Co-creation Toolkit

A Toolkit for Co-Creation in Virtual Worlds

This page provides an overview and links to the co-creation tools developed by Politecnico di Milano in the context of the OPENVERSE project. A core component of planning is the selection and contextual adaptation of co-creation tools. The OPENVERSE Toolkit includes a wide variety of such tools—a curated set of 48 co-creation tools mapped across the four phases of the Double Diamond—that support everything from early exploration to final decision-making.

Double Diamond design process model Work by Politecnico di Milano, adapted from Design Council's original work - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

The goal is to empower a diverse range of stakeholders—designers, developers, educators, VWs consumers, and citizens—to run meaningful co-creation processes in immersive environments, using a shared methodology grounded in field experimentation and design research.

The complete Co-creation Toolkit is available on the Figma platform.

License and Attribution

This toolkit is designed for open collaboration, and its structure and licensing model are crafted to comply with the terms of all referenced source materials. The entire original content of this toolkit is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

The content of this toolkit is shared as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. This license enables re-users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon this material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, provided original attribution (BY) is always given.

Because this toolkit adopts the ShareAlike (SA) element, any new work created by adapting, remixing, or transforming the original licensed content from this toolkit must be distributed under the same or a compatible Creative Commons license.

Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Designed in 2025 by: Riccardo Ventura, Ilaria Mariani, Venere Ferraro, Francesca Rizzo, Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano

Source Material

This work includes content, methodologies, and inspiration drawn from the following sources:

• Adapted and Derivative Content (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0): Tools and methodologies were directly adapted, remixed, or inspired by materials from the AI4Gov Toolkit (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) and Follow the Rabbit: A Field Guide to Systemic Design (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Due to this adaptation, the ShareAlike condition of these source licenses requires that this resulting toolkit must also adopt the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
• Inspirational Use Only (Non-Derivative): The creation of our new tools, concepts, guides, and the overall structural approach were purely inspired by the materials presented in three other sources. This process involved consulting the Servicedesigntools (CC BY-NC-ND 2.5) repository, the This is Service Design Doing – Method Library (copyrighted content), and the Share, Learn, Innovate! toolkit (copyrighted content). The team behind this toolkit consulted these materials for guides, concepts, and structure but did not adopt, adapt, or create derivative versions of their original content

Components of the Toolkit

All the components are available for exploration and reuse on the Figma board, along with the full description of each of the components. This page provides a high-level overview of the components for quick reference. The components are grouped based on the four Double Diamond phases shown above. In case of overlaps across the phases, the headings will show both relevant phases.

Discover

Cultural Probes

Cultural probes - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Cultural Probes are stimuli-based design research tools that invite participants to document personal experiences, contexts, and thoughts through artifacts such as postcards, diaries, or in-world interactive objects. In immersive VW environments, designers distribute digital probes (VR postcards, 3D tokens, prompts) into user spaces.

Participants interact, capture audio/video responses, and and interactions in digital environments, and return probes for analysis. Through asynchronous co-creation, teams gather rich qualitative data, uncover emergent needs, and iteratively refine personas, journey maps, and system maps. Ideal for exploratory research in spatial VR or 3D platforms, Cultural Probes foster empathy, spark ideation, and ground service design in lived experiences.

How to use it?

1. Decide which digital / physical objects could help users narrate their virtual worlds experiences.
2. Ask users to take notes throughout the project.
3. Use notes to gather useful insight for further improvement.

Inspired by the toolkit: This is Service Design Doing
Publisher: This is Service Design Doing Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Ecosystem Map

Ecosystem Map - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Ecosystem Map portrays every entity, flow, and relationship that defines a service’s surrounding ecosystem in immersive three-dimensional space. Avatars or 3D tokens represent users, partners, suppliers, technologies, and environmental factors, while animated streams trace value exchanges, information channels, and resource movements.

Collaborators navigate the dynamic model, simulate changes—such as adding new nodes or rerouting flows—and observe systemic ripple effects in real time. Participants annotate insights, propose interventions, and iteratively refine connections. Perfect for VR-enabled co-creation workshops, Ecosystem Map fosters holistic understanding, surfaces hidden interdependencies, and aligns stakeholders around end-to-end service innovation strategies.

How to use it?

1. Define a central topic and put it at the center of the canvas.
2. Describe relevant players and associate to each a different shape.
3. Place shapes in the map.
4. Central players should be placed close to the center, secondary players peripherically.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Envisioning the Future

Envisioning the Future - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Envisioning the Future is a collaborative scenario-building tool that invites teams to imagine plausible worlds three to six years ahead within virtual environments. Participants embody avatars in detailed VR or 3D spaces, exploring future success states—streamlined operations, empowered customers, sustainable ecosystems.

During guided workshops, they define milestones, identify emerging trends, and co-create narratives that show how organizational goals materialize. By visualizing outcomes and backcasting interventions, Envisioning the Future fosters long-term strategic alignment, surfaces uncertainties, and sparks innovative service breakthroughs. Ideal for remote or hybrid teams, this method leverages immersive storytelling and collective foresight to translate visionary aspirations into actionable roadmaps.

How to use it?

1. Select a timeframe fro 3 to 6 years.
2. Answer to the provided questions.
3. Describe as a scenario the vision.

Inspired by the toolkit: Share, learn, innovate!
Publisher: United Nations Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Fishbowl

Fishbowl - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Fishbowl is an interactive dialogue technique that amplifies expert knowledge and broadens group understanding through a concentric-circle setup in virtual worlds.

In a central “bowl,” a handful of skilled avatars discuss targeted questions while an outer ring of observers listens, reflects, and captures insights on spatial whiteboards. When outer participants wish to contribute, they enter the bowl, temporarily swapping places with an inner speaker.

This fluid movement between inner and outer circles democratizes voice, encourages active listening, and fosters shared learning. Deployed in VR or 3D environments, Fishbowl’s structured yet flexible format drives deep engagement, peer teaching, and immersive co-creative exploration.

How to use it?

1. Gather participants in a physical/virtual environment.
2. Divide participants in 2 groups.
3. Fishes (2-4 people): They have to discuss a relevant topic, at the center of the room.
4. Observers (The rest of the participants): They have to take notes on the discussion and, if they wish to participate, respectfully interrupt the discussion, swapping places with a fish.

Inspired by the toolkit: Share, learn, innovate!
Publisher: United Nations Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Iceberg Diagram

Iceberg Diagram - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

An Iceberg Diagram visualizes beneath-the-surface forces that shape service behaviors by layering observable events, systemic structures, mental models, and underlying paradigms in a vertical 3D canvas. Participants position avatars or tokens at different strata—the tip of the iceberg representing customer actions, the submerged mass depicting processes, regulations, cultural beliefs, and deeper worldviews.

Collaborators drill down through scenarios in VR environments, annotating feedback loops, mental models, and leverage points that perpetuate current outcomes. Iterative exploration surfaces hidden constraints, reveals impactful intervention zones, and fosters systemic thinking. Ideal for immersive workshops, the Iceberg Diagram enables teams to align on root causes and co-design transformative strategies grounded in deep structural insight.

How to use it?

• Define a central topic.
• Compile brainstorm events section, highlighting relevant aspects.
• Compile patterns of behaviors section, highlighting repeating aspects.
• Compile system structures section, highlighting who/what is responsible for pattern creation.
• Compile mental models section, highlighting which assumptions and beliefs created the systemic structures.
• After looking at the big picture, place relevant aspects as icons in the iceberg.

Inspired by the toolkit: Follow the Rabbit
Publisher: Colab Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Jigsaw

Jigsaw - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy adapted for virtual worlds that divides a complex service challenge into interlocking “puzzle pieces.” Small expert teams explore an assigned component—such as user research, technology integration, or policy constraints—and develop deep insights. Avatars reconvene in a shared 3D space to assemble findings, linking visual tokens, diagrams, and narratives to complete the holistic picture.

This method leverages spatial distribution, collaborative assembly, and peer teaching to build collective expertise and foster ownership. By transforming individual discoveries into a cohesive ecosystem map, Jigsaw enhances cross-functional understanding, drives mutual accountability, and accelerates integrated service design through immersive, puzzle-based co-creation.

How to use it?

1. Divide participants in groups.
2. Assign to each group a relevant topic/area to discuss
3. Discuss in groups and keep track of the findings.
4. Reassemble the pieces and discuss together the bigger picture.

Inspired by the toolkit: Share, learn, innovate!
Publisher: United Nations Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Knowledge Café

Knowledge Café - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Knowledge Café or Round Table Sessions is an avatar-led dialogue method that builds collective intelligence in virtual worlds. Participants gather at themed café tables, sharing experiences and posting digital notes on shared canvases. After a timed session, avatars rotate to new tables, carrying forward insights and weaving ideas into a knowledge web.

Each table host curates threads and captures emergent patterns, ensuring continuity. By assuming that every participant is a source of wisdom, the format surfaces novel perspectives and cross-pollinates ideas across the group. Ideal for VR or 3D co-creation spaces, Knowledge Café fosters immersive collaboration and amplifies shared understanding.

How to use it?

1. Gather participants in a shared collaborative setting.
2. Define relevant topics of discussion.
3. Define how much time to spend on each discussion before rotating.
4. Divide participants in groups and ask each group to identify a reporter of the insights.
5. Sit on the tables and start the timer, when time is off, rotate and change table/topic.
6. After a full rotation, take some time to share what emerged from each topic between the groups.

Inspired by the toolkit: Follow the Rabbit
Publisher: Colab

Inspired by the toolkit: Share, learn, innovate!
Publisher: United Nations

Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Knowledge Fair

Knowledge Fair - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Knowledge Fair is a virtual event for sharing insights from diverse experts through immersive booths, dynamic displays, and interactive presentations. In a 3D or VR expo hall, participants navigate avatar-driven pavilions themed around specific domains—data privacy, user research, policy design—and engage with multimedia panels showcasing research findings, prototypes, and case studies.

Exhibitors use digital posters, video kiosks, live demos, and spatial annotations to spark dialogue and crowdsourced ideation. Roleplay elements, such as expert avatars hosting Q&A sessions or scenario workshops, deepen engagement. Participants can vote on emerging ideas and form ad-hoc focus groups for deeper exploration. Ideal for large-scale VW co-creation, Knowledge Fair democratizes expertise and accelerates innovative service diffusion.

How to use?

1. Gather participants in a shared collaborative setting.
2. Define relevant topics of discussion.
3. Divide participants in groups and ask each group to identify a reporter of the insights.
4. Ask groups to build a personalized virtual/digital space for each topic.
5. Ask reporters to stay in the space and discuss the topic with visitors.
6. Ask other participants to move and discuss the topics freely in the space.
7. When discussions are finished, confront notes of the reporters and gather useful information.

Inspired by the toolkit: Share, learn, innovate!
Publisher: United Nations Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Open Space

Open Space - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Open Space is a participant-driven agenda creation method that harnesses the self-organizing capacity of virtual-world attendees. In a shared 3D plaza or VR amphitheater, avatars propose topics by posting spatial markers, then gather around interest hubs to co-create content and agendas. Participants dynamically form breakout circles, author session titles, and schedule discussions in real time, shaping learning objectives and collaborative outcomes.

The informal, flexible format empowers autonomy and emergent insights, while facilitators capture key outcomes on virtual whiteboards. Ideal for large-scale VW events, Open Space fosters deep engagement, immersive networked learning, and co-creation by blurring roles between organizers and participants.

How to use it?

1. Gather participants in a shared collaborative setting.
2. Define relevant topics of discussion.
3. Allow participants to discuss in a free and untstructured space the topics.
4. Ask groups to build a project agenda on the next steps
5. When discussions are finished, gather useful informations

Inspired by the toolkit: Share, learn, innovate!
Publisher: United Nations Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Problem Framing

Problem Framing - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Problem Framing is a visual synthesis method that defines and structures ambiguous or complex challenges. Teams collaborate in a 3D canvas to externalize problem elements—constraints, assumptions, stakeholders, and unknowns—as digital nodes or clusters. Participants drag and group digital sticky notes, icons, and shapes to represent pain points, policy constraints, technical uncertainties, and user needs.

Over iterative sessions, they refine connections, annotate dependencies, and expose gaps in understanding. By framing a structured problem frame, teams reduce ambiguity, align on research focus, and establish a clear foundation for design. Ideal for early-stage co-creation workshops, Problem Framing guides planning and stakeholder consensus.

How to use it?

• Identify the specific problem you want to answer with the project.
• Identify one or two types of audience affected by the project
• Identify the long-term impact of the problem, and its general goals
• Identify the physical or abstract space in which the problem manifests and which kind of affordances and interactions does it allow

Inspired by the toolkit: AI4Gov Toolkit
Publisher: AI4Gov Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Service Safari

Service Safari - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Service Safari immerses designers in first-person explorations of a service using avatar-led autoethnography within virtual worlds. Participants navigate key touchpoints—booking, service delivery, support—experiencing each interaction exactly as a customer would. As they move through the environment, they capture contextual insights via spatial annotations, voice memos, and reflective prompts triggered at meaningful moments.

This method uncovers hidden pain points, emotional reactions, and design opportunities with authentic “lived” perspective. Ideal for VR headsets or 3D platforms, Service Safari combines deep empathy and active roleplay to generate rich qualitative data, inspire creative solutions, and guide user-centered service innovation.

How to use it?

• Identify strong suits of the project.
• Identify pain points of the project
• Identify miscellaneous aspects of the project
• Place in the different temporal columns the identified aspects.

Inspired by the toolkit: AI4Gov Toolkit
Publisher: AI4Gov Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Social Network Analysis

Social Network Analysis - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Social Network Analysis visualizes the web of relationships and knowledge flows among individuals, teams, and organizations within a service ecosystem. In a virtual world, nodes—avatars representing people or groups—are positioned in 3D space, with linkages animating communication channels, collaboration ties, and information exchanges.

Participants can navigate the network, inspect connection strengths, and simulate changes (e.g., adding new roles or breaking silos) to observe systemic impacts. This method uncovers hidden influencers, bottlenecks, and expertise hubs, guiding targeted interventions. Ideal for VR or immersive 3D platforms, Social Network Analysis enhances stakeholder alignment by making invisible social structures visible and tunable for optimized service co-creation.

How to use it?

• Identify a meaningful stakeholder to analyze.
• Identify other relevant stakeholders to include in the social network.
• Place in the map the different stakeholders and visualize the ecosystem.

Inspired by the toolkit: Share, learn, innovate!
Publisher: United Nations Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Sociometrics

Sociometrics - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Sociometrics uses embodied spatial modelling in virtual worlds to map social dynamics, influence patterns, and group interactions. Participants assume avatar roles and position themselves within 3D spaces to represent relationships—cooperation, authority, trust—connecting with lines or proximity triggers that reveal network density and communication pathways.

By externalizing interpersonal ties and emergent power structures, Sociometrics surfaces hidden influencers, friction points, and collaboration opportunities. Ideal for VR or desktop-based immersive platforms, this method enhances team alignment, deepens social insight, and supports targeted interventions in service ecosystem co-creation.

Košir, K., & Pečjak, S. (2005). Sociometry as a method for investigating peer relationships: What does it actually measure? Educational Research, 47(1), 127–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013188042000337604

How to use it?

• Identify relevant social dynamics, influence patterns, and social interactions as well as relevant stakeholders.
• Create clusters (Group 1, Group 2...).
• Map the notes in the canvas, ranging from low to high social rejection and from low to high social acceptance.

Inspired by the toolkit: Share, learn, innovate!
Publisher: United Nations Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Stakeholder Map

Stakeholder Map - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Stakeholder Map visually arranges all actors in a service ecosystem by plotting individuals, groups, and organizations on axes of influence and interest within a shared virtual canvas. Designers place avatar tokens or 3D icons to represent each stakeholder, then draw animated links to illustrate relationships, dependencies, and communication channels.

Participants can filter by attributes, inspect persona profiles, and simulate scenario overlays to see how policy changes or market shifts affect power dynamics. Suitable for VR workshops or desktop co-creation sessions, Stakeholder Map clarifies project scope, aligns cross-functional teams, and surfaces key partners or friction points for targeted engagement.

How to use it?

• Identify all relevant stakeholders.
• Create categories and cluster the stakeholders.
• Map stakeholders in the canvas, ranging from low to high agency and from low to high impact.

Inspired by the toolkit: AI4Gov Toolkit
Publisher: AI4Gov Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Stakeholder Value Map

Stakeholder Value Map - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

A Stakeholder Value Map distills the core motivations and needs of each stakeholder within a service ecosystem by plotting practical, social, and higher personal values on a shared virtual canvas. Participants assume avatar roles representing users, partners, regulators, or employees and annotate a 3D map with value attributes—basic necessities, relational priorities, and dignity-driven aspirations.

Through interactive dialogues, avatars voice their value-driven perspectives at key journey phases, while collaborators cluster and compare value patterns to uncover emerging tensions or alignments. Ideal for VR or 3D workshops, this immersive method enhances empathy, grounds decision-making in stakeholder priorities, and supports narrative-driven co-creation to optimize value exchange.

How to use it?

• Identify meaningful stakeholders to analyze.
• For the cluster of Personal Needs, add note(s) describing what your user desires to do.
• For the cluster of Practical Needs, add note(s) describing what your user should be able to practically do while interacting with the virtual world.
• For the cluster of Social Needs, add note(s) describing how does your user expect to interact with others in the virtual world.

Inspired by the toolkit: AI4Gov Toolkit
Publisher: AI4Gov Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Discover // Define

Ecosystem Loops

Ecosystem Loops - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Ecosystem Loops is an immersive mapping tool that visualizes complex service ecosystems across multiple scales—users, stakeholders, partner networks, objects, and environments—within virtual worlds. Participants arrange and connect 3D tokens or avatars to represent entities and draw animated flows that trace value exchanges, information transfers, and dependencies.

By toggling between micro-interactions and macro-system overviews, teams uncover feedback loops, bottlenecks, and leverage points in real time. Ideal for VR or spatial 3D platforms, Ecosystem Loops fosters high collaboration as stakeholders co-create and manipulate the living system model together. This method drives holistic insight, aligns diverse perspectives, and informs resilient, scalable service design strategies.

How to use it?

• Identify the main areas of interest and related topics as sub-areas, if needed.
• Identify relevant stakeholders and potential users and place them in the map.
• Define connections of different types between them to create an ecosystem.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Define

Co-creating Journey Maps

Co-creating Journey Maps - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Co-creating Journey Maps harnesses the collective expertise of invited participants to collaboratively construct detailed customer journeys within immersive virtual environments. Participants embody avatars representing diverse user roles and pool first-hand insights, documenting touchpoints, pain points, emotional states, and backstage processes along a shared 3D timeline. As contributors add and cluster digital sticky notes, icons, and sketches, the group iterates on journey phases, pauses to explore branching scenarios, and surfaces opportunities for innovation.

Live annotation, voting, and role-swapping ensure diverse perspectives shape the narrative. Ideal for VR or spatial collaboration platforms, Co-creating Journey Maps fosters deep empathy, aligns stakeholder understanding, and accelerates co-design of optimized end-to-end service experiences.

How to use it?

1. Break down the user Journey of the project in steps and list them in the purple slots.
2. Define dimensions such as Physical/digital Touchpoints, Negative/Positive Experience etc... and list them in the slots on the left
3. Place relevant User acticities across the canvas, mapping the journey of the user with a conenction line.

Inspired by the toolkit: This is Service Design Doing
Publisher: This is Service Design Doing Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Co-creating Personas

Co-creating Personas - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Co-creating Personas is a collaborative method that leverages the collective expertise of invited participants to develop rich, context-driven user archetypes and associated journey maps or service blueprints in virtual worlds. Workshop attendees assume avatar roles representing target segments and co-design persona profiles by contributing real-world insights, behaviors, motivations, and pain points.

As personas crystallize, teams animate them through scenario enactments, roleplay, and narrative sessions to validate assumptions and uncover hidden needs. This immersive approach fosters shared ownership, aligns diverse stakeholders, and embeds empathy throughout the design process. Flexible for VR or 3D desktop platforms, Co-creating Personas drives depth, nuance, and stakeholder buy-in.

How to use it?

1. Identify relevant stakeholders to analyze and meaningful personas.
2. Define an archetype for your persona.
3. Describe the motivations that move the user.
4. Describe the pain points the persona could encounter.
5. Decorate with emojis/images the picture of the persona to better define its profile.

Inspired by the toolkit: This is Service Design Doing
Publisher: This is Service Design Doing Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Co-Creative Workshops

Co-Creative Workshops - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Co-creative Workshops leverage the expertise of invited stakeholders to jointly develop rich personas and service artifacts within virtual worlds. Participants adopt avatar identities aligned with target segments and contribute real-world observations, motivations, behaviors, and pain points through interactive exercises.

As the group clusters and refines characteristics, they animate personas in scenario enactments to validate assumptions and reveal hidden needs. Facilitators guide collaborative storytelling, encourage role-swapping, and capture emergent themes on 3D canvases. Ideal for VR or desktop 3D platforms, Co-creative Workshops foster shared ownership, deepen empathy, build consensus, and deliver nuanced personas that inform subsequent journey mapping, prototyping, and co-design activities.

How to use it?

1. Select a topic of discussion
2. Assign to each participant a role from the archetype wheel and list it in the boxes.
3. Identify a reporter of the discussion.
4. Start the discussion and make sure every participant is interpreting the point of view of their archetype.

Inspired by the toolkit: This is Service Design Doing
Publisher: This is Service Design Doing Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Emotional Journey Map

Emotional Journey Map - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Emotional Journey maps shifts in user perception and emotional valence across a service experience in a virtual world. Designers plot rising and falling emotional states along a spatial timeline using 3D curves or color-coded overlays. During scenario enactments, avatars display real-time emotional cues—gestures, facial animations, environmental feedback—which observers annotate to pinpoint stress peaks, delight moments, or ambivalence.

Through iterative replay, teams co-design interventions to smooth pain points and amplify positive highlights. Ideal for VR or immersive 3D platforms, Emotional Journey fosters deep empathy by externalizing subjective experience, aligning stakeholders around shared emotional insights, and driving targeted, affective service improvements.

How to use it?

1. Break down the user Journey of the project in steps and represent them in the slots.
2. Following the User Journey above, represent with a line the emotions the user feels while going through its journey.
3. For every significant emotional step, note down which opportunities emerge.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Impact Journey

Impact Journey - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Impact Journey is a foresight tool that models and evaluates effects of a service experience across environmental, social, and economic dimensions in an interactive virtual world. Participants enact key touchpoints as avatars—customers, service personnel, suppliers—while indicators trace resource consumption, waste streams, community benefits, and carbon footprints along the timeline.

Observers pause and propose sustainable alternatives—material substitutions, process optimizations, circular loops—and visualize their impact using dynamic overlays. By embedding sustainability metrics into storytelling and roleplay, Impact Journey fosters empathy, uncovers unintended consequences, and generates actionable creative ideas for sustainable, resilient service ecosystems. Ideal for VR workshops on sustainable innovation.

How to use it?

1. Break down the System Phases of the project in steps and list them in the slots on the left.
2. Define meaningful areas of impact for the project such as environment, society, economy etc... and list them.
3. For every area, define metrics of evaluation such as resource consumption, waste streams, community benefits, carbon footprints etc... and list them.
4. Crossing the system phases of your project and the areas of impact, define (when necessary) relevant sustainable alternatives for the current solutions.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Mapping Journeys

Mapping Journeys - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Mapping Journeys visualizes the service ecosystem around physical and digital products by creating spatial, interactive maps in VR or 3D platforms. Participants drag and connect avatars, 3D tokens, or digital artifacts to represent users, touchpoints, channels, and product interactions across layered environments. As teams assemble and reposition elements, they surface dependencies, information flows, and ecosystem boundaries, running “what-if” experiments by introducing new nodes or rerouting connections.

Observers and co-creators annotate live, revealing optimization opportunities and integration points. While it offers limited narrative depth on its own, Mapping Journeys excels at immersive spatial analytics, fostering collaborative sense-making and aligning cross-functional teams around holistic service landscapes.

How to use it?

1. Identify relevant actors to analyze (Users, Industries...).
2. Identify relevant actions to analyze (Purchase, Log-in...).
3. Identify relevant connections to analyze (Personal relationship, wi-fi connection...).
4. Create as many user journeys as necessary for comparison and gather relevant insights from it.

Inspired by the toolkit: This is Service Design Doing
Publisher: This is Service Design Doing Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

System Map

System Map - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

System Map is an immersive spatial tool for visualizing all actors and components involved in service delivery within virtual worlds. Designers create a shared 3D canvas where avatars or tokens represent users, frontline staff, support systems, digital platforms, and environmental elements.

Participants drag, position, and link these modules to trace information flows, handoffs, and boundaries between subsystems. Observers could filter layers, highlight dependencies, and annotate friction points in real time.

While direct roleplay is minimal, teams can embed scenarios by triggering animations or path simulations. Ideal for VR or desktop-based 3D workshops, System Map fosters clarity of complex architectures, aligns cross-functional understanding, and informs optimization strategies.

How to use it?

1. Identify relevant actors to analyze (Users, Industries...).
2. Identify relevant touchpoints to analyze (Social media engagement, in-person interactions...).
3. Identify relevant connections to analyze (Personal relationship, wi-fi connection...).
4. Add all the element in the map and profile a comprehensive system.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

System Scenario

System Scenario - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

System Scenario is a dynamic simulation tool that models how a service ecosystem adapts and evolves under specific conditions. In a virtual 3D or VR environment, participants configure scenario parameters—seasonal demand spikes, regulatory shifts, tech failures—and watch animated system components (avatars, processes, data flows) respond in real time.

Observers can pause, tweak variables, and branch into alternative futures to test resilience and spot emergent behaviors.

Ideal for avatar-driven storytelling and scenario planning in immersive platforms, System Scenarios deepen understanding of systemic dynamics, foster collaborative “what-if” exploration, and surface strategic interventions before real-world rollout.

How to use it?

1. Define a scenario and express it with a What-if formula
2. Give a title to the scenario.
3. Define and prioritize relevant actors.
4. Place them in the map and define their connections.
5. Identify emerging pain points and opportunities.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Transition Journey

Transition Journey - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Transition Journey is a dynamic tool that maps and analyzes how user behavior and roles evolve over time within a service ecosystem. In virtual worlds, participants embody avatars that transition through sequential personas—novice to expert, customer to advocate—navigating branching scenarios that illustrate changing motivations, skills, and expectations.

Teams simulate multiple horizons and tweak transition triggers (feature rollouts, policy shifts, social influences) in real time, uncovering new experience archetypes and potential friction points. Observers pause, annotate, and co-design adaptive interventions on the fly.

Ideal for immersive VR workshops, Transition Journey combines narrative forecasting with spatial roleplay to drive strategic foresight and align stakeholders around future-ready service roadmaps.

How to use it?

1. Define the target user.
2. Identify their motivations and pain points.
3. Define multiple possible user journeys.
4. Use transition arrows to explore where the journeys could transit, in order to discover pain points and opportunities.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Develop

AI Functionalities Cards

AI Functionalities Cards - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

AI Functionalities Cards are a spatial ideation tool designed to spark innovation by showcasing modular AI capabilities—natural language processing, computer vision, recommendation engines, anomaly detection, and more—as tangible cards in virtual environments. Participants navigate VR or 3D workspaces where avatars draw from a digital deck of functionality cards, combining and placing them along service journeys or ecosystem maps.

Through iterative play, teams discover novel applications, align technical possibilities with user needs, and generate creative service enhancements. Ideal for immersive brainstorming sessions, AI Functionalities Cards democratize AI knowledge, foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, and accelerate the translation of emerging technologies into practical, user-centered service concepts.

How to use it?

1. After defining your project, identify which category of AI could be implemented among the four.
2. Use the AI functionalities cards to gain knowledge and inspiration for AI integration.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Concept Walkthrough

Concept Walkthrough - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Concept Walkthrough is a guided, immersive, step-by-step 3D or VR tour that presents a service concept through sequential stages, enabling stakeholders to experience proposed features and flows in context. Creators animate avatars or interactive hotspots to demonstrate each touchpoint—from discovery to service completion—while participants observe, comment, and suggest ongoing improvements in real time.

By visualizing the envisioned journey step by step, teams gain early user feedback, validate assumptions, and align on requirements before heavy investment. Ideal for VR-enabled workshops or desktop co-creation sessions, Concept Walkthroughs offer moderate immersion, clarity of vision, and structured, seamless collaboration to refine service concepts collaboratively.

How to use it?

1. Define the user journey of your project.
2. Use text to define every step of the journey.
3. Use drawing/images to add details to every step, paying attention to the crucial steps of the journey.
4. Note down pain point and opportunities emerging.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Ecosystem Map

Ecosystem Map - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

The Ecosystem Map is an immersive, synthetic visualization that captures all stakeholders and value exchanges within a service ecosystem. Participants arrange avatars or 3D tokens to represent individuals, organizations, technological components, and environmental elements in a looping network, then animate flows to trace information, resource, or interaction exchanges.

In VR or 3D platforms, collaborators navigate the spatial model, simulate adding or removing nodes, and observe systemic impacts in real time. Observers annotate insights and co-design strategic interventions on the fly. Perfect for high-collaboration workshops, the Ecosystem Map aligns diverse perspectives, uncovers hidden relationships, and drives holistic service strategy through richly immersive co-creation.

How to use it?

1. Define a central user and put it at the center of the canvas.
2. Describe relevant players and associate to each a different shape.
3. Place shapes in the map.
4. Central players should be placed close to the center, secondary players peripherically.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Future Backcasting

Future Backcasting - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Future Backcasting is a foresight tool that reverses time to identify pathways from desired future outcomes back to present-day actions within virtual worlds. Participants embody avatars representing future stakeholders to enact scenarios in 3D or VR environments, dramatizing how emerging trends and innovations influence service evolution.

By simulating and discussing milestones—policy shifts, technological breakthroughs, user behaviors—teams map backward through decision points, uncovering present-day interventions and design inspirations. This method fosters long-term thinking, anticipates challenges, and aligns organizational vision by translating futures into actionable roadmaps. Ideal for co-creative workshops in VR or virtual platforms, Future Backcasting drives foresight and strategic innovation.

How to use it?

1. Identify a relevant topic or a relevant industry.
2. Define a year in the future to set the backcasting.
3. Decide in which category of future (Possible, Plausible, Probable, Preferred) the backcasting will be set.
4. Describe the foresight.
5. Describe which steps are needed to achieve the foresight.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

System UX Map Human Agent Journey

System UX Map Human Agent Journey - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Human Agent Journey visualizes the step-by-step path a person takes to achieve a goal, illustrating agent, scenario, expectations, phases, actions, and insights in an immersive virtual environment. Participants embody an avatar representing the human agent and progress through journey stages—awareness, exploration, decision, fulfillment, and reflection—within a shared 3D or VR space.

Observers annotate key touchpoints, emotional states, and backstage processes in real time, then pause to highlight pain points or design opportunities. By spatializing each phase and mapping opportunities directly onto the journey, this method fosters empathy, aligns stakeholders around human motivations, and accelerates co-creation of service experiences shaped by real user needs.

How to use it?

1. Define a human agent (user)
2. Identify a scenario and expectations
3. Break down the user journey in phases and list them.
4. Define which actions (High-level behaviors and steps taken by users. They have a narrative scope, they're not meant to be a step-by-step log of every discrete interaction) the human agent will perform.
5. Identify emerging opportunities.

Inspired by the toolkit: AI4Gov Toolkit
Publisher: AI4Gov Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Future-State Journey

Future-State Journey - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Future-State Journey uses narrative structures to guide co-creative exploration of envisioned service experiences. Participants apply the classic dramatic arc—exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution—to a future-state customer journey mapped three to five years ahead. In virtual 3D or VR environments, collaborators embody avatars to spatialize journey stages, enact critical moments, and iterate plot-driven touchpoints.

By dramatizing emotional peaks and challenges, teams spark innovative ideas, uncover pivotal design opportunities, and maintain focus on strategic objectives. Ideal for immersive workshops, this method balances storytelling, spatial roleplay, and moderate collaboration, facilitating cohesive stakeholder alignment and rapidly accelerating future-focused ideation.

How to use it?

1. Define a user journey or, if present, consider an existing one for this exercise. Focus on the emotional peaks and challenges arising from the experience.
2. Identify where there is room for Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) and highlight it on the map .
3. Now, rework the user journey imagining the experience in the future. How can JTBD be addressed by future developments?
4. Identify which are the emerging opportunities.

Inspired by the toolkit: This is Service Design Doing
Publisher: This is Service Design Doing Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Innovative Brainstorming

Innovative Brainstorming - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Innovative Brainstorming is an inclusive, fast-paced ideation technique that stimulates spontaneous thought by leveraging spatialized virtual tools and avatar-led interaction. In a VW workshop, participants converge on a shared digital whiteboard or 3D canvas, where facilitators introduce provocations, constraints, or stimulus cards.

Avatars then rapidly generate, cluster, and remix ideas through drawing, tagging, and connecting virtual sticky notes, while voice or gesture commands add energy and variety. Real-time voting and theme-based breakout areas help surface promising concepts. By combining classic free-form brainstorming with immersive, gamified mechanics, Innovative Brainstorming boosts engagement, taps collective creativity, and fuels a rich pipeline of breakthrough service innovations.

How to use it?

1. Define a topic to brainstorm.
2. Brainstorm any idea related to the topic in question in the warming up section.
3. Select ideas within close personal or obvious contexts and list them in the braindump section.
4. Use braindump ideas to inspire new ideas going in different . directions and list them in the divergent thinking section.
5. Use the most promising ideas from the divergent thinking section to create new creative ideas in the creative ideation section.

Inspired by the toolkit: Share, learn, innovate!
Publisher: United Nations Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Integrated Journey

Integrated Journey - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Integrated Journey extends traditional journey mapping into a comprehensive service blueprint within virtual worlds, visualizing customer touchpoints alongside backstage processes, technology systems, and stakeholder roles. In an immersive 3D environment, designers arrange avatars, swimlanes, and interactive nodes on a shared timeline to show how front-stage interactions trigger behind-the-scenes support functions and data flows.

Participants witness real-time animations of handoffs, decision points, and policy enforcements, pausing to annotate inefficiencies or propose enhancements. Avatars can enact role-specific perspectives—agent, IT, logistics—adding realism. Perfect for VR-enabled co-creation workshops, Integrated Journey aligns multidisciplinary teams, uncovers interdependencies, and accelerates holistic service innovation.

How to use it?

1. Break down the user journey in phases and, for each phase define its steps.
2. Define, for each phase which are the touchpoints (Devices, places, tools, perceivable clues that users interact with) involved.
3. Define, for each phase, the technical journey (Steps and activities that the technical artifact performs behind the scenes to support interactions with/between human agents.)
4. Define, for each phase, the provider journey (Steps, choices, activities, and interactions that providers perform while offering a service to reach a particular goal, they can be visible to users or performed in the back-end / asynchronously).
5. Identify emerging opportunities.

Inspired by the toolkit: AI4Gov Toolkit
Publisher: AI4Gov Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Journey Ideation with Dramatic Arcs

Journey Ideation with Dramatic Arcs - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Journey Ideation with Dramatic Arcs is a co-creation method that applies narrative structures to service design in virtual worlds. Teams leverage classic dramatic arcs to outline user journeys, mapping emotional peaks and transitions across touchpoints.

In immersive 3D or VR environments, participants embody avatars to spatialize journey stages, visually enact pivotal moments, and explore plotlines. Observers refine service concepts by injecting unexpected challenges, resolving friction, and imagining future scenarios.

This approach deepens empathy, sparks insights, and aligns stakeholders around rich narratives. Ideal for future-focused workshops, it transforms abstract journeys into engaging storyworlds for iterative ideation.

How to use it?

1. Break down the user journey in phases and, for each phase define its steps.
2. Color the numbers ranking the customer engagement levels of every step of your journey from 1 (Low) to 6 (High).
3. Reflect on the shape and rhythm of the whole arc. Is it overloaded? Frontloaded? Are the periods of low engagement or high engagement too long?
4. Must a highlight be added, or - this is often more practical - should a less engaging step be spotlighted to increase engagement and show value more clearly?

Inspired by the toolkit: This is Service Design Doing
Publisher: This is Service Design Doing Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Service Image

Service Image - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Service Image distills the essence of a service experience into a single, impactful visual snapshot within a virtual world. Designers stage a 3D scene with avatars, environmental cues, and animated highlights to convey core touchpoints and emotional tone at a glance. This diorama-style frame employs perspective, lighting, and symbolic elements to communicate user motivations, pain points, and moments of delight cohesively.

By presenting an evocative north-star vision, Service Image aligns stakeholders around the narrative, sparks creative ideation, and guides subsequent design iterations. Ideal for kickoff sessions, pitches, and virtual galleries, it crystallizes complex experiences into an instantly sharable form.

How to use it?

1. Create a service image, it can be a montage of different photos and scenes, or a post-produced photo realized ad hoc, focused on a hero moment that is able to encapsulate the core value of the service experience.

Inspired by the toolkit:  Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

System UX Map Artificial Agent Journey

System UX Map Artificial Agent Journey - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

System UX Map Agent Journey visualizes AI/ML system interactions and human collaboration within virtual worlds. Participants guide avatars representing data pipelines, models, and human operators across a spatial timeline that highlights when core AI elements—data ingestion, feature engineering, model training, inference—are generated and required.

Relationships between automated agents and human stakeholders are dynamically mapped, enabling stakeholders to pause, annotate, and adjust nodal connections in real time. Ideal for VR or 3D workshops with multidisciplinary teams, this tool clarifies technical workflows, uncovers integration bottlenecks, and fosters shared understanding. By combining agent-driven storytelling with immersive simulation, teams co-design robust, human-centered AI services.

How to use it?

1. Break down the user journey in phases and, for each phase define its steps.
2. Define, for each phase which are the touchpoints (Devices, places, tools, perceivable clues that users interact with) involved.
3. Define, for each phase, the technical journey (Steps and activities that the technical artifact performs behind the scenes to support interactions with/between human agents).
4. Define, for each phase, the artificial journey (Internal processes and interactions that support service delivery through the technical artifact. They involve the agency of Al systems).
5. Identify emerging opportunities.

Inspired by the toolkit: AI4Gov Toolkit
Publisher: AI4Gov Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

User Scenario

User Scenario - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

User Scenarios bring envisioned service experiences to life through compelling narratives that follow a user’s journey in context. In a virtual 3D or VR environment, avatars embody personas and enact stories that illustrate goals, motivations, and pain points at each stage of interaction—discovery, decision, execution, and reflection.

Observers and co-designers watch, annotate, and pause the action to probe underlying assumptions, explore alternative paths, or inject new ideas. By weaving storytelling with spatial simulation, User Scenarios deepen empathy, align stakeholder mental models, and reveal hidden requirements. Ideal for co-creative workshops in immersive platforms, User Scenarios seamlessly integrate simulation, roleplay, and narrative ideation into service design.

How to use it?

1. Define a context for each scenario.
2. Define the characters (e.g. users, providers...) involved in the scenario.
3. Identify the needs involved.
4. Writing a story, define a user scenario in a narrative manner, focusing in describing how the user is going to interact with the service during a specific situation of everyday life.

Inspired by the toolkit:  Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Develop // Deliver

Rough Prototyping

Rough Prototyping - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Rough Prototyping is a rapid, low-fidelity method for mocking up service ideas using simple virtual assets available on demand in VR or 3D platforms. Teams embody avatars that assemble, rearrange, and annotate digital placeholders—such as basic shapes, sketch overlays, or interactive widgets—to explore concepts in real time.

By minimizing production effort, participants test multiple variations, iterate service touchpoints, and gather immediate feedback without heavy technical overhead. Although roleplay depth is limited compared to immersive simulations, Rough Prototyping excels at fostering spontaneous creativity, aligning stakeholder understanding, and validating design assumptions. This high-velocity approach empowers teams to quickly brainstorm and converge collaboratively.

How to use it?

1. Define, which are the main touchpoints (Devices, places, tools, perceivable clues that users interact with) involved in the project.
2. For each touchpoint, define the technical requirements.
3. Create paper/digital mockups for all the touchpoints and start experimenting/testing the user journey.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Experience Prototypes

Experience Prototypes - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Experience Prototypes are interactive simulations of key service touchpoints within virtual worlds. They let teams rapidly prototype and test specific moments in a journey—such as checkout kiosks, support chatbots, or onboarding flows—by building high-fidelity mock-ups in VR or 3D spaces.

Participants embodied as avatars interact with digital artifacts, providing real-time feedback on usability, emotional resonance, and process efficiency. Through iterative cycles, designs are refined on the fly, uncovering hidden pain points and validating solutions before development. Ideal for virtual co-design workshops, Experience Prototypes enhance immersion, align stakeholders around tangible interactions, and accelerate service innovation within a holistic end-to-end context.

How to use it?

1. Break down the user journey in phases and, for each phase define its steps.
2. Define, for each phase which are the touchpoints (Devices, places, tools, perceivable clues that users interact with) involved.
3. Prototype, for each phase, the user journey and start experimenting/testing the touchpoints.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Role Playing

Role Playing - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Role Playing brings a hypothetical service to life through avatar enactment in virtual worlds. Users assume persona roles—customers, frontline staff, or partners—and act out journey scenarios in immersive VR or 3D environments. As avatars, participants navigate scripted or spontaneous interactions, responding to prompts, making decisions, and adapting to system feedback.

Observers can pause, annotate, and adjust scenarios on the fly to explore alternative behaviors, emotional responses, and process variations. This high-engagement method fosters deep empathy, surfaces usability issues, and validates service flows before development. Ideal for remote co-creation workshops, Role Playing aligns multidisciplinary teams around user perspectives and informs iterative design improvements.

How to use it?

1. Create a scenario: define the context, the characters and the needs involved and narrate through a story the scene.
2. Define some roles (e.g. the user, the service employee, etc.) and assign them to the participants.
3. If needed, prepare rough prototypes or other materials that can facilitate the performance.
4. While a team is acting out their story, the rest of the audience learn about the idea, understand the high-level sequence of actions required and get to know the hero moments.
5. List the hero moment(s).

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Deliver

Desktop System Mapping

Desktop System Mapping - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Desktop System Mapping, known as Business Origami, is a tactile method for visualizing complex value networks by arranging simple paper cutouts—or, in virtual worlds, draggable avatars and 3D tokens—on a shared collaborative workspace. Participants represent key people, locations, channels, and touchpoints with standardized symbols, connecting elements to reveal relationships, dependencies, and information flows.

In VR or immersive 3D platforms, collaborators reposition tokens, annotate linkages, and simulate network changes in real time. This approach clarifies service ecosystems, aligns stakeholder mental models, and fosters collective sense-making. Desktop System Mapping excels at uncovering structural insights, driving collaborative strategy, and achieving strategic alignment.

How to use it?

1. Define the main scope of your prototype
2. Define the level of detail of the prototype
3. Create paper/digital cutouts of the prototype and start testing/simulate talking points using the models on the table.

Inspired by the toolkit: This is Service Design Doing
Publisher: This is Service Design Doing Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Desktop Walkthrough

Desktop Walkthrough - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Desktop Walkthrough is a low-fidelity prototyping tool that brings teams together around a shared simulation of a service journey in a virtual world. Participants embody avatars to step through each critical touchpoint—sign-up, payment, support—while observers annotate pain points, decision triggers, and contextual cues.

By projecting simple mock-ups of screens, environments, and process steps into a 3D or VR space, teams quickly gain a unified understanding of end-to-end experiences and surface hidden issues. Iterative “play-throughs” enable real-time adjustments to sequences, handoffs, and interface layouts. Ideal for early-stage co-creation workshops, Desktop Walkthrough accelerates alignment, empathy, and rapid identification of critical journey enhancements.

How to use it?

1. Define the user journey of your project and create a visual representation of it using emojis/imported images

Inspired by the toolkit: AI4Gov Toolkit
Publisher: AI4Gov Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Emotional Journey Feedback

Emotional Journey Feedback - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Emotional Journey Feedback extends the System UX Map by overlaying users’ emotional states across every phase of their experience in virtual worlds. A continuous “emotion line” traces peaks and valleys—signaling stress points, moments of delight, and transitional shifts—plotted along a spatialized service timeline.

In VR or 3D environments, avatars convey real-time emotional cues through gestures, facial expressions, or ambient lighting changes that correspond to the graph. Participants can pause, annotate, and iterate scenarios to smooth pain points or amplify positive highlights. Ideal for immersive co-design workshops, this tool deepens empathy, enhances feedback loops, and strengthens narrative-driven storytelling in service innovation.

How to use it?

1. Break down the user journey in phases and, for each phase define its steps.
2. Define, for each phase which are the touchpoints (Devices, places, tools, perceivable clues that users interact with) involved.
3. Define, for each phase, the technical journey (Steps and activities that the technical artifact performs behind the scenes to support interactions with/between human agents.)
4. For each step, consider the emotional feedback of the user and keep track of it in the canvas.
5. Identify emerging pain points and opportunities.

Inspired by the toolkit: AI4Gov Toolkit
Publisher: AI4Gov Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Investigative Rehearsal

Investigative Rehearsal - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Investigative Rehearsal is a theatrical tool that uses iterative roleplay to uncover and refine service behaviors within virtual worlds. Participants embody avatars to act out scenarios—customer interactions, back-end workflows, decision points—while observers note emergent patterns and friction points.

Through multiple rehearsal loops, teams adjust roles, scripts, and environment affordances in real time, testing alternative responses and process variations. This method fosters deep empathy, reveals implicit knowledge, and surfaces systemic issues that workshops might miss. Ideal for VR or richly immersive 3D platforms, Investigative Rehearsal accelerates behavioral insight, aligns stakeholder mental models, and co-designs optimized service experiences grounded in lived enactment.

How to use it?

1. Define the scene and research question.
2. Assign actors with roles and scenario details.
3. Observers watch a brief scene enactment.
4. Observers reflect on current knowledge and feelings.
5. Replay the scene, pausing to suggest changes and improvements.
6. Document observations and insights throughout.

Inspired by the toolkit: This is Service Design Doing
Publisher: This is Service Design Doing Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Rehearsing Digital Services

Rehearsing Digital Services - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Rehearsing Digital Services is a variant of Investigative Rehearsal that prototypes digital interfaces through embodied, actor-led simulations in virtual worlds. Participants—represented as avatars—take on customer, agent, or system roles and act out conversational and transactional flows: chatbot dialogs, voice assistants, form interactions, and error recoveries.

Facilitators guide scenarios in VR or 3D platforms, narrating screen states and system prompts aloud as avatars interact with on-screen elements. Iterative enactments expose usability gaps, friction points, and emotional reactions, enabling real-time script tweaks, UI refinements, and branching-logic tests. Ideal for immersive co-creation workshops, Rehearsing Digital Services drives shared understanding, empathy, and alignment around seamless digital service experiences.

How to use this?

1. Define the scene and research question.
2. Assign roles and outline the scenario.
3. Have teams act out the scene briefly to observe.
4. Observe, understand feelings and current dynamics.
5. Iterate by pausing and suggesting changes focused on service digitalization.
6. Reflect on how to digitally transform and enact the service experience.

Inspired by the toolkit: This is Service Design Doing
Publisher: This is Service Design Doing Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Service Blueprint

Service Blueprint - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Service Blueprint is a comprehensive mapping technique that visualizes every stage of service delivery—front-stage interactions, backstage processes, support systems, and physical or digital touchpoints—in a unified blueprint. In virtual environments, designers arrange swim-lane structures on a 3D canvas, deploying avatars to simulate customer and staff roles and animating process flows in real time.

Participants annotate decision gateways, handoffs, and dependencies while observing both visible and hidden service elements. This immersive representation reveals systemic inefficiencies, clarifies ownership, and guides co-design of seamless experiences. Ideal for VR or desktop-based co-creation workshops, Service Blueprint accelerates alignment, optimizes workflows, and de-risks implementation through collective visualization and iteration.

How to use it?

1. Break down the user journey in phases and, for each phase define its steps.
2. Define, a main user and secondary users and place them in the other areas.
3. Consider the Interaction Area and place other entities the main user interacts with and the Visibility Area and place players, functionalities invisible to the user.
4. Map connection between the users and define the project ecosystem.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Service Prototype

Service Prototype - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Service Prototype simulates real user interactions with service touchpoints in virtual environments. Designers create interactive mock-ups—digital kiosks, chatbots, mobile interfaces—and deploy them in VR or 3D worlds.

Participants embody avatars to engage with prototypes as they would in real life: querying a virtual assistant, placing an order through a mock interface, or interacting with augmented customer support. Real-time feedback sessions record usability metrics, emotional reactions, and friction points. Iterative cycles refine prototypes, ensuring functionality, aesthetics, and experience quality align with user expectations. Perfect for immersive co-creation workshops, Service Prototypes accelerate validation, enhance stakeholder feedback, and de-risk service launch.

How to use it?

1. Define a precise User Journey and describe it in steps.
2. Assign roles to participants.
3. Choose touchpoints to be prototyped.
4. Reenact the service using the prototypes. This tool has the objective of replicating, as much as possible, the final experience of interacting with the service, in order to test and validate all the design choices.

Inspired by the toolkit: Servicedesigntools
Publisher: oblo.design Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Subtext

Subtext - CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Subtext is a theatrical method that can reveal deeper motivations and needs by focusing on unspoken thoughts in a rehearsal session.

Perfect for exploring non-verbal communication and emotions in VW rehearsals; enhances depth of co-creative exploration.

How to use it?

1. Choose a key scene you want to understand more deeply
2. Select and assign roles of actors, who will play the key scene once.
3. Select and assign roles of subtext actors for each actor.
4. The character actors will play the scene as usual – or perhaps a little slower – and the subtext actors will simply speak what they believe their characters are thinking at any moment, using “I” or “me” statements when possible. For example, the character actor might say, “Can you prioritize that?” and his subtext actor might rage, “For f*ck’s sake! Help me before I lose my job, you idiot!”
5. Iterate.

Inspired by the toolkit: This is Service Design Doing
Publisher: This is Service Design Doing Toolkit License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0