‍What is a service delivery model?

At its simplest, a service delivery model describes how an organisation delivers value through its services. It brings together the people, processes, technology, governance, and ways of working required to deliver a consistent experience.

A strong service delivery model answers practical questions such as:

Who does what, and when?

• How work flows across teams and partners
• How decisions are made and escalated
• How customer needs are identified and responded to
• How performance and outcomes are measured.

Importantly, it connects strategy to day to day delivery. Without that connection, even the best intentions struggle to make it into practice.

Linking experience to operations

One of the most common challenges we see is a gap between experience design and operational reality. Organisations invest heavily in understanding customer needs and designing better experiences, but those insights are not always reflected in how services are delivered.

This is where service delivery models play a critical role. They translate experience intent into operational decisions. They help teams understand how customer journeys map to roles, systems, handoffs, and measures of success.

At Purple Shirt, we lean heavily on our human centred design expertise to bridge this gap. By understanding both customer and employee experiences, we can design models that are practical, usable, and grounded in real world constraints.

What to look out for when developing a service delivery model

Communication and transparency are critical

Service delivery models affect how people work, often in very tangible ways. Clear communication about why change is happening, what it means, and how decisions are being made builds trust and reduces uncertainty.

Transparency also helps surface issues early. When assumptions are visible, they can be challenged and improved before they become embedded.

‍Co design leads to better outcomes

The most effective models are designed with the people who will use them, not for them. Co design helps uncover hidden dependencies, informal practices, and practical constraints that rarely show up in documentation. Co design also builds ownership. When teams see their input reflected in the model, adoption becomes far more likely.

Designing for adoption, not just approval

One of the biggest risks in service delivery model work is assuming that agreement equals adoption. Change only succeeds when people actually work differently.

Understanding barriers to adoption is essential. These may include:

Inertia from established ways of working

• Anxiety about role changes or loss of autonomy
• Lack of confidence in new processes or tools
• Misalignment between incentives and desired behaviours.

Successful models intentionally design for these realities. They include clear transition paths, support mechanisms, and opportunities for feedback and iteration.

‍Enablers and blockers: the push and pull of change

Every service delivery model introduces both enablers and blockers. Enablers create momentum by making work easier, clearer, or more rewarding. Blockers create friction, often unintentionally.

We often see a push and pull between:

• The promise of better outcomes and the comfort of familiar routines
• The efficiency of standardisation and the need for flexibility
• The opportunity for improvement and the anxiety that comes with change.

Recognising these forces early allows organisations to address them head on, rather than being surprised later.

Designing models that actually work

Service delivery models are not static. They should evolve as services, technologies, and expectations change. The most successful organisations treat them as living frameworks, tested and refined through real delivery.

At Purple Shirt, our role is to help organisations design service delivery models that balance experience, operations, and change. Models that create clarity, enable progress, and support the people delivering the service every day.

Because in the end, a service delivery model is only successful if it works in practice, not just on paper.

‍