From novice to practitioner: my first service design project
Applying service design to improve St John Ambulance youth programme
Guest post by Laura Sims
Laura is Impact Lead at St John Ambulance and attended Service Design in Practice March - October 2024.
After eight months of intensive learning and mentorship with Jo and Ffion on Service Design in Practice, our team of four faced the challenge of putting theory into practice. This was where the rubber hit the road and things got real!
Our mission? To transform the experience of older young people—those aged 14 and over—joining the St John Ambulance Cadet Programme. With real-world stakes and no easy answers, we immersed ourselves in the messy, rewarding world of service design, tackling real issues to create meaningful change.
What started as a classroom journey quickly evolved into a hands-on exploration of the intricacies of designing for young people. Along the way, we uncovered unexpected complexities, wrestled with real-world constraints, and discovered the profound potential for change that thoughtful design can bring.
Through the Service Design in Practice programme, participants don’t just learn—they do. Each of us brought a live, work-based challenge to the table, and I was fortunate to have mine selected. Partnering with Olly Jones from DWP, Rhian Johns from Welsh Government, and Sophie Bennett from Social Care Wales, we tackled this project together, guided by the support of experienced coaches.
This wasn’t just a learning experience; it was a true team effort—and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to share it with. Thank you, team!
Curious about what we discovered, how we navigated the complexities, and the insights we gained? Read on.
Understanding the Challenge: The St John Ambulance Cadet Programme
For those unfamiliar, the St John Cadet Programme is a uniformed youth initiative akin to Scouts but with a focus on first aid. Open to young people aged 10 to 18, the programme offers opportunities to learn lifesaving skills, volunteer in first aid roles, and develop personal qualities like confidence and leadership.
St John Ambulance at an event
There is a lot of interest in the programme; in fact, it is oversubscribed, with many people on waiting lists who may never secure a place, and there is a peak in joining at age 14. However, many young people, particularly those aged 14-18, seem to disengage from the programme after joining the waiting list or shortly after joining the programme.
Our team chose to investigate what motivates young people aged 14+ to want to join St John Cadets and what they get from the experience to help us improve provision for this age group.
Discovering Insights through Service Design
Using service design methodology, we gathered assumptions about the young people. The initial belief was that most cadets were future medical students, academically inclined, highly motivated, and confident about their future in healthcare. While there was some truth to this, it became evident that focusing solely on this group risked alienating others.
Service design taught us to challenge assumptions and embrace ambiguity. This was crucial as we delved deeper into understanding the cadet experience. We arranged interviews, focus groups, and in-person observations of cadet unit nights. We spoke with youth leaders, volunteers, and cadets, uncovering a richer, more nuanced picture of their motivations and needs.
This approach gave us valuable insights into the diverse experiences of everyone involved in the programme—and reshaped our understanding of what it means to design with young people in mind.
The Value of Service Design in Real Life
Throughout this process, we learned that service design isn’t just about problem-solving—it's about putting the user first and collaborating to find solutions that work for everyone. This was especially clear when it came to understanding the motivations of cadets.
Through our research, we identified four key motivations for joining the cadet programme:
1. Medical Career Aspirations
Many cadets saw the programme as a stepping stone toward a healthcare career. They were motivated by opportunities to gain relevant skills, build their CVs, and prepare for the future.
2. Friendship
Social connections were critical. For some, the chance to make friends was the primary reason for joining; for others, it became the reason they stayed.
3. A Desire to Help
Many cadets expressed a deep commitment to learning first aid to be prepared to help in emergencies, whether in their communities or with loved ones.
4. A Fun Hobby
Not every cadet had deep motivations. For some, joining was simply about finding something enjoyable and interesting to fill their time.
These motivations provided crucial insight into the cadets’ expectations and will help to shape our approach to addressing disengagement.
Trusting the Process
One of the most significant shifts in our mindset during this project was learning to embrace ambiguity.
It’s tempting to jump straight into solutions when faced with a challenge, but that approach can lead to missed opportunities to truly understand the challenge - particularly from the perspective of the people we’re designing for. By slowing down and prioritising discovery, we will avoid investing time and resources into solutions that might not work.
Through our work we uncovered previous attempts to address this issue - the most recent being a virtual programme for older Cadets that aimed to quickly train and deploy them at sporting and music events. The pilot struggled to maintain engagement despite its promise and was eventually discontinued.
Service design can often feel messy and uncomfortable—especially at the start when clear answers feel out of reach and we ‘just need to get on and deliver something’. However, trusting the service design process allowed us the time and space to discover themes and insights that would have otherwise been overlooked.
The collaborative nature of service design also meant that every perspective was considered, leading to richer discussions and more informed decisions.
Building Personas and Validating Assumptions
As we gathered data, we transitioned from assumption to research-based personas. Personas are profiles that represent key groups of people, helping service designers understand their needs and motivations.
We identified three distinct cadet personas:
1. The Aspiring Medic
Driven by a clear goal of pursuing a healthcare career, this group values skill-building and CV-boosting opportunities.
2. The Lifesaver
Often inspired by personal experiences, these cadets want to be prepared to help in emergencies or to be able to ‘give something back’ to their communities.
3. The Hobbyist
Casual and laid-back, this group seeks fun, hands-on activities without a long-term commitment.
Golden Thread of Friendship
Despite their differences, one thing united all cadets: the importance of friendship. Regardless of why they joined, relationships were a key factor in keeping them engaged.
Recommendations for St John Ambulance
As we neared the end of our involvement on the course, we presented several strategic recommendations for the St John Ambulance team:
1. Clarify Strategic Aims
What is the core goal of the youth programme from St John’s perspective? Is it to develop future medical professionals, increase first aid awareness, build a volunteer pipeline, or foster personal development?
Defining this will shape everything else.
2. Tailor the Programme
Consider creating different pathways based on the personas we identified, offering tailored experiences to meet their unique motivations.
3. Improve the Disengagement Process
Currently, there is no system to track or follow up with disengaged cadets. Developing a process to gather feedback from those who leave or disengage while on the waiting list will lead to a better understanding of whether young people’s expectations and needs are being met and whether this is a challenge we need to address.
St John Ambulance cadet unit night
Things we’d do differently
If I could turn back time, I would have included more senior stakeholders who get involved in setting the organisation's strategy in this work. While we didn’t realise it at the start, the conclusions in this case underscore the importance of creating solutions that balance the needs and aspirations of young people with the goals of the organisation.
Final Thoughts
This project was a powerful reminder that service design isn’t about finding magic solutions—it’s about truly understanding people and their experiences.
We uncovered insights that will shape future strategies by pausing to explore what young people want from their involvement with St John and aligning this with the organisation’s aims. It wasn’t always easy—our assumptions were challenged, and the process felt messy at times—but the outcome was worth it.
The Service Design in Practice course not only gave me practical tools I could use immediately (literally the next day in some cases) but also fundamentally changed my problem-solving approach. It’s not the kind of course you attend, find interesting, and forget about. Instead, it’s inspired me to keep learning and embedding these principles in my work.
For anyone considering service design training, I wholeheartedly recommend this programme. It stands out for its practicality and focus on creating the right culture to embed service design for lasting impact.
If you’re curious to learn more or thinking about taking the leap, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s been a game-changer for me—and it might be for you too.
Service Design in Practice
This course is for you if you work in government or the third sector and want to develop skills, confidence and capability in service design.