The desktop walkthrough is a service design prototyping technique in which a team uses miniature props, paper cutouts, and a scaled floor plan to simulate a full-scale service experience at a tabletop level. Developed by Bill Hollins and Gillian Hollins and popularised further in service design practice, it allows teams to walk through a service blueprint in three dimensions and in real time, identifying operational problems, spatial conflicts, and experience failures before any physical or digital investment has been made.
Desktop Walkthrough
Using miniature props to simulate a full-scale service experience
A
Designers Academy
16 December 2026 · 4 min read
DesignMethods
In brief
The desktop walkthrough is a service design prototyping technique in which a team uses miniature props, paper cutouts, and a scaled floor plan to simulate a full-scale service experience at a tabletop level.
