“It really shows that Volvo is at the cutting edge of innovation and technology,” she says. “For me, it was a no-brainer to apply for the job.”
Maggie Tsang holds a Master of Science in Engineering degree in the field of technical design from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.
She has worked for the Group for around four years. She started out in technology development and has recently moved on to Connected Solutions.
When she first applied for a job, she had no previous links to the Volvo Group, either during her studies or through having participated in any of the Group’s graduate programmes.
“No, it was a real gift from above when I got the chance to join the Group,” she reveals.
Tsang explains how pleased and somewhat surprised she was when she discovered that the Group was looking for a service designer.
“Four years ago, services of this kind could often be found in new, smaller businesses. But to discover that such a big, established group as Volvo was so far down the road on this was something I found very interesting,” she says.
So, what does a service designer do?
According to Tsang, the role involves developing services by understanding and meeting users’ needs.
“We work closely either directly with our customers or with our truck and bus companies within the Group. It may be bus owners who need an easy-to-use app to get a good overview of their bus fleet, or new services that help hauliers to reduce fuel consumption more effectively. We take a holistic approach and support the customer throughout the process, from the idea, through design and development, right up to the finished service,” she explains.
Good insight into the business
For Tsang, the advantage of the job is that very contact with the different companies within the Group, customers and end-users. She believes she is getting a good insight into both the Group’s and the customers’ businesses.
“It’s a lot of fun and it’s instructive,” she says. “I feel like I’m making a difference. Our role is to deliver value for our customers and understand what they really need when sometimes they don’t have express wishes.”
Tsang is part of a team working within the Innovation Lab at Volvo Group Connected Solutions. It’s a new division that was created precisely to develop work on new services and innovations in digitisation and partnership.
“We are a little over 25 people with different roles, such as software developers, data analysts, innovation managers and service designers like me. We learn from one another and support each other,” she states.
One of the challenges of the job is time, Tsang believes.
“Development moves quickly and we have to keep up,” she explains. “We have to learn to work differently and more quickly, which is where the Innovation Lab comes in, as it gives us the opportunity to do so. It suits me well.”
Many opportunities
Looking ahead, Tsang sees a great many opportunities when it comes to personal development and her career. The need for services within the transport sector is growing, she feels.
“From having been quite an unresearched area, for a few years now it’s been an automatic requirement from the markets,” she says. “That’s why it’s so great the Volvo Group is at the very forefront in this and that the Group’s management emphasises the importance of us continuing to develop our services,” she concludes.
It’s a lot of fun and it’s instructive. I feel like I’m making a difference.
This is how we work with innovation
Also meet Emelie Ågren; Industrial engineer working with connected vehicles and advance technology.
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