DIGITAL SUSTAINABILITY IN SERVICES - A study of practices and challenges when designing sustainable digital services
Author
Andersen, Maria Højgaard
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-05-25
Pages
100
Abstract
IT companies are increasingly expected to cut the CO2 emissions linked to digital services and the energy they consume. Many guidelines exist, but companies still struggle to turn digital sustainability into everyday practice because it requires broad changes to strategy, skills, and routines. This thesis uses a social practice theory lens—which looks at how everyday habits, tools, and shared norms shape work—to examine the core areas of digital sustainability and the experiences of employees in IT companies. A literature review maps the roles service designers can play in change management and synthesizes state‑of‑the‑art Green IT research. The empirical study investigates four IT companies using design thinking and the MUST methodology in a qualitative, participatory setup. Through an iterative design process and co‑creation, the thesis proposes a practical framework for implementing digital sustainability. The framework sets out principles that help organizations explore, use, and develop more energy‑efficient digital solutions, and it offers a concrete action plan for each principle. It also argues for applying service design within change processes to improve employee experiences. The outcome supports digital design teams, change managers, and service designers with a process to anchor and build digital sustainability competences inside organizations. It clarifies how different roles and contributions can be combined to create the right conditions for new practices. Finally, it identifies the core elements that should be embedded in digital service design and system infrastructure to advance digital sustainability in service design and IT practice. In contrast to much prior work that lists what should be done, this thesis focuses on how to make it work in business‑oriented organizations.
IT‑virksomheder forventes i stigende grad at reducere CO2‑udledninger fra digitale tjenester og det energiforbrug, de medfører. Der findes mange anbefalinger, men virksomheder har stadig svært ved at omsætte digital bæredygtighed til hverdagspraksis, fordi det kræver brede ændringer i strategi, kompetencer og arbejdsgange. Specialet bruger et blik fra social praksisteori—som ser på, hvordan daglige vaner, værktøjer og fælles normer former arbejdet—til at undersøge kerneområder inden for digital bæredygtighed og medarbejderes erfaringer i IT‑virksomheder. Et litteraturstudie kortlægger, hvilke roller servicedesignere kan spille i forandringsledelse, og sammenfatter den nyeste viden inden for Green IT. Den empiriske del undersøger fire IT‑virksomheder med brug af design thinking og MUST‑metoden i et kvalitativt og deltagende setup. Gennem en iterativ designproces og samskabelse udvikler specialet en praktisk ramme for at implementere digital bæredygtighed. Rammen opstiller principper, der hjælper organisationer med at udforske, anvende og udvikle mere energieffektive digitale løsninger, og den giver en konkret handlingsplan for hvert princip. Den argumenterer også for at bruge servicedesign i forandringsprocesser for at forbedre medarbejderoplevelser. Resultatet støtter digitale designteams, forandringsledere og servicedesignere med en proces til at forankre og opbygge digitale bæredygtighedskompetencer i organisationen. Det tydeliggør, hvordan forskellige roller og bidrag kan kombineres for at skabe de rette betingelser for nye praksisser. Endelig identificerer det de centrale elementer, der bør indarbejdes i design af digitale tjenester og systeminfrastruktur for at styrke digital bæredygtighed i servicedesign og IT‑praksis. I modsætning til megen tidligere litteratur, der beskriver hvad der bør gøres, viser specialet, hvordan man gør det i forretningsorienterede organisationer.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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