement, support for semantics are among the few issues that still remain open. With increased adoption of service-oriented computing and rapidly evolving technologies and standards to address these open-issues, heterogeneity has emerged in service development approaches leading to complexity and risks. In this paper, we address this problem by introducing modeling abstractions that could be used in the early-stage service development lifecycle of web-based electronic services. We present a holistic approach to services modeling using six model views. These views represent different perspectives of services modeling and form our core Services Metamodel with a grounding in the formal foundations of MOF2.

Functional and systems aspects of the sustainable product and service development approach for industry

The Sustainable Product and/or Service Development (SPSD) approach is a pragmatic industry support encompassing a range of strategies aimed at maximising environmental and social performance in all types of “offerings” whether they are “products”, “services” or Product Service Systems (PSS). Implementation of the approach was tested in industry and conclusions reached on the effectiveness of the strategies included in terms of developing an offering with improved sustainability performance as well as practical use as an industry approach. Two strategies incorporated are functional and systems thinking, as these are seen as key for increasing the environmental benefits of offerings. This paper summarises the SPSD approach, general industry testing results, describes how and why functional and systems strategies are incorporated in it and industry testing results relating to their use. This provides valuable information on how functional and systems related considerations can be practically and effectively included in sustainable offering development.