Operating model design
What evidence should you ask for?
A target operating model proposal should connect the service customers need to the work, decisions, capabilities and measures that deliver it. Ask for evidence of the current constraints, the choices behind the future design, and a practical route between the two.
Use these eight questions when commissioning operating model design or reviewing a proposed model. The aim is to make the next decision clear, with evidence that can be checked.
Eight questions before committing to a design
Our approach starts with how value is generated. Structures, processes, technology and responsibilities should follow the service and the outcomes it needs to deliver.
| Question | Evidence to request | Decision it supports |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Which service and customer outcomes are we changing? | A clear service boundary, the customers it serves, their required outcomes and the problem or opportunity being addressed. Name the decisions the review must enable and who owns them. | Whether the proposed scope addresses the need, or includes work that will not change the outcome. |
| 2. What explains the current performance? | A view of how work actually happens: handovers, decisions, workarounds, demand and constraints. Compare leadership's account with customer experience and the people doing the work. | Whether to change the model, address a specific operational failure, or test the diagnosis further. |
| 3. What alternatives have been considered? | A comparison of a focused repair and wider redesign. Show the service benefits, costs, assumptions, dependencies and tradeoffs of each option, including the consequences of doing nothing. | Which intervention is proportionate to the problem and the value sought. |
| 4. What will change in everyday decisions and behaviour? | The future flow of work, clear responsibilities and decision authority. Examine whether targets and rewards support the customer outcome or encourage people to protect their own part of the organisation. | Whether the design changes how the service works, and what must change beyond the organisation chart. |
| 5. Can the organisation make the transition? | An owned plan with resources, dependencies and transition states. Identify early experiments, the service risks while old and new ways coexist, and the evidence needed before moving to the next stage. | What to test first, what can proceed, and what depends on another change. |
| 6. How will we know the model is delivering value? | Baseline measures, intended benefits, lead and lag indicators, and named owners. Set a review point and a reliable source for each measure. Distinguish completed work from changed customer outcomes. | Whether to continue, revise or stop an intervention as results emerge. |
| 7. Who will do the work, and what experience is relevant? | The proposed delivery team, their responsibilities and relevant experience. Ask how the work will be divided between the organisation and its advisers, including implementation and knowledge transfer. | Whether the named team and available capacity fit the service, complexity and ambition. |
| 8. What will the organisation be able to own afterwards? | Agreed outputs, accessible evidence, working knowledge and an internal owner. Specify how people will learn to use and revise the model as the service changes. | Whether the organisation can sustain and improve the model after the engagement ends. |
Turn the answers into a decision
For each question, record what is known, what is assumed and what still needs testing. Assign an owner to each evidence gap. Agree which gaps must close before a design or transition is approved.
A useful review can lead to a smaller change. The scope of a target operating model should match the reach of the problem or opportunity. Start with the service and choose the work that will make a measurable difference.
This checklist applies Organisational Addiction's service-led approach. The Cabinet Office's Consultancy Playbook provides public-sector guidance on clear specifications, evaluating proposals and transferring knowledge.
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