Samspilsreitar

Samspilsreitar is a methodology used in service design to map and analyze the joint user journeys of multiple stakeholders. The term is Norwegian and translates roughly as “cooperative routes.” It was developed in the early 2000s by a group of Scandinavian designers and researchers who sought to create a shared visual language for complex service ecosystems. The core premise is that services are co‑created by providers and users, and the spaces where they intersect define the overall experience. By drawing samspilsreitar, teams can identify shared touchpoints, dependencies, and pain points that affect several roles simultaneously.

The process typically begins with a stakeholder workshop, during which participants identify key actors, actions, and moments of interaction. These elements are then arranged on a temporal axis, drawing connecting lines that highlight overlaps, hand‑offs, and feedback loops. Additional annotations capture emotional states, data flows, and contextual factors such as technology or regulations. The resulting diagram functions as a shared reference that guides design decisions, prioritization, and communication across departments.

Samspilsreitar have found application in public sector projects, such as re‑designing hospital admission flows, as well as in commercial contexts like retail chain customer journeys and transportation networks. Practitioners report increased transparency, improved collaboration, and a stronger focus on user‑centered outcomes. Critics note that the method can become unwieldy for very large systems, requiring skilled facilitation to keep the map coherent and useful. Current trends aim to integrate samspilsreitar with digital twins and real‑time data analytics to enable dynamic, adaptive service design.