Service Specification Document

What it is

A document that outlines in detail the various components and parts of a service as a single overarching record. Typically broken down into several major sections (depending on the type of service) which can include areas such as brand and proposition, people, environments and equipment, visual identity and communications, supporting processes and technologies etc.

Some sample service specifications

A service manager typically owns the document, and it can be useful for managing ‘service versions’ during roll out. It’s also a great way to get different implementation and maintenance teams to talk to each other in the same language.

What you get

A single document, composed in various levels of detail across different service elements, which describes the complete service.

When to use it

Service specification documents are best used when designing stand-alone consumer services that will be ‘launched’ and have various different strands of work to tie together in advance. They can then be useful as a reference document for inductions, as well as a form of arbitration between different delivery agents, and a method of service versioning.