Understanding CX, UX, and SD

These disciplines often overlap and when managed effectively they can complement each other to create holistic user-centric services.

The Similarities

Human-Centric Approach
All three disciplines focus on understanding and addressing the needs, desires, and behaviors of people. They prioritize the creation of meaningful and relevant experiences

Iterative Process
They employ iterative processes that include ideation, prototyping, testing, and refining solutions based on user feedback

Multidisciplinary Collaboration
These fields involve collaboration across various disciplines—such as psychology, business, technology, and design—to create comprehensive solutions

The Differences

Scope and Focus

Customer Experience (CX)
optimize the overall customer-brand relationship across multiple touchpoints and channels, both digital and physical

User Experience (UX)
specifics of user interaction with a product aiming to make them more user-friendly, efficient, and enjoyable

Service Design (SD)
complete service experiences, ensuring both front-end and back-end processes efficiently meet user needs and business goals

Methods and Tools

Customer Experience (CX)
journey mapping, customer feedback, and loyalty programs to understand and optimize the entire customer experiencel

User Experience (UX)
usability testing, wireframing, and interaction design to ensure products are easy to use and meet the specific needs of users

Service Design (SD)
service blueprints, service scenarios, and stakeholder maps to orchestrate an entire service process that aligns with user needs and business goals

Desired Outcomes

Customer Experience (CX)
successful business outcomes; customer success, loyalty, lifetime value, and brand differentiation

User Experience (UX)
user satisfaction and performance metrics related to specific interfaces, such as conversion rates, task completion times, and error rates.

Service Design (SD)
improved service quality and efficiency impacting both the user experience and the provider’s operational effectiveness

Deliverables

Customer Experience (CX)

  • Customer Journey Maps
  • Customer Personas
  • Experience Audits
  • Service Blueprints

User Experience (UX)

  • Wireframes and Prototypes
  • Usability Reports
  • User Flows
  • Interaction Models

Service Design (SD)

  • Service Blueprints
  • Stakeholder Maps
  • Touchpoint Matrix
  • Prototypes of Service Components