The Value of Guideline Practice As a Proto-Service for Smart Service Development

In the context of digitalization, companies today are faced with the challenge of rethinking their process management, especially if they aim to provide smart services. Digitizing processes is not a direct route, as they are neither merely transferable nor do the processes will remain unchanged. The development and implementation of smart services as a dynamic form of digitalization also includes the consideration and analysis of existing workflows and practices. In particular, the embedded knowledge of interconnected and complex processes is underestimated, and digitization initiatives tend to move towards a closed end. In addition, the skills and embodied knowledge situated in employees is difficult to be used as core source for co-creative teamwork in front of transformation. Policy making and manual development used to support knowledge extraction and analysis of process management is a co-creative and highly effective support in this context. This paper sheds light on how the visual practice of guideline development from an industrial case can inform the creation of smart services in its primary state as proto service. This helps digital transformation project management become commercially attractive by reducing rework or project re-planning, and it enables employee integrity during the transformation. In addition, the developed approach can be used in such projects to support service training of employees in various roles from operations, development to management.