Rethinking the Service of Domestic Work in Urban India
When
May - June 2024
Duration
6 weeks
Category
May - June 2024
Key info
Long paper presented at ServDes 2025, IIT Hyderabad
Methods
Interviews, field shadowing, journey studies, ecosystem mapping, service blueprinting, pattern language aided ideation.
Outcomes
Household–worker agreement scaffolds, dispute path starter, storyboards, blueprint for pilots
When
May - June 2024
Duration
6 weeks
Category
May - June 2024
Key info
Long paper presented at ServDes 2025, IIT Hyderabad
Methods
Interviews, field shadowing, journey studies, ecosystem mapping, service blueprinting, pattern language aided ideation.
Outcomes
Household–worker agreement scaffolds, dispute path starter, storyboards, blueprint for pilots
When
May - June 2024
Duration
6 weeks
Category
May - June 2024
Key info
Long paper presented at ServDes 2025, IIT Hyderabad
Methods
Interviews, field shadowing, journey studies, ecosystem mapping, service blueprinting, pattern language aided ideation.
Outcomes
Household–worker agreement scaffolds, dispute path starter, storyboards, blueprint for pilots
We mapped how households in a city find and manage domestic work, showed where trust breaks and designed simple ways to make everyday agreements fair and clear. Translated our extensive research into a paper that was recently published at ServDes25 (service design conference @ IIT-Hyd.) Was invited to speak at the conference about our work.
We mapped how households in a city find and manage domestic work, showed where trust breaks and designed simple ways to make everyday agreements fair and clear. Translated our extensive research into a paper that was recently published at ServDes25 (service design conference @ IIT-Hyd.) Was invited to speak at the conference about our work.
We mapped how households in a city find and manage domestic work, showed where trust breaks and designed simple ways to make everyday agreements fair and clear. Translated our extensive research into a paper that was recently published at ServDes25 (service design conference @ IIT-Hyd.) Was invited to speak at the conference about our work.
Was invited to present our paper at ServDes '25 (premier service design global conference)
Most homes run on routines that never get written down. We began in apartment corridors, lifts, and WhatsApp groups to see how people actually find help, set expectations, and fix things when they go off track. What we saw was informal, fast, and fragile.
Most homes run on routines that never get written down. We began in apartment corridors, lifts, and WhatsApp groups to see how people actually find help, set expectations, and fix things when they go off track. What we saw was informal, fast, and fragile.
Most homes run on routines that never get written down. We began in apartment corridors, lifts, and WhatsApp groups to see how people actually find help, set expectations, and fix things when they go off track. What we saw was informal, fast, and fragile.
Discovery: Where everyday help hides in plain sight
Discovery: Where everyday help hides in plain sight
Discovery: Where everyday help hides in plain sight
From early interviews and day-in-the-life notes, five questions decided whether things worked: Who does what, when, and where. How much, how often, and how to pause. What counts as extra. How feedback is given. Who can help if talks stall. Turning these into plain prompts gave both sides a way to think before they shake hands.
From early interviews and day-in-the-life notes, five questions decided whether things worked: Who does what, when, and where. How much, how often, and how to pause. What counts as extra. How feedback is given. Who can help if talks stall. Turning these into plain prompts gave both sides a way to think before they shake hands.
From early interviews and day-in-the-life notes, five questions decided whether things worked: Who does what, when, and where. How much, how often, and how to pause. What counts as extra. How feedback is given. Who can help if talks stall. Turning these into plain prompts gave both sides a way to think before they shake hands.
Decide: What must be clear for both sides to feel safe
Decide: What must be clear for both sides to feel safe
Decide: What must be clear for both sides to feel safe
Neighbors are the first “platform” for discovery, not apps
Trust forms around mornings and keys, not only pay
Clarity before day one prevents most conflicts later
When talks stall, people need a neutral path, not blame
Visual reminders work better than long documents
Neighbors are the first “platform” for discovery, not apps
Trust forms around mornings and keys, not only pay
Clarity before day one prevents most conflicts later
When talks stall, people need a neutral path, not blame
Visual reminders work better than long documents
Neighbors are the first “platform” for discovery, not apps
Trust forms around mornings and keys, not only pay
Clarity before day one prevents most conflicts later
When talks stall, people need a neutral path, not blame
Visual reminders work better than long documents
Key insights: Levers that change behavior
Key insights: Levers that change behavior
Key insights: Levers that change behavior
We shaped small tools that fit real life. A one-page agreement starter with prompts for time, tasks, pay, leave, and extras. A simple way to review work after two weeks. A dispute path that starts local, then lists helplines. Everything was built to be printable, shareable, and easy to talk through in ten minutes.
We shaped small tools that fit real life. A one-page agreement starter with prompts for time, tasks, pay, leave, and extras. A simple way to review work after two weeks. A dispute path that starts local, then lists helplines. Everything was built to be printable, shareable, and easy to talk through in ten minutes.
We shaped small tools that fit real life. A one-page agreement starter with prompts for time, tasks, pay, leave, and extras. A simple way to review work after two weeks. A dispute path that starts local, then lists helplines. Everything was built to be printable, shareable, and easy to talk through in ten minutes.
Design: From loose chats to clear starters
Design: From loose chats to clear starters
Design: From loose chats to clear starters
We tested the starters with households and workers who had never used paperwork. The flow was: meet, walk through the prompts, mark what applies, agree on a check-in date, and keep one copy each. For many, this was the first time expectations were said out loud. The tone stayed friendly because the paper did the hard work.
We tested the starters with households and workers who had never used paperwork. The flow was: meet, walk through the prompts, mark what applies, agree on a check-in date, and keep one copy each. For many, this was the first time expectations were said out loud. The tone stayed friendly because the paper did the hard work.
We tested the starters with households and workers who had never used paperwork. The flow was: meet, walk through the prompts, mark what applies, agree on a check-in date, and keep one copy each. For many, this was the first time expectations were said out loud. The tone stayed friendly because the paper did the hard work.
Deliver: How it works in the wild
Deliver: How it works in the wild
Deliver: How it works in the wild
Agreement starter with plain prompts and check-in card
Starter path for disputes that lists neutral options
Storyboard set that shows finding, agreeing and fixing
A service blueprint to guide pilots with partners
Agreement starter with plain prompts and check-in card
Starter path for disputes that lists neutral options
Storyboard set that shows finding, agreeing and fixing
A service blueprint to guide pilots with partners
Agreement starter with plain prompts and check-in card
Starter path for disputes that lists neutral options
Storyboard set that shows finding, agreeing and fixing
A service blueprint to guide pilots with partners
Outcomes
Outcomes
Outcomes
FUTURE STEPS
Karnataka’s 2025 draft proposes registration, written agreements, and a welfare funding mechanism. *Part 2 will translate these policy levers into concrete experiences: an Agreement Builder, Registration Assistant, Wage & Welfare Calculator, and Compliance Checklist, all scoped for a ward-level pilot with an RWA(resident welfare association) and an agency.
REFLECTION
Service design only works if the designed artifacts & interventions change day-to-day behavior gradually, but eventually. Defining metrics to measure progress is equally crucial or we'd be flying blind in the night like a pigeon in a typical bengaluru thunderstorm mid July.
FUTURE STEPS
Karnataka’s 2025 draft proposes registration, written agreements, and a welfare funding mechanism. *Part 2 will translate these policy levers into concrete experiences: an Agreement Builder, Registration Assistant, Wage & Welfare Calculator, and Compliance Checklist, all scoped for a ward-level pilot with an RWA(resident welfare association) and an agency.
REFLECTION
Service design only works if the designed artifacts & interventions change day-to-day behavior gradually, but eventually. Defining metrics to measure progress is equally crucial or we'd be flying blind in the night like a pigeon in a typical bengaluru thunderstorm mid July.
FUTURE STEPS
Karnataka’s 2025 draft proposes registration, written agreements, and a welfare funding mechanism. *Part 2 will translate these policy levers into concrete experiences: an Agreement Builder, Registration Assistant, Wage & Welfare Calculator, and Compliance Checklist, all scoped for a ward-level pilot with an RWA(resident welfare association) and an agency.
REFLECTION
Service design only works if the designed artifacts & interventions change day-to-day behavior gradually, but eventually. Defining metrics to measure progress is equally crucial or we'd be flying blind in the night like a pigeon in a typical bengaluru thunderstorm mid July.
Challenge
Homes rely on domestic work, but the system is informal. Without shared language, small misunderstandings grow into big breaks.
Solution
Give people simple starters that fit real life. Write it down together, agree on a check-in, and know where to go if talks stall.
Challenge
Homes rely on domestic work, but the system is informal. Without shared language, small misunderstandings grow into big breaks.
Solution
Give people simple starters that fit real life. Write it down together, agree on a check-in, and know where to go if talks stall.
Challenge
Homes rely on domestic work, but the system is informal. Without shared language, small misunderstandings grow into big breaks.
Solution
Give people simple starters that fit real life. Write it down together, agree on a check-in, and know where to go if talks stall.