FOURDIGIT’s CEO Taguchi, COO Suenari, and FOURDIGIT Vietnam Chairman Nishimura presented at the “NIKKEI Digital Forum in ASIA Sustainable Society & Solution Summit” held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on February 18, 2025. The forum, organized by Nikkei Inc. and Nikkei BP, brought together industry, government, and academia to discuss the application of digital technologies including artificial intelligence (AI).
The Importance of User-Centered Service Design
First, CEO Taguchi delivered a presentation on the importance of user-centered service design.
Changing Markets and the New Role of Design
Taguchi:
According to Google’s report, the digital economy in Southeast Asia is predicted to grow two to three times over the next five years. Vietnam, in particular, with its young population and steady infrastructure development, is expected to establish various foundations for digital economic growth.
As economies develop, user behavior changes. As more services become available, users begin to choose services that provide better experiences. This means design’s role becomes increasingly focused on creating user value and designing user experiences.
Paul Graham, a leading venture capitalist from the U.S. West Coast, captured this concept in his iconic phrase “Make Something People Want.” However, creating something truly valuable for users isn’t simple. While design might appear superficial, delivering valuable user experiences requires significant time and effort.
Cultivating Design Value Through Long-Term Effort
Taguchi:
Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines serve as a symbolic example of how creating user-centric products requires deep, time-invested understanding. While now known as the standard guidelines for App Store applications, these guidelines were first created in 1977 and have been continuously updated over 48 years.
These guidelines define design principles for creating superior experiences, from platform fundamentals to specific design patterns and user experience principles. It’s not merely a rulebook but evidence of their ongoing pursuit to answer the question, “What is the value of our design?”
This shows that design isn’t something created instantly but nurtured over time. Furthermore, such initiatives ultimately shape corporate culture and attitude toward how services and businesses should exist for customers.
Continuous Process of Creating Design Value
Taguchi:
The HCD (Human-Centered Design) process, established as an international standard, follows a cycle of “planning projects → understanding user life → defining user requirements → providing solutions → checking effectiveness.” HCD aims to create better experiences for users by understanding their lives and behaviors, and determining how services are and should be used.
Solutions rarely work perfectly on the first try. User environments change, and technological environments evolve, like iPhone updates. That’s why we check, return to previous steps as needed, and continuously improve. While this cycle appears flat, it’s actually a process of accumulating experience and knowledge.
Therefore, design isn’t just about considering appearance and implementing measures. It starts with understanding users, thinking about what experiences should be, and building upon that. Design isn’t a one-shot consumption but an asset that accumulates as corporate design capability.
The presentation concluded by emphasizing the importance of user-centered design and FOURDIGIT’s commitment to providing long-term support for companies to accumulate design capability as an asset, including design education initiatives.
IT and Service Design in Vietnam
Next, FOURDIGIT COO Suenari and FOURDIGIT Vietnam Chairman Nishimura participated in a panel discussion with Mr. Yoshii from NTT DATA Vietnam, Mr. Tran Thanh Binh, IT Manager at AEON Vietnam, and moderator Mr. Sato (Head of Nikkei BP Trend Media Unit) about the relationship between IT and service design in Vietnam.
Differences Between Japan and Vietnam
Yoshii:
In Japan, global default products are easily accessible because of the presence of AWS and Azure cloud regions. However, Vietnam lacks public cloud regions, and regulations restrict the transfer of personal information outside the country.
While consulting services investment is standard in Western countries, this mindset is less common in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, where some consider consulting as just part of sales activities.
Development styles also differ: Japan excels at concentrated team efforts to build solid systems, while Vietnam typically adopts agile methods, progressing through lighter prototypes.
Nishimura:
A major challenge was that many people weren’t familiar with the concept of service design. We often got questions like “Why do you need to conduct research when we’re just asking for design?” However, working together on projects helps clients understand that design isn’t just superficial. When we conduct research and incorporate findings into design while collaborating with clients, it becomes easier for them to explain to their superiors and involve other stakeholders.
Vietnamese Market Potential and Japanese Companies' Role
Binh:
Vietnam holds immense potential, ranking second only to the United States in Southeast Asia, not just in population but in market attractiveness. However, Japanese companies entering Vietnam must carefully evaluate whether their proposed products and services truly match Vietnamese needs.
Yoshii:
In Japan, we’ve advanced in user-focused problem-solving through cutting-edge technology, HCD, and consulting. As Vietnam develops, we hope to bridge Japanese knowledge in data utilization and DX. However, project management remains challenging as large-scale system development and investment projects increase. Our strength lies in smooth project execution using advanced technology and providing know-how.
Nishimura:
Vietnamese companies often have in-house designers. When we offer design support, we sometimes hear “We have internal designers, so we’re fine.” This stems from different definitions of “design.” While visual and promotional design are necessary for all companies, and Vietnamese companies excel at speedy execution, in-house designers might be limited to internal perspectives. We aim to help management understand the importance of research-based design while providing design support that leverages both Vietnamese and Japanese strengths.
Suenari:
While Japanese companies also often have in-house designers, generating new ideas and next steps can be challenging internally. As external design consultants with cross-industry experience, we can provide fresh perspectives and design knowledge.
Creating Customer Satisfaction Through Service Design
Binh:
Our company’s core value is delivering satisfaction, not just products, to customers. As a B2C business with numerous end-user touchpoints, it’s crucial to utilize feedback for improving satisfaction. This requires enhancing both business strategy and “emotional impact through experience.” As a retail business, we need to improve user satisfaction at various points. The key is designing the total experience across the “moments of truth” – before, during, and after service use.
Yoshii:
We support AEON across various countries, including Japan and Malaysia. Being able to implement Japanese success cases in Vietnam is a significant advantage. Recently, AEON Vietnam has begun offering comprehensive customer experiences beyond supermarkets, including tenant shops and food courts. We focus on service design that considers overall customer behavior and develops IT infrastructure and applications to support it. The key is taking a holistic approach to service design and implementation systems, requiring collaboration across various departments beyond IT.
Nishimura:
As design specialists at FOURDIGIT, we discuss new services with various departments, not just IT, acting as a “buffer” between organizations. For example, with new infrastructure services like this year’s metro system in Vietnam, initial use can be challenging. We hope to continually improve such services using our service design methodology to make everyone’s lives more convenient.
Suenari:
While global standards are important and good practices should be adopted, it’s equally important to discover unique services and values specific to Vietnam. This requires collaboration across countries and cultures. As Binh mentioned, combining insights from daily customer interactions with our expertise leads to better outcomes. While I can contribute decades of design expertise, that alone isn’t sufficient. True value emerges from combining local perspectives with our experience.
The event featured engaging sessions from companies and experts driving Asia’s digital innovation, including Grab, Sojitz Corporation, and a dialogue with FPT Group’s chairman. FOURDIGIT’s session generated significant interest, providing valuable dialogue about design possibilities in the Vietnamese market.
The networking party, produced by FOURDIGIT, began with remarks from Professor Akie Iriyama of Waseda University Graduate School and featured active exchanges across industry, government, and academia.
FOURDIGIT will continue to contribute to sustainable corporate and social development while deepening our insights through practical experience in Asia’s growth markets.
