Design Principles for Architectures of Technical Smart Service Systems

TL;DR

This paper identifies key design principles for technical architectures of smart service systems, emphasizing integration, interdisciplinarity, and customer cocreation, based on empirical data from manufacturing projects.

Contribution

It introduces novel design principles for smart service architectures, addressing a gap in academic literature and aiding practitioners in managing common design trade-offs.

Findings

Empirical data from manufacturing projects supports the principles.

Highlights importance of interdisciplinary and cocreation approaches.

Provides practical guidance for architecture design in smart services.

Abstract

Successful smart services require seamless integration into existing corporate systems and an interdisciplinary approach that aligns the development of both business models and technical architectures. Multi-disciplinarity and cocreating with customers add a layer of complexity but are essential collaboration schemes for validating the value proposition of smart services and building longterm customer loyalty. This paper explores these challenges and distills the design principles for the architectures of technical smart service systems, based on empirical data from architecture projects in two manufacturing companies. These principles contribute to the sparse academic literature on this topic and help practitioners navigate several design trade-offs commonly arising in smart service projects.