How do you build a target operating model?

Define the services in scope, decide the ownership and sourcing for each, agree the governance and measures, then map the future state against today to create your plan. The free builder walks you through it in minutes.

What are the steps to design an operating model?

The core steps are scoping the services, deciding sourcing and accountability, setting governance and roles, and mapping the future state. Design across people, process, technology and governance so the parts fit together.

How long does it take to build a target operating model?

A traditional workshop-based exercise can take days or weeks. Using the builder, you can produce a board-ready first version in minutes and refine it with your team.

How to Build a Target Operating Model

Building a target operating model does not have to take weeks of workshops. This guide sets out how to design one step by step, from the services in scope to the governance that holds it together, and shows where our free tool can shortcut the work. The same approach applies whether you are building a full operating model or refining one part of it.

Step 1 - define the services in scope

Start by listing the services your IT function delivers, from end-user support and infrastructure to cloud, security and out-of-hours cover. Group them so the list reflects how work actually happens rather than how the organisation chart looks. This service view, sometimes drawn as a simple value chain, is the backbone of the model.

Step 2 - decide ownership and sourcing for each service

For every service, decide who should be accountable in the future state: your internal team, a managed provider, a co-managed blend, or a specialist third party. This sourcing decision is the heart of an IT operating model. Keep the work that depends on knowledge of your organisation close, and source the round-the-clock and specialist elements that are hard to resource in-house.

Step 3 - set the governance, roles and measures

Ownership only holds if it is governed. Agree the roles and responsibilities behind each service, the service levels you expect, and the handful of measures that tell you whether the model is working. Clear governance is what stops gaps and overlaps appearing once the model is live.

Step 4 - map the future state and plan the move

With services, ownership and governance agreed, you have your target operating model: the future state you are working toward. Compare it with how things run today, and the gaps become your plan. Prioritise the changes that reduce the most risk or free your team for higher-value work.

Build it in minutes with the free tool

Our free Target Operating Model Builder turns this method into a guided exercise. You work through the services as a grid, set ownership for each, and download an executive PDF of the finished model in minutes rather than the days a workshop takes. It is the fastest way to get a board-ready first version of your target operating model that you can refine with your team.