Service Design (+AI) 101
Format:
Teams Course Online or in-house.
Group Size:
4–10 participants
(Larger groups available on request)
Duration:
Flexible delivery options:
2-hour weekly sessions
Half-day workshops
Full-day workshops
Delivered online or in-house.
Approach:
Each session combines:
Practical theory
Live demonstrations
Hands-on exercises
Reflection activities
Short post-session quizzes
Participants leave each session with tools they can immediately apply to their work.
Price:
Subject to group size
A live 5-week webinar course for individuals who want to map services, find what's broken, and know exactly where AI helps — and where it doesn't.
Learn the same framework EXP Studio uses in live enterprise engagements — in five practical weeks, on your own, alongside a small cohort of peers.
Who this course is for
Practitioners who want to add service design + AI to their skillset — researchers, UX/designers, analysts, product and ops people
Consultants who want a repeatable, defensible method for diagnosing client services
Mid-career professionals in large organisations who've been handed "improve this service" with no playbook
Designers levelling up from tactical touchpoints to systems-level service work
This is for you if: you'd rather learn a practical, immediately applicable method than theory — and you want to be able to say, at the end, "I can map and diagnose a service, and I know where AI genuinely fits."
The problem it solves
Many organisations struggle with services that feel fragmented, inefficient or frustrating — for customers and staff alike. Teams fix individual touchpoints while the wider service system stays broken, and AI arrives as a mandate before anyone's understood the service problem.
This course gives you the practical tools to change that from wherever you sit: uncover customer and operational pain points, map complex service ecosystems, and identify both AI and non-AI opportunities that improve experiences, efficiency and outcomes.
What you'll learn
By the end of the course you can:
See services as interconnected systems rather than isolated interactions
Map customer journeys and service ecosystems to reveal where the real opportunities are
Spot operational friction and handover problems others miss
Use service blueprints to align frontstage and backstage operations
Identify practical AI opportunities that improve services without adding complexity — and the non-AI innovations that often work better
Turn service design insight into strategy, decisions and influence
And you'll finish with a completed map of a service you actually care about — not a hypothetical case study.
The 5 weeks
(Weekly structure — the spine of the page. Session length and delivery platform TBC.)
Week 1 — See the service Introduction to strategic service design; services as systems. Start mapping a real service you bring to the course. Takeaway: your first end-to-end service map.
Week 2 — Find the pain Uncover customer and operational pain points; connect data (complaints, metrics, VOC) to touchpoints. Takeaway: a diagnosed current state with pain points located and evidenced.
Week 3 — Map the ecosystem Service blueprints: frontstage/backstage alignment, handovers, operational friction. Takeaway: a full service blueprint of your chosen service.
Week 4 — Where AI helps — and where it doesn't Spotting practical AI opportunities vs. non-AI improvements; avoiding complexity creep; responsible use as a filter. Takeaway: a shortlist of AI and non-AI opportunities, sized and justified.
Week 5 — Make it real Turning insight into strategy and decisions; building the case; keeping the map alive as an instrument. Takeaway: a one-page pitch for your top opportunity — something you can actually present at work.The 5 weeks
(Weekly structure — the spine of the page. Session length and delivery platform TBC.)
Week 1 — See the service Introduction to strategic service design; services as systems. Start mapping a real service you bring to the course. Takeaway: your first end-to-end service map.
Week 2 — Find the pain Uncover customer and operational pain points; connect data (complaints, metrics, VOC) to touchpoints. Takeaway: a diagnosed current state with pain points located and evidenced.
Week 3 — Map the ecosystem Service blueprints: frontstage/backstage alignment, handovers, operational friction. Takeaway: a full service blueprint of your chosen service.
Week 4 — Where AI helps — and where it doesn't Spotting practical AI opportunities vs. non-AI improvements; avoiding complexity creep; responsible use as a filter. Takeaway: a shortlist of AI and non-AI opportunities, sized and justified.
Week 5 — Make it real Turning insight into strategy and decisions; building the case; keeping the map alive as an instrument. Takeaway: a one-page pitch for your top opportunity — something you can actually present at work.
How each session works
Each week combines:
Practical theory (short, focused)
Live demonstrations
Hands-on exercises on your own real service
Reflection activities
A short quiz to consolidate
Tools you can immediately apply at work the next day
All sessions recorded. (Confirm: recordings available to registrants? Strong selling point for busy individuals.)
Format
5 weekly live webinars — [length, day/time, platform] to be confirmed
Small cohort — [max seats] so questions actually get answered
Community — [private Circle/Slack community during the course]
Recordings + materials — yours to keep
Optional — [office hours / 1:1 feedback session]
What you leave with
A visual map of a real service's current customer journeys and ecosystem
An identified, evidence-based list of service improvement opportunities
A shortlist of AI and non-AI opportunities to enhance the service
A one-page pitch you can present internally
The confidence to say: I can do this again on any service
Pricing & next intake
Live 5-week cohort: [$ price] — limited to [N] seats
Prefer self-paced? The self-paced version of this course is coming soon — [join the waitlist] and we'll let you know first.
(Strategy note: price the live cohort at a premium; the announced-but-cheaper self-paced version adds urgency without cannibalising — individuals choose speed and access to you.)
About your instructor
Courses are designed and led by Neil Simpson, founder of EXP Studio. Neil has spent 25+ years in design, research and strategy — including 15+ years leading human-centred design inside large global enterprises and government departments — and leads live service design + AI engagements using the exact framework taught in this course. He's a practitioner, not a professional trainer: what you learn in week 4 is what he did at work last month.
(Individual buyers googling the instructor is the norm — keep this block. Adjust the "last month" claim if not literally accurate.)
FAQ
(Individual-buyer objections — draft answers.)
Do I need design experience? [Draft: No — the course assumes curiosity, not a design degree. Tools are introduced from scratch.]
Will it be recorded if I miss a session? [Yes — recordings + materials included.]
Can my employer pay? [Draft: Yes — invoice available; you might share the outcomes list with your L&D team.]
Is this AI-heavy? [Draft: No — roughly one week focuses on AI. This is a service design course that treats AI as one improvement option, not the answer to everything.]
What's the self-paced version? [Same 5 modules, released on demand in Circle with community discussion — join the waitlist to hear first.]
CTA
Ready to see your services clearly? Join the next cohort of Service Design + AI 101 — [intake date]. [Join the next cohort] · Questions? Book a quick chat or email [address].
About our instructors
EXP Studio instructors are experienced practitioners in Human-Centred Design, Service Design and organisational innovation.
They bring real-world experience from working with government, corporate and education sectors to design and deliver services, strategies and innovation programs.
Our instructors focus on practical application—helping participants learn methods they can immediately use in their own teams and projects.
Bring This Course to Your Team
This course can be delivered online or in-house and tailored to the needs of your organisation.
To discuss delivery options or request a proposal contact EXP Studio.