CHAPTER 4. INTERACTION PATTERN BASED INNOVATION
4.5 Interaction Pattern Adjusting Module
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researches. We expanded the interaction pattern from customer-supplier or supplier-customer into a broader view which includes customer, lateral, supplier entity.
By adding the horizontal entity (lateral), the vertical-only interaction patterns are expanded into both vertical and horizontal enabled interaction patterns.
About the system side of work, two systems will be involved in this module. The interaction pattern recognizing system within this module will recognize the current interaction pattern the SME user is having with other entities within the service system, the recognition process example could be found in Figure 4.4 in the previous section 4.3. The interaction pattern value defining system will then calculate the value of the current interaction patterns; the system will match the current interaction patterns with the service innovation level, the matching rule could be found in table 4.4. For example if the highest interaction pattern with customer, supplier and lateral entity is Level 2, Level 2, Level 1 respectively, according to the matching rule in table 4.5, the current value of the interaction shall be Level 3, the new services.
By the two systems within the Interaction Pattern Recognizing Module and previous Data Collection Module, we can gather and analysis the SME user’s data to understand their current situation and the environment they are facing; also, we could answer the second part of the second problem mentioned in section 1.3 - how to analyze the business situation and fit into interaction patterns we defined – by providing this analysis method.
After knowing the SME user’s context, we shall go on working their desired service innovation direction.
4.5 Interaction Pattern Adjusting Module
The module previous to adjusting module is designed to capture the current status of the SMB user, and the adjusting module is designed to work with SME users to
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generate a possible direction for improvement of interaction patterns and service innovations.
Two systems are within the module: Value Based Adjustment System and Pattern Based Adjustment System, implementation details of which will be explained in order.
From previous sections we understand that value can be created or be able to achieved by some specific interaction patterns combinations. In order to create an adjustment direction for SME users to achieve these values, two different methods can be selected: top-down or bottom-up approach. The top-down method refers to the value based adjustment, and the bottom-up approach is corresponding to pattern based adjustment
The top-down approach , or the value based adjustment, is to let the SME user choose a value from the five level of value, since the interaction patterns required for a higher level of value is fixed, the system can calculate a route from current interaction patterns situation to the desired value’s required interaction patterns.
The calculation of the route is based on the concept of finding the shortest route from current interaction situation to service innovation level 5, which stands on an assumption: SMBs will try to achieve the highest level of service innovation when they could. For example, if the SME user currently has interaction pattern Level 2 with customer entity; according to the matching rules, the closet route of service innovation Level 5 is to have higher interaction pattern level with a supplier or lateral entity, and thus the system will provide two choices (supplier or lateral). After SME user chooses an entity, the process will start over again, but from different starting point, and make SME user do the next choice of entity to achieve service innovation level 4. Also, if the SME user desired achieving value is not Level 5 value but a lower
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level of value, the calculation will still base on the aforementioned concept to come out with an adjustment route for SME users.
Figure 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9 illustrate the example just mentioned, and Figure 4.10 provides the algorithm. Figure 4.6 represents the arrow 1 in the algorithm, which is setting the default value based on the data retrieved from data collection module.
Figure 4.7 shows the situation of when a user had selected a type of entity to improve which corresponds to the arrow 2 in the algorithm. In Figure 4.8 we show the process of arrow 3 in the algorithm - the user chooses an entity as its current level improving target, and the system sets the attribute “User_choice_entity” as entity 5, and increases the service innovation level based on our defined rules. After the steps of Figure 4.6 ~ 4.8 finish, the system will reset the interface to be alike Figure 4.6, but list the improvements the user had made based on their chosen entities on the right upper corner, and marked up the type of the entity by adding an “+” sign on its left.
Figure 4.6 Top-down approach (1) – system’s suggestion
(System suggest user to choose types of entity to improve from two options: lateral, supplier, because it is the fastest way defined by our rules to achieve service innovation LV3 )
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Figure 4.7 Top-down approach (2) - choose the supplier entity
(The black background box with degree number represented that the user choose supplier entity to improve. The system will then list all entity that is belongs to the supplier entity, which is entity 4, 5, 9
in this case, and ask user to choose one from them as the next step of improvement target)
Figure 4.8 Top-down approach (3) – user choose entity 5
(The choice will be marked up on its left, and the level-to-be of after choosing an entity is displayed at right-up corner for quick reminding)
Figure 4.9 Top-down approach starts over again with a different starting point
(The system will ask the user choose an entity type again, like the step in Figure 4.6, but had an mark on the type of entity they choose before, and reminding on the right upper corner; in this case, the
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system suggested supplier and customer entities as next improvement target)Value Based Approach (Top-down)
SET Actors = Specific type of alliance partners (customer, lateral, supplier) SET Entities(Actors) = Entities belongs to a specific type of actors
SET User_Service_Innovation_level = Current user service innovation level (ex: 1,2,3,4,5,) 1 SET Next_level = Next user service innovation level
SET Level_matching_rules = Rules of how to move User_level to Next_level, output Actors /* ex: from Lv1 to Lv2, it needs to improve the interaction pattern with an entity A, other rules are listed in table 4.5 */
SET Adjustment_checking () = Check improvement based on inputs and Level_matching_rules /* ex: check whether the improvement of interaction pattern with an entity A can make Lv2-> Lv3 */
Adjustment Step: 2
Set User_choice = Specific service innovation level that the user choose List Entities in Actor(Level_matching_rules ) (EX: Entity 4, Entity 5, Entity 9)
SET User_choice_entity = Specific entity that User chooses to improve interaction pattern 3 SET User_choice_entity_interaction_pattern_level +1
If (Adjustment_checking (User_choice_entity_interaction_pattern_level) == True)
Figure 4.10 Top-down approach adjustment algorithm
The second approach of the bottom-up approach is by adjusting the interaction patterns the SME users is having, throughout the adjusting process, possible achievable value will be calculated at the same time so that the SME users might try out many kinds of combination of interaction patterns with different roles of entities and choose the combination of interaction patterns that seem achievable from its current status and that the value it brings is attractive. The bottom up approach provides more flexibility to the user, but it requires the SME user to spend more efforts on the contrary. The
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following Figure 4.11, 4.12 presents the idea of the bottom-up approach: a SME user currently is having Level 2 interaction pattern with customer, and level 1 with the others. The system lists all entities sorted by their roles and asks the SME user to choose (Figure 4.11), and display the outcome after SME user makes the decision (Figure 4.12). Figure 4.13 provides the algorithm, and use arrow 1 and 2 represents the starting of Figure 4.11 and 4.12 respectively.
Figure 4.11 Bottom-up approach – ask user choose one type of entity
(The system asked the user to choose an entity from lateral, supplier, and customer entities)
Figure 4.12 Bottom-up approach (2) – after choosing entity 5
(The changing of value of the entity is displayed at right-up corner, also a mark is given to the entity type the user had improved within the system. The process goes back to process of Figure 4.11 which is
choosing a type of entity to improve)
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Set Actors = Specific type of alliance partners (customer, lateral, supplier) Set Entities(Actors) = Entities belongs to a specific type of actors
Set User_level = Current user service innovation level (ex: 1,2,3,4,5,) 1 Set Next_level = Next user service innovation level
SET Level_matching_rules = Rules of how to move User_level to Next_level, outputs are Actors /* ex: from Lv1 to Lv2, it needs to improve the interaction pattern with an entity A, other rules are listed in table 4.5 */
SET Adjustment_checking () = Check improvement based on inputs and Level_matching_rules /* ex: check whether the improvement of interaction pattern with entity A can make Lv2-> Lv3 */
Adjustment Step: 2
List all Entities(All actors)
Set User_choice_entity = Specific entity that User choose to improve interaction pattern Set User_choice_entity_interaction_pattern_level +1
If (Adjustment_checking (User_choice_entity_interaction_pattern_level) == True) User_level +1
Next_level +1 IF (More adjustments wish to proceed)
GOTO Adjustment Step END
Figure 4.13 Bottom-up approach adjustment algorithm
After the SME user come out with a value and interaction pattern improvement direction with the module, these outcomes will serve as the first outcome this information system can provide, which is the direction of service innovation, links to the Arrow(4) in the conceptual map at Figure 4.1, also corresponds to the third problem in section 1.3 - how to provide innovation insights from interaction patterns. By knowing a value to work on and the path to achieve it, the SME user found its own service innovation direction to do, the next thing this system can provide is guidance throughout the path.
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