System Design Toolkit

Work through the four layers in order. Start with the wider world. That sets the limits organisations must work inside. Then name who owns each part of the work. Those owners run the services you list next. Then map one person's path through each named service. You have finished a layer when you can show, with evidence: who holds power, what you are trying to do, what the work depends on, and what the setting will allow. Ask those questions at every layer. Only the level of detail changes.

The four layers of your project

Work from the wider world inwards. Ecosystem is the world your project sits in. Organisations are the bodies that own and run the work. Services are what those bodies deliver from start to finish. Interaction is what happens for one person in one moment. Do not start a public building at Interaction. Do not use a Culture Canvas in place of Place Standard. Do not use it in place of a plan for rooms and spaces.

The four layers of systems designFour stacked layers from Ecosystem to Interaction. Each layer has a short description of what you work on. A zoom-in arrow runs down the right side.1 EcosystemWho and what exists in the wider world, andwhat outside forces limit your project?2 OrganisationsWho is accountable, how do they work withpartners, and what habits do they work by?3 ServicesWhat services deliver what you havepromised, from start to finish?4 InteractionWhat happens in this moment, for thisperson, in this place or on this screen?zoom in
The four layers of systems design. Each band says what you work on. The arrow shows the order of work. Start with the wider world, then the organisations, then each service, then one person's moment.
LayerWhat you work onLevel of detail
1. EcosystemWho and what exists in the wider world, and what outside forces limit your project?You are looking at sectors, groups of people, markets, places, treaties, regulators, climate and industry.
2. OrganisationsWho is accountable, how do they work with partners, and what habits do they work by?You are looking at public bodies, departments, firms, boards, people with a legal duty, and partnerships.
3. ServicesWhat services deliver what you have promised, from start to finish?You are looking at named services, programmes, channels, and buildings run as a service.
4. InteractionWhat happens in this moment, for this person, in this place or on this screen?You are looking at one moment: a task, a script, an object, a room, or a few minutes or hours.

What you map at each layer

Each layer has one picture. Read the caption to see what the picture shows, and why anything is highlighted.

1. Ecosystem

The ecosystem scope wheelChange driver sits at the centre. Eight nodes around it cover the outside world. Supply chains, industry standards and customer expectations are separate nodes.The thing you are changingStakeholders andaccountability bodiesAllies, alliances andtreaty obligationsAdversaries and those whothreaten the workCustomer expectationsIndustry standardsSupply chainsPlaces and conditionsthe work runs inChanging landscapes andlong-term trends
The ecosystem picture. The filled box in the centre is the thing you are changing. The eight boxes around it are parts of the outside world. Keep supply chains, industry standards and customer expectations as three separate boxes. Fill all eight. If you only fill stakeholders, you have missed the rest of the wider world.

2. Organisations

One organisation, its departments, and the services that run through themOne organisation sits above three departments. Service 1 and Service 2 run through all three. Service 3 runs only through Department A and Department B.OrganisationDepartment ADepartment BDepartment CService 1Service 2Service 3
One organisation and the departments inside it. Services run across those departments as bands. The two-way arrows show that a service can cut across departments. Read who owns the work and who partners on it on the same drawing. Service 3 is shorter because it only runs through Department A and Department B. Not every service cuts across every department.

3. Services

The blueprint lane schematicFive lanes from physical evidence to support processes. Time runs left to right. Three dashed lines mark interaction, visibility and internal interaction.Time runs left to right in ordered stepsPhysical evidenceCustomer actionsFrontstageBackstageSupport processesStep 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Line of interactionLine of visibilityLine of internal interaction
How to read a service blueprint. There are five rows and three dashed lines. Those stay the same on every blueprint. The steps on the customer row are examples only. Use this layout for every service so someone who has read one can read the rest.

4. Interaction

One person in this moment, on a screenAn applicant sits beside a screen for food business registration. Intent, action, experience and outcome run in that order. The person is the only solid-coloured block.ApplicantPersonA screenThis momentFood business registration1 IntentThey need to registerthis food business.2 ActionThey type the tradingname and chooseContinue.3 ExperienceThe screen asks forthe trading name.4 OutcomeThe trading name isrecorded. They havenot finished yet.
One person in this moment, on a screen. The four parts are what they want, what they do, what they meet, and what happens next. An applicant needs to register a food business. They type the trading name and choose Continue. They meet a question on a screen. Afterwards the trading name is recorded. They have not finished registering yet. The person is filled in because this layer is the moment from their side of the screen. The outlined box is the channel they are using.

Ask these four questions at every layer

Work through each layer

What goes wrongWhy it fails
You use a journey map as the only canvas.A journey map can describe a city or a desk. If it is your only canvas, you will miss whole layers. A journey across a city and a journey at one desk need different canvases.
You use a Business Model Canvas to describe the wider world.The Business Model Canvas assumes one organisation. The wider world includes groups of people, legal duties and places that organisation does not own.
You use personas to describe the wider world.A persona turns a whole group of people into one character. First map the groups, the jobs they are trying to get done, and who holds power.
You treat a service blueprint as only an Interaction canvas.A service blueprint is a drawing of a whole service. One person's moment is only one row of that drawing.
You use a Culture Canvas as a mood board for interiors.Culture Canvas belongs with Organisations. Use it to limit what you design at Interaction. The environment box is only one part of the canvas.
You write a room schedule before you agree public value.A list of rooms belongs with Services. If you have not agreed why the place should exist, you get a flexible hall with no reason to be there.