A Systemic Service Design Visualization Protocol for Complex Problems in Low-risk Public Service Application and Consultation Processes.

Complex public service problems with wicked-like features, including multiple actors, fragmented information, unclear responsibility boundaries, and no single uncontested solution, are difficult to structure in routine administrative settings. This article presents a systematic service design visualization protocol for low-risk public service applications and consultation processes, defined as administrative services that do not determine medical treatment, legal status, financial eligibility, child protection, disciplinary outcomes, or other high-stakes rights-affecting decisions. The protocol integrates stakeholder mapping, public service journey mapping, Double Diamond co-design, and low-fidelity prototype testing to translate fragmented administrative challenges into actionable, co-designed service concepts and evaluate them using simulated tasks. In a representative low-risk administrative application pathway, simulated task testing with 28 participants (112 baseline and 112 post-prototype task records) showed shorter task completion times (178.4 ± 49.6 s-121.7 ± 38.2 s), fewer errors (1.86 ± 0.91-0.79 ± 0.63 errors per task), and higher task success (62.5%-82.1%) after exposure to protocol-generated materials. These findings represent task-based usability evidence because the fixed pre-/post-sequence may include learning effects. This reproducible protocol provides a structured, visually driven approach for diagnosing complex public service problems and prototyping solutions in low-risk public service environments.