Ivo Dewit | Universiteit Antwerpen (original) (raw)

Papers by Ivo Dewit

Academia Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2022

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, EPDE 2023

Children of prisoners are often referred to as orphans of justice or forgotten children. These ch... more Children of prisoners are often referred to as orphans of justice or forgotten children. These children are unheard and unseen in a world made by adults for adults, they are reliant on their environment. To be able to design for these children, the whole system of actors and actants around them should be included and addressed. Systemic design is a design approach to tackle this social issue. It provides insights into the complexity of the context. However, after mapping the context, the major challenge lies in translating the output toward a design solution. This paper proposes an approach to address complex design challenges by applying both systemic design and product-service system (PSS) design and using outcome mapping to facilitate the translation from systemic analysis to PSS design. The process is applied to a project supporting children with incarcerated parents as a case study. Systemic design is used to understand the complexity of the issue, while PSS design applies systemic insights to design a concrete and integrated product-service system. The paper contributes to the design field by evaluating outcome mapping as a possible bridge between the analysis phase and the idea generation phase of socio-technical issues.

Strategic Design Research Journal

The port of Antwerp executes its container lashing with specialized dockworker crews called conta... more The port of Antwerp executes its container lashing with specialized dockworker crews called container lashers. These container lashers train in the port training center, OCHA, in order to execute container lashing safely and efficiently. Container lashing is considered labor intensive. Due to the future trends within maritime transportation, the interest in optimized ergonomic training provided for dockworkers rises. A User-Centered Design approach is implemented to gather insights to build a Product-service-system (PSS) solution in a multidisciplinary research context. In order to develop a meaningful PSS, clinical and cultural insights are required. This paper presents the research framework of Design Inclusive Research (DIR) to collect cultural insights from container lashers. Subsequentially, it elaborates on the different stages of DIR to the extent of defining and executing the design tools. For this study, Cultural Probes and user journey maps, in combination with in-depth in...

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

Innovative organisations worldwide are part of a rapidly evolving world concerning innovation, di... more Innovative organisations worldwide are part of a rapidly evolving world concerning innovation, digitalisation and economic growth. Consequentially, manufacturing companies are seeing opportunities when exploring the new field of product-service systems (PSS) and are excelling in these. With regards to the liquefying advantage and valuable flexibility of servitization, there is still an underaddressed early exploration phase that primarily focuses on the mere service component. This lack of research attention might hinder organisations from developing PSS. Nonetheless, it acts as an opportunity to address servitization at an earlier development stage without compromising on radicality. The existing literature is abundant with tools and methods to optimise the PSS design process, but this paper focuses on the integrative design of PSS and proposes to continue onward from the early servitization component and service-based innovation literature. This paper redirects the spotlight on the intangible component and the impact of a meaningful user experiences in the early stages of the design process. These contributions aim to avoid designing for a strictly product-oriented world and turn towards a human-fuelled existence, instead of floating along the current consumer-minded wave. Through radical service design, meaning will prevail and harbour our human needs and drives, compelling the excessive tangible products to take a step backwards and in doing so creating a positive ecological effect.

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

The Belgian design scene is not unfamiliar with the concept of service design and has hosted some... more The Belgian design scene is not unfamiliar with the concept of service design and has hosted some leading-edge companies throughout the years, pushing the field forward. The next step in the development of the field is the expansion of the academic aspect of service design within Belgium. The topic of service design is already addressed in existing design programmes, though it is yet to be a focus of study on its own. This paper helps to expand the range of study programmes at the University of Antwerp and contributes to shaping the service design landscape in Belgium. The Department of Design Sciences at the University of Antwerp provides students with extended interdisciplinary skills and knowledge, leading them into the world of design. The department now seeks to create an additional master's programmes with a curriculum catered to service design providing graduates of this programme with all the necessary skills to be at the top of their game when they start their careers in service design. To ensure continuity between what the university delivers and what the job market expects and desires, the programmes will be developed from the ground up. The university, for this study, has worked in collaboration with current leaders in the field, providing their expertise and requirements for the future of service design. Insights were obtained by means of workshops and collaborative projects with students and experts in the service design scene, as well as building on existing literature and current educational programmes across the world.

Connectivity and creativity in times of conflict, 2023

The Track Nature Positive/Design for Transformation started off with a few big questions: E... more The Track Nature Positive/Design for Transformation started off with a few big questions: Even if we are technologically able to do so, are we still allowed to create our designed en-vironment as we see fit? How can we navigate through sustainable transitions and within planetary boundaries? Can a systemic lens help us creating an overview to better overcome the present and imminent future conflicts? And can we regenerate ecological and social damage done? Indeed, the futures we want tomorrow are enabled by the actions we take today. Shaping societies, industries, buildings, products, and behaviours is a task to tackle by those able to cut across different disciplines and become agents for change. A call out to designers around the globe to put nature positive transformation at the heart of their actions. Many of them have responded within the framework of this Cumulus Conference.

Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability, 2012

Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management

This research paper describes the transition to integrate products and services into systems and ... more This research paper describes the transition to integrate products and services into systems and contributes to a broader understanding of the research field PSS design as an emerging area and phenomenon. Ensuing a synthesis approach, we outline different organizational drivers that emerge from the transition toward PSS as innovation strategy. Based on five in-depth interviews with experts that have specific knowledge and involvement in PSS design projects, the paper confronts a previous literature review with its practical counterpart. Findings clarify the definition, related terminology and context of PSS, but also advocate a future effort to appropriately support an operational integration of product and service side. Additionally, we observe an obvious evolution of value creation - through a focus on the (user) experience - as part of the rise of the product service system itself, an essential insight that can contribute in various ways to current PSS practices.

Procedia CIRP, 2018

The continuous development of the sharing economy calls for the attention of the design community... more The continuous development of the sharing economy calls for the attention of the design community. Practical knowledge of where, how and what roles designers could play, in developing the phenomenon out of its infancy into a full-grown alternative way of consuming and living with social and ecological benefits, remains absent. This article reports upon an exploration to match product-service system design with the sharing economy. A literature study was needed toward understanding the sharing economy from a designer’s point of view. A link was formed by focusing on different kinds of stakeholders. The result is a framework of five operable levels concerning PSS. One level concerns the product- service characteristics (0), while the other four concern levels of stakeholders mapped according to their involvement with the product-service. These four levels are the users (1), the ecosystem (2), the organization (3) and society (4). The framework results in an overview of workable parameters and leverage points: an attempt to support designers in understanding and designing PSS in a sharing economy context.

Touchpoint, Apr 16, 2018

The recent SDN Global Conference in Madrid ended with some clear upscaling insights. Delivering g... more The recent SDN Global Conference in Madrid ended with some
clear upscaling insights. Delivering great experiences for customers
requires organisations to expand their design activities beyond the
silos. Preferably, all ecosystem stakeholders deliver a consistent
and coherent offering together, providing value to the customer.
This brings the notion of systems thinking into their strategy,
design and execution as a means to balance customer and
business value into meaningful innovation. Training, incorporating
and communicating this knowledge to (non-)designers throughout
the organisation is indispensable. Quite logically, this comes with
certain barriers, different expectations of output, undesired
consequences, and more. However, in another five years, we are
bound to scale the impact of service design!

International Journal of Production Research, 2017

Manufacturing companies that venture into servitisation can experience difficulties when upscalin... more Manufacturing companies that venture into servitisation can experience difficulties when upscaling product-service systems (PSS) for further growth. This research study has two main objectives: first, to develop insight into the internal levers to increase firms’ servitisation capacity, and second, to apply a new methodology to support companies in upscaling PSS. For these purposes, we conduct an exploratory research study of eight manufacturing companies, consisting of both multiple-case and participatory action research methods. We find that manufacturers often experience challenges when either designing or rolling out PSS, which varies based on the company’s chosen strategy. Additionally, they can be confronted with an organisational logic that hinders PSS upscaling efforts. This research offers guidance to practitioners facing internal barriers for servitisation, providing a new method to explore, prioritise and work out concrete PSS-enhancing projects.

In the case of product service systems (PSS) it's important that products and services are design... more In the case of product service systems (PSS) it's important that products and services are designed as a combined value carrier, rather than merely adding services as by-product or using products only as a means to provide services. To support a valuable inclusion or transition, there is a need for new and adapted tools-based on service, interaction and (user) experience design-in order to explore the opportunities provided by emerging PSS concepts. Furthermore, besides the main challenge for the designer to manage the variety of underlying design processes, early representation and communication are key for the strategic rollout of the PSS concept. This paper describes a case visualization of an early stage product service system design project in a first master year for product developers. The results bring forward iterative support with the aim to revise, adapt and add to the current PSS design tools and to better support future generation designers for the challenges that come with designing these product service systems.

This research paper describes the transition to integrate products and services into systems and ... more This research paper describes the transition to integrate products and services into systems and contributes to a broader understanding of the research field PSS design as an emerging area and phenomenon. Ensuing a synthesis approach, we outline different organizational drivers that emerge from the transition toward PSS as innovation strategy. Based on five in-depth interviews with experts that have specific knowledge and involvement in PSS design projects, the paper confronts a previous literature review with its practical counterpart. Findings clarify the definition, related terminology and context of PSS, but also advocate a future effort to appropriately support an operational integration of product and service side. Additionally, we observe an obvious evolution of value creation-through a focus on the (user) experience-as part of the rise of the product service system itself, an essential insight that can contribute in various ways to current PSS practices. keywords: product service systems, front-end of innovation, in-depth interviews, value creation

CITATION 1 READS 119 4 authors:

This paper describes a case study of an early stage product service system (PSS) design. By means... more This paper describes a case study of an early stage product service system (PSS) design. By means of a specific PSS design methodology, we were able to include insights from various domains and their underlying processes, in order to enhance value creation (beyond the product). The context of this case study was to preserve and enrich the connection between grandchildren and grandparents. Throughout the entire process, PSS design tools enable an iterative way of involving different stakeholders that broaden the exploration of recognisable emotions during a person’s life and more specifically with regard to the above-mentioned node ‘becoming a grandparent’. The result, GRAND.C, is an enrichment service that allows grandchildren to snoop in the past of their grandparents and is based on an authentic user experience, free play and verbal tradition. This is presented through a detailed system map and simplified customer journey, as well as a visual prototype and photo novel. It is confirmed that the prototype in particular is a very meaningful means to reinforce the design brief and to communicate the concept to the end user.

Nonverbal communication (NVC) is the richest way for people to emotionally express themselves. Ho... more Nonverbal communication (NVC) is the richest way for
people to emotionally express themselves. However, in computermediated communication (CMC) NVC is underused. People in longdistance relationships (LDRs) already know how to adapt to CMC. While CMC is considered to be less ideal, LDRs still have a tendency to disclose more intimacy, closeness and relatedness to each other than non-LDRs. As CMC has been mainly designed for business purposes, there is an opportunity to target relatedness experiences and a challenge to find inter-relatedness of the daily activities of LDRs. The key question is: Which attributes do NVC-products need to have to evoke an enriched experience of relatedness for LDRs?
This phenomenological research exposes meaningful experiences and stories that can be expressed via adaptation to NVC. Prototypes were built via iterations around NVC-product attributes to trigger intended relatedness experiences. The diary study and in-depth interviews disclosed a broad range of valuable stories about feeling related at a distance. Suggestions are made on how to apply these attributes and stories when designing for both richer verbal and nonverbal communication experiences. The attributes and stories of Lempi are also useful for further research to deeper understand how people can communicate in more meaningful ways.

The evolution towards sustainable product service systems introduces a new relationship between p... more The evolution towards sustainable product service systems introduces a new relationship between product and user in PSS, where we see that the user no longer is the legal owner of the product. This article reports upon an exploration of the psychological relationship between consumer and product within the context of PSS, and addresses the way a shift in ownership influences consumers’ perception. A literature review was needed towards the psychological side of the consumer-product relationship and its relation to different research fields (product attachment, experience design and non-ownership modes of consumption). The result is a set of characteristics that describes the system and the ownership dimensions. This set of characteristics could lead to future research into the correlation of different characteristics, ultimately leading to a set of guidelines for designers designing new PSSs.

Academia Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2022

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, EPDE 2023

Strategic Design Research Journal

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

Connectivity and creativity in times of conflict, 2023

Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability, 2012

Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management

Procedia CIRP, 2018

Touchpoint, Apr 16, 2018

International Journal of Production Research, 2017

This research paper describes the transition to integrate products and services into systems and ... more This research paper describes the transition to integrate products and services into systems and contributes to a broader understanding of the research field PSS design as an emerging area and phenomenon. Ensuing a synthesis approach, we outline different organizational drivers that emerge from the transition toward PSS as innovation strategy. Based on five in-depth interviews with experts that have specific knowledge and involvement in PSS design projects, the paper confronts a previous literature review with its practical counterpart. Findings clarify the definition, related terminology and context of PSS, but also advocate a future effort to appropriately support an operational integration of product and service side. Additionally, we observe an obvious evolution of value creation-through a focus on the (user) experience-as part of the rise of the product service system itself, an essential insight that can contribute in various ways to current PSS practices. keywords: product service systems, front-end of innovation, in-depth interviews, value creation

CITATION 1 READS 119 4 authors:

Conference: A-DEWS 2015: Design Engineering in the Context of Asia, Asian Design Engineering workshop, At The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2015

—In recent years product service systems (PSS) receive substantially more attention in innovation... more —In recent years product service systems (PSS) receive substantially more attention in innovation literature. Manufacturers increasingly seek new value in service addition and service providers explore the integration of tangible elements in their offering. Current advancements in electronics, information and communication technology (ICT) make it possible to combine products and services in innovative and interactive ways that add significantly more value to the user's experience. However, the integral character of these hybrids can make the design process rather complex, merging a diversity of disciplines and their underlying processes such as; electronics design, software design, service design and product design. Therefore, a specific PSS design tool-facilitating the process of tightly integrating product and service-was created and tested in educational setting, action research and document analysis served as research methods. The research brings forward visualized PSS concepts with context dependent requirements for product and service interaction and their intended user experience. The results enable us to propose a PSS continuum to elaborate and further refine existing PSS typologies, applied in the front-end of innovation. Furthermore they serve as input to distill several PSS strategies and underlying characteristics for experience value representation.

University Press Antwerp, 2018

This toolkit is an ongoing effort to develop a methodology, with tools and techniques, to design ... more This toolkit is an ongoing effort to develop a methodology, with tools and techniques, to design meaningful product-service systems. It mixes state-of-the-art insights of the domains of systems thinking, service design, human-centered design, interaction design, product design and design thinking. Furthermore, the toolkit can also be used to solve complex societal challenges and Internet of Things connected issues. Its tools and techniques alternate between whole and particle thinking and helps the reader to zoom in and out. The reader receives an iterative support with the aim to explore and exploit, a foundation to build new product-service systems that concentrate on the delivery of value to the customer with a focus on the integration of product and service.

Read more...
* ISBN: 9789057186608 (discount code: SDN2018), publisher's website:
https://www.aspeditions.be/en-gb/book/pss-design-and-strategic-rollout/15791.htm
* extra support: https://www.uantwerpen.be/product-service-systems/

Cumulus conference - CONNECTIVITY and CREATIVITY in times of CONFLICT, 2023

Children are the future, but we often ignore their opinions and ideas with the excuse that they a... more Children are the future, but we often ignore their opinions and ideas with the excuse that they are too young to understand the world. Especially in the process of caretaking, adults often disregard the importance of the child's agency. This is even more the case for children with an incarcerated parent, who innocently carry the consequences of their parent's crime. As a result, children of incarcerated parents feel powerless; they are stuck in a situation created by adults and have no control over their future perspectives. If designers successfully want to design for children with incarcerated parents, they need to collaborate with them. This paper describes the importance of and the methods for involving vulnerable children in the design process. As part of an 8-month lasting master thesis project, methods are explored for co-creation with children. During this process, children took on the role of design partners, they were the experts of their experiences while the designer was the facilitator. Co-creation with children was essential for a successful design process, yet this came with a variety of challenges and risks. Co-creation removed the powerlessness of children of prisoners by giving them control over the design process through consultation and participation. By providing information, input, artifacts, methods, and tools the involved children were able to understand and place questions and assignments better, it took away their uncertainty, misunderstanding, and confusion. Further, as a designer, it was necessary to call on the expertise of child therapists and caregivers, who can prepare designers for dialogue with vulnerable children.

25TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENGINEERING AND PRODUCT DESIGN EDUCATION, 2023

International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, 2022

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), better known as seasonal depression, is categorized as a seaso... more Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), better known as seasonal depression, is categorized as a seasonal form of depressive disorder. In SAD, patients are affected by the lack of light they receive during specific seasons. Physiological mechanisms, at the root of the disorder can be treated using bright light therapy (BLT). In daily therapy sessions, the patient is exposed to a strong light source directed toward the eyes. Although this therapy appears to be an effective nonpharmaceutical treatment for SAD patients, there are some contextual elements at play that cause adherence and user experience to remain substandard. In this article, we analyze the specific needs and desires of people who suffer from SAD to gain insight into how the light therapy market is currently failing. Through in-depth interviews, diary interviews and field research, insights were gathered to identify users' needs and experiences. After a brief analysis of the technical specifications and market segments of light therapy devices, the findings were synthesized to support the design process of a new light therapy system. This article contributes to the literature on light therapy and SAD, providing a new user-centered perspective to the theoretical range of research papers.

International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education

Over the last few years, electric scooters have become a fundamental part of our cities as they p... more Over the last few years, electric scooters have become a fundamental part of our cities as they pop up at
every street corner people pass by, unfortunately creating more obstacles than possibilities. As part of
the so-called micro mobility, they provide a solution for the ‘last-mile,’ the distance you cover between
your drop off and destination in the city. Although they seem like an ideal solution, never has a productservice system been so controversial. This paper focuses on the combination and integration of other
sharing platforms, new innovations, and insights to improve the overall quality of this product-service
system. This paper provides a design tool and first concept to generate a new kind of sharing platform,
based on safety, quality, better lifespan, and convenience.
Many attempts have been made to improve the overall ride and use of this concept. However, these
small optimalisations will not solve the bigger problem. Companies have not actually changed the
general mode of use, rather smaller profit margins inhibit them from resetting the current usability,
leaving them with less room for innovation/improvement.
This article focusses on the design of a new platform to optimize user experience and quality. The
platform be built up from scratch to have total freedom and control to reimagine the way users acquire,
use, and drop off sharing scooters. Using in-depth qualitative research and knowledge of product-service
innovation, micro mobility and sharing economy, we will try to solve the most critical problems and
controversy on the phenomenon. The goal is to deliver a methodology and product-service system that
serves as a benchmark and provides solution for cities and new or existing providers.

International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, 2022

This study results from a master thesis for the Department of Product Development of The Universi... more This study results from a master thesis for the Department of Product Development of The University of Antwerp. The thesis focuses on a toolkit that provides support in the design process of a PSS, namely the product-service system design toolkit [1]. In this toolkit, there is hardly any focus on sustainability, but rather on the interaction with the end-user. To integrate this sustainability aspect-considering people, planet and profit-the Sustainable Innovation System (SIS) toolkit of OVAM [2] is used as input. The opportunity of this master thesis is to work out a possible synergy of both toolkits. This type of toolkit is hardly explored in the current market. This paper will first find out how both toolkits are used and what pitfalls there are. Various research methods have been used to map out the findings: a literature exploration, analysis of existing evaluations, in-depth interviews, a focus group, online questionnaires, a workshop, and project guidance. The triangulation ensures that the results are as close to reality as possible. This information is summarized and translated into drivers for the solution to be designed. After this, a proposal for the solution is being presented, which is a digital library of design tools. This study thus contributes to a concise human and economic analysis of design tools in general, and a proposal-specifically for the PSS design toolkit and the SIS toolkit-of automated project guidance for design students and practitioners. The online tool platform emerges as the best solution for the abovementioned problems and considers five design drivers that guide the design process, namely: design track support, autonomous use, reduced complexity, universal use, and easy integration.

International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, 2022

Having a sibling with an illness or disability can be very stressful. Siblings in this context ne... more Having a sibling with an illness or disability can be very stressful. Siblings in this context need sufficient support, otherwise this can have a negative impact on the long-term well-being of the siblings. Today we see all too often that these siblings are a kind of forgotten group. Parents are often very busy caring for their sick or disabled child and siblings often fade into the background. As a result, siblings often push themselves to the side and have difficulty expressing their emotions because they do not want to be a burden to their parents. Therefore, the right support is needed to promote siblings' mental wellbeing, self-expression, and skills. Despite the various studies already conducted, the current support system is still often inadequate. There is a lack of recognition of organizations that support siblings in this context, even though there is a substantial need for them. Funding and recognition are still often a problem today. In this paper, the needs and problems of siblings are examined through qualitative research. Based on the collected insights, a list of requirements was composed that can help designers to support siblings in expressing their feelings and stimulate communication between parents and child. This paper contributes to the literature on the well-being of siblings of children with illnesses or disabilities, by looking at the problem from a different angle. In this way, an attempt is made to prevent mental problems in the long run and to offer adequate support.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENGINEERING AND PRODUCT DESIGN EDUCATION (E|PDE 2021), 2021

One issue within current product development literature entails, both with students and with prof... more One issue within current product development literature entails, both with students and with professionals, the reliable scaling, and the objective assessment of products. This article will attempt to describe a way how master's students at the University of Antwerp, within a product development case, can both assess each other, assess the process of product development, and assess the final product using comparative judgement (CJ). This, while achieving learning goals described at master level. Our evaluation was anchored by use of Comproved, a validated instrument designed to comparatively evaluate products of students, during the design process (formative) and when uploading the final deliverables (summative) for the course. The current study evaluates how first year Master students (n=72) apply CJ using an online tool, Comproved (Comproved.com) during a semester-long group project on Product-Service System (PSS) design. Based on post hoc questionnaire details and interviews, we will list the advantages and the disadvantages of CJ, as stated by students. Finally, we will list the potentials of CJ during product development cycles and their impact on product quality, reliability of judgement and metacognitive strategies for learning.