Towards a Reference Process for Developing Cognitive Service Systems

In recent years, digital technologies such as artificial intelligence found their way into existing services, while at the same time providing the basis for entirely new possibilities. However, our understanding of the development of services based on these technologies is still limited. Due to the high complexity, they can rarely be developed within the boundaries of a single company or on the basis of knowledge from a single discipline. Building on the relevant literature, we derive a sound understanding of cognitive service systems from existing perspectives. Following an iterative process, we conducted several interdisciplinary workshops and analysed existing development approaches, which were adapted and recombined into a process model for cognitive service development. Our work contributes to a common understanding of cognitive service systems. By introducing a reference model that addresses the specific requirements for the successful development of cognitive services, we take a first step towards a systematic and holistic development of cognitive service systems that supports companies in this complex task.