Service Safari
A Service Safari is a field research activity in which team members go out and use a service themselves, as customers, and record what the experience is like step by step. They note every interaction and how it felt, watch how other users behave in the same setting, and afterwards turn their notes into journey maps that can be compared. Service Design Tools lists the method with reference to the UK Design Council and Technology Strategy Board guide 'Design methods for developing services', and it is often repeated on competitor or analogous services.
Facilitation script
- 1
Explain the purpose and walk through the protocol: services, tasks, what to record at each step, time limit and meeting point. Form pairs or trios and assign journeys.
15 min - 2
Groups go out and use the service as customers, noting each step, touchpoint, waiting time and feeling, and observing other users.
75 min - 3
Groups return and take a short break, then complete their notes individually while the memory is fresh.
10 min - 4
Each group draws its journey map: steps along the top, touchpoints underneath, a line for emotional highs and lows, photos or quotes where they have them.
30 min - 5
Groups present their maps in three minutes each. The rest of the room notes similarities, differences and surprises on sticky notes.
20 min - 6
Cluster the notes into insights, mark which ones need checking with real users, and agree next steps.
20 min
Tips
Write the protocol tightly enough that the journeys can be compared afterwards, but leave the route through the service open, because the detours are where the findings are.
Ask people to capture notes during or immediately after each step; reconstructed memories flatten the frustrating moments.
Brief client staff to behave like a first-time customer, and tell teams to treat what they find as leads to check with real users rather than as proof.
Common pitfalls
Treating the team's own experience as user research: team members know too much and differ from the real audience, so findings that are never checked with users lead to confident but wrong priorities
Going out without a protocol: everyone records different things and the debrief becomes a round of anecdotes that cannot be compared
Staff using insider knowledge or being recognised: they get a smoother experience than customers do and the safari reports that everything works
Writing notes hours later: small frictions and waiting times are forgotten and only the dramatic moments remain
Photographing or recording staff and other customers without thought: this can breach privacy rules and damage trust with front-line teams once the photos appear in a presentation
Variations
Competitor safari: every group runs the same task on a different provider and the debrief compares the maps. Analogous safari: visit a service from another sector that handles a similar moment well, such as queuing, onboarding or handover. Remote version: participants complete a digital service on their own devices, record the screen or take screenshots, and build the journey maps on a shared online whiteboard. Larger programmes can run over one or two days with several sites, as in the airport case described by Service Design Tools.
Where it fits
When to use it
A service project is starting and most of the team knows the service only from process diagrams and reports
Decision-makers have not used their own service as a customer for years, or ever
You want a quick, cheap comparison with two or three competitors before investing in deeper research
The service crosses several departments or channels and nobody owns the whole journey
You need raw material for a first journey map that will later be checked with real users
When not to use it
You need to understand people whose situation differs strongly from the team's, such as users with disabilities, low digital confidence or acute stress; interview or shadow those users instead
The service cannot be used honestly without harm, for example emergency care or a benefits claim that takes capacity from real applicants; use Shadowing or staff interviews
You need to see what happens behind the counter; a Gemba Walk or a service blueprint session shows the back-stage process
The team wants evidence to size a problem; a safari gives a handful of experiences, so use analytics or a survey for numbers
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is Service Safari?▾
A Service Safari is a research activity in which members of a project team use a service as customers and document the experience step by step. They record interactions, feelings and what other users do, then turn the notes into journey maps. It is used early in service design work to build first-hand understanding and to compare competitors.
How long does a service safari take?▾
For a workshop format, plan two to four hours: a short briefing, 60 to 90 minutes in the field and about an hour for mapping and debrief. Larger studies with several sites or services can run over one or two days. The source describing the method does not prescribe a duration, so set it by how long the real customer task takes.
What is the difference between a service safari and mystery shopping?▾
Mystery shopping checks whether staff follow a defined standard and usually produces a score. A service safari is exploratory: the team wants to understand what the whole experience is like, including waiting, confusion and what other customers do, and uses that to find design opportunities. The output is a journey map and a list of insights, not a compliance rating.
How is a service safari different from shadowing?▾
In shadowing the researcher follows a real user or staff member and observes them. In a service safari the researcher is the user and experiences the service directly. Safaris are quicker to organise and build empathy fast, while shadowing shows how people other than the team actually cope with the service.
Can a service safari be done on a digital service?▾
Yes. Participants complete agreed tasks on their own devices, capture screenshots or a screen recording and note their reactions at each step. Include the points where the digital journey touches email, phone support or delivery, because the gaps between channels are often where the experience breaks.
Plan your next workshop with AI
Workshop Weaver helps you combine methods like Service Safari into a complete, timed agenda in minutes.
Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from The Technology Strategy Board & The Design Council, 'Design methods for developing services' (2015), as referenced by Service Design Tools.