What Is a Service Blueprint?

A service blueprint is a diagram that maps out the entire process of delivering a service or product to a customer, from start to finish. The blueprint allows businesses to look at the entire process and operation to determine where it could be more efficient.   

Some people compare service blueprints to customer journey maps, but service blueprints are more comprehensive. A customer journey map is a diagram that shows how a customer interacts with a business. Still, a service blueprint takes that information and adds all of the behind-the-scenes and support interactions.  

What does a service blueprint usually include? 

Service blueprints typically include various actions, including customer, direct employee interactions, and behind-the-scenes interactions. For more about each, consult the list below.   

• Customer actions: Customer actions are usually the most important part of a service blueprint. It includes any customer interaction with your product or service, such as purchasing or leaving a review. 

• Frontage actions: Frontage actions include any direct interactions an employee may have with a customer, such as answering a phone, chat, or email inquiry. 

• Backstage actions: These are all actions that happen behind the scenes and do not involve interacting directly with the customer, for example, uploading content to a website. 

• Physical evidence: Physical evidence is anything a customer or employee may come in contact with, physically or digitally. This could be an actual storefront, product packaging, a website, or a virtual shopping cart. 

• Support processes: Support processes include anything an employee might use to do their job but that customers won't interact with, such as the computer programs to create a website or the computer itself. 

What are the benefits of a service blueprint? 

Service blueprints offer numerous benefits to businesses, brands, or organisations that depend on customers, including gaining a better understanding of how customers interact with your company. Ultimately, it helps you understand the overall customer experience from their perspective so you can make changes and decisions based on concrete information. Other benefits of a service blueprint include:  

• Understanding the function of your employees

• Understanding how your backstage and frontage employees and platforms interact

• Discovering any roadblocks and weaknesses in your production and customer service processes

• Preventing you from wasting resources

• Helping you come up with new services and products based on previous experiences

• Eliminating redundancy and optimising your processes and operations 

Related terms

• Empathy map

• Cognitive map

• UX designer

• Pain points

• Usability

Get started with UX design 

Service blueprints span the delivery process and provide many benefits, including gaining a deeper understanding of your customers and their pain points. You can use this strategic tool to remain competitive and improve the customer experience. 

To continue learning about service blueprints and other essential practices in UX design, consider the Google UX Design Professional Certificate on Coursera. You can equip yourself with the job-ready skills you’ll need for an entry-level role in UX design. Upon completion, gain a Professional Certificate to include in your LinkedIn profile or CV.