Adapting Service System Design methods for neurodivergent participation in overstimulating transit environments The case of the Copenhagen Central Station
Authors
Ferrari, Alessio ; Amoroso, Angelo Michele
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-05-26
Abstract
This thesis examines how Service Systems Design methods can be adapted so that neurodivergent people – including autistic individuals, people with ADHD, dyslexia, and other cognitive differences – can participate meaningfully in design processes within highly overstimulating transit environments. Using Copenhagen Central Station as a case, the station is treated as a complex service system shaped by time pressure, crowding, layered information and intense sensory input, conditions that can lead to overload, disorientation and withdrawal for many neurodivergent users. The central research problem is methodological: many conventional Service Systems Design methods assume that participants are comfortable with abstraction, can verbalise experiences in a linear way, accept ambiguity and participate without significant sensory or social strain, while common synthesis tools such as personas flatten important differences in sensory processing, coping strategies, communication preferences and participation needs. Employing a Research through Design approach and a qualitative, case‑based methodology, the thesis focuses on adapting, testing and reflecting on methods such as interviews, observation, sensory mapping and synthesis formats in collaboration with neurodivergent participants. Sensory mapping, for instance, is reworked into small‑scale, structured, visually simple one‑to‑one or very small‑group sessions followed by brief debriefings. Instead of traditional personas, two alternative synthesis outputs are proposed: experiential profiles, which describe recurring patterns in how the station is lived and interpreted (e.g. predictability, sensory stacking, wayfinding, waiting, overload), and participation profiles, which describe the conditions under which different participants can engage meaningfully (e.g. preference for one‑to‑one interaction, visual prompts, advance information, shorter or more predictable sessions, or retrospective rather than in‑situ reflection). The findings suggest that involving neurodivergent participants requires flexible, structured and participant‑sensitive methods that treat variability as the norm. When methods are adapted to the participant rather than the other way round, often invisible aspects – such as cumulative sensory burdens, the importance of predictability, the need for pauses and refuges, and embodied coping strategies – become much more legible. The thesis therefore offers a methodological contribution to Service Systems Design rather than a full redesign of the station: it identifies assumptions embedded in common methods, shows how they become problematic in neurodivergent contexts, and proposes a more inclusive framework for choosing, adapting and synthesising methods in overstimulating service environments. More broadly, it argues that designing from the margins – starting with those most likely to be excluded – can make mobility systems more intelligible, predictable and usable for everyone.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan metoder i Service Systems Design kan tilpasses, så neurodivergente personer – blandt andet autister, personer med ADHD og andre kognitive forskelle – kan deltage meningsfuldt i designprocesser i stærkt overstimulerende transitmiljøer. Med Københavns Hovedbanegård som casestudie analyseres stationen som et komplekst servicesystem præget af tidspres, trængsel, lagdelt information og intensiv sansepåvirkning, som for mange neurodivergente kan føre til overbelastning, desorientering og tilbagetrækning. Specialets centrale forskningsproblem er metodologisk: Konventionelle Service Systems Design‑metoder antager ofte, at deltagere kan abstrahere, formulere oplevelser lineært, acceptere tvetydighed og deltage uden større sansemæssig eller social belastning, og udbredte synteseværktøjer som personas udjævner forskelle i sanseprofil, mestringsstrategier og deltagelsesbehov. Med en Research through Design‑tilgang og et kvalitativt, case‑baseret design tilpasses og afprøves metoder som interviews, observation, sansekortlægning og synteseformater i samarbejde med neurodivergente deltagere. Sansekortlægning omformes eksempelvis til små, strukturerede, visuelt enkle forløb i én‑til‑én eller meget små grupper, efterfulgt af korte refleksioner. I stedet for klassiske personas udvikles to nye typer syntese: oplevelsesprofiler, der beskriver tilbagevendende mønstre i stationens oplevelse (fx forudsigelighed, sanseophobning, wayfinding, ventetid, overload), og deltagelsesprofiler, der beskriver, under hvilke betingelser forskellige personer kan deltage meningsfuldt (fx behov for én‑til‑én interaktion, visuelle støtter, kortere eller mere forudsigelige sessioner, retrospektive frem for in situ‑refleksioner. Resultaterne peger på, at neurodivergent inddragelse kræver fleksible, strukturerede og deltagerfølsomme metoder, der tager variation som udgangspunkt. Når metoderne tilpasses deltagerne, bliver ellers usynlige forhold – som ophobning af sansebelastning, betydningen af forudsigelighed, behovet for pauser og tilflugtssteder samt kropslige mestringsstrategier – langt tydeligere. Specialets hovedbidrag er derfor ikke en fuld omdesign af stationen, men et metodisk bidrag til Service Systems Design: at identificere skjulte antagelser i udbredte metoder, vise hvordan de skaber problemer i neurodivergente kontekster, og foreslå en mere inkluderende ramme for valg, tilpasning og syntese af metoder i overstimulerende servicesystemer. Samtidig argumenteres der for, at det at “designe fra margenen” – med udgangspunkt i dem, der oftest ekskluderes – kan gøre mobilitetssystemer mere forståelige, forudsigelige og brugbare for alle.
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