Research (Desktop Research & Service Safari)

Overview

Research™ is a core specialist course in the Humanising IT™ Practitioner pathway, covering Activities 4 and 5 of the HIT Double Diamond Framework™ (HIT DDF™): Desktop Research and Service Safari.

Humanising IT™ introduces research as a way of understanding how IT services are actually experienced — not as an audit, survey, or compliance exercise. The course bridges documented service intent with real-world behaviour, enabling IT teams to ground improvement decisions in evidence rather than assumption.

Research™ builds directly on RIPP™, Assumptions Analysis™, and Experience Archetypes™, providing the evidence base for experience-led IT service management.

Learning Outcomes

By completing this course, learners will be able to:

Conduct Desktop Research to understand documented service intent
Examine ITSM artefacts through an experience lens
Identify gaps between design intent and lived experience
Recognise how metrics, reports, and processes shape behaviour
Observe services in use through Service Safari without judgement
Identify patterns, friction, delay, and adaptation in real contexts
Connect observed behaviour back to Experience Archetypes
Capture insight that challenges assumptions and informs design

Who It Is For

This course is designed for:

IT and digital professionals involved in service improvement and transformation
Service designers, UX researchers, and business analysts
ITSM practitioners responsible for process, measurement, and reporting
IT leaders seeking evidence-based insight before making change
Teams progressing through the Humanising IT™ Practitioner pathway

Why It Matters

Traditional IT service management was not designed to conduct design research. Its focus has been on restoring service, managing risk, and maintaining operational stability.

As a result, many organisations:

Rely heavily on reports and metrics
Jump too quickly to solutions
Miss how services are actually experienced in practice

Research™ introduces a deliberate, structured approach to discovery. Desktop Research creates context by examining how services are intended to operate, while Service Safari reveals how they are actually experienced.

Together, they ensure Humanising IT™ decisions are grounded in reality — not assumption, interpretation, or inherited belief.

How Certification Works

Humanising IT™ Practitioner – Level 1 certification is achieved when all 6 of the specialist modules in the Discover / Define phase of the HIT Double Diamond (HIT DDF™) are completed.
Research™ is the fourth specialist module and covers Activities 4 and 5 within Phase 1 (Discover/Define).
All HIT Specialist Courses align to activities within the HIT Double Diamond Framework™ .
Completion contributes to Phase 1 (Discover / Define) of the Practitioner pathway
This course provides the evidence base for subsequent design and insight activities