A Failure Touchpoint Identification and Reconfiguration Approach for Enhancing Product–Service Symmetry

Asymmetry of product–service systems, that is, the presentation of services that does not match the expectations of stakeholders, often leads to inefficient services. To address design asymmetry in service systems, this study proposes a stakeholder-centric methodology for failure touchpoint identification and service reconfiguration. Grounded in the principles of multi-stakeholder value co-creation, the framework involves a three-phase process: systematic identification of failure-prone touchpoints through tripartite analysis (enterprise, service personnel, and user perspectives), generation of reconfiguration alternatives aligned with prioritized stakeholder requirements, and multi-criteria decision-making to optimize service configuration. The methodology achieves design symmetry by integrating stakeholder evaluations across failure diagnosis, causal analysis, and solution validation phases. A case study on a visitor management system demonstrates significant improvements in service quality (overall score increased from 0.70 to 0.81), validating the approach’s efficacy. This research bridges the gap in existing studies by balancing multi-stakeholder interests, offering a novel contribution to service design literature.