Problem
The business did not know what services to launch in the three years after the launch of major social platform designed to overcome challenges with the positioning of the org in the market, where analysts saw it as a provider ‘dumb pipes’. Marketing, Research & Development, and Digital product delivery were poorly coordinated and as a result, new offers were underperforming.
Context
I was recruited as a senior service design practitioner in the concept development team run out of Düsseldorf.
I ran a lab in London centred on microfutures, the ecosystems that users generate to manipulate and exchange value. With only dotted-line reports, I had to negotiate all design, build and launch resources in a matrix-managed asset pool.
Action
I ran a service design programme exploring online marketplaces.
I developed Vodafone Exchange, a service to buy, sell and exchange goods and services via the mobile handset using complimentary currencies such as barter and group negotiations. I launched a fully-functioning service prototype in partnership with Vodafone R&D. This prototype included the server-side trading platform and two client apps on iPhone and Android.
Result
Customer value creation and exchange is now a core part of the Vodafone product roadmap.
- I secured 150k budget from Vodafone Social Investment fund to deploy pilots of the mobile marketplace in Opcos
- R&D teams are now permanently engaged with Group User Experience
- Agora was launched as a pilot in Egypt and Romania. The Agora UI was translated and the design modified to make localisation quicker. The service allows users to agree the value of given items allowing these to act as a currency for a transaction.
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