Operating Model Design

Align Strategy, Discovery, Delivery, and Operations

Most organisations don’t fail because they lack talent or technology.
They fail because their operating model is misaligned, strategy disconnected from delivery, operations fighting with engineering, and decisions made without evidence.

We design operating models that turn fragmented activity into coherent systems of work. This is consultation, design, and enablement focused on how your organisation connects strategic intent to delivery reality.

What We Provide

Operating model design is strategic consultation on how your organisation actually works, not just org charts, but how strategy flows into discovery, how discovery shapes delivery, and how operations enable scale.

The service includes assessment, model design, practice integration, and ongoing enablement to help your organisation maintain coherence as context evolves.

Strategic alignment design – Mapping business goals to delivery capabilities

Discovery integration – Structuring how customer needs inform what gets built

Delivery system design – Architecting flow from idea to production

Operations enablement – Designing systems that scale and adapt

Why Organisations Engage This Service

Without a coherent operating model, even the best frameworks fail. Scrum becomes ceremony, DevOps becomes tool sprawl, and Agile becomes theatre.

Strategy disconnected from execution

Leadership sets direction, but the translation to team-level work remains unclear.

Silos between discovery and delivery

Product discovery and engineering delivery operate independently.

Delivery friction and unpredictability

Work takes longer than expected, quality varies, and root causes remain hidden.

Technology as constraint

Systems constrain growth rather than enabling it.

“Martin’s depth and breadth of knowledge and experience of the world of Agile/DevOps is incredible. He will switch between hands on development to advanced consulting or training on process, practices and tools to help you in your own DevOps journey. When the going gets tough in challenging situations he is super responsive and goes the extra mile… He is passionate about what he does and is always trying to improve the way we work to build high value products and solutions… Down to earth and straight talking. Highly recommend!”
Nancy Maher | Global Software Lifecycle Management Program Manager | SLB

Service Components

Assessment & Design

Current-state operating model assessment
Evidence-based decision-making framework design
Operating model architecture tailored to your context

Integration & Mapping

Practice integration (Scrum, Kanban, DevOps) mapped to operating model needs
Flow design connecting discovery, delivery, and operations
Governance and feedback loop architecture

Enablement & Evolution

Leadership and team coaching on the operating model
Continuous improvement system design
Adaptation support as context changes

How We Deliver This Service

We don’t start with frameworks. We start with your context, your goals, constraints, and current state. Engagement follows our timeboxed retainer model with full transparency and risk reversal.

Discovery & Assessment

Current-state assessment: operating model, pain points, strategic goals, and delivery constraints.

Model Design

Co-creation sessions: operating model architecture aligning strategy, discovery, delivery, and operations.

Practice Integration

Practice mapping: Scrum, Kanban, DevOps, and complementary practices integrated into the operating model.

Enablement & Coaching

Leadership and team coaching: working within and evolving the operating model.

Continuous Improvement Design

Feedback loop and metrics system design: enabling ongoing adaptation.

Built for Modern Organizations

Our operating model design services are perfect for:

CTOs and VPs of Engineering scaling product delivery

Product organizations struggling with alignment

Enterprises modernizing ways of working

Leaders needing clarity on how strategy becomes execution

From Fragmentation to Flow

Before	After
Strategy disconnected from delivery	Clear line of sight from strategy to execution
Teams working in silos	Aligned teams with shared goals
Delivery unpredictable and slow	Faster, more predictable delivery
Technology as a bottleneck	Technology as strategic advantage

Why NKD Agility?

Multi-Method Expertise

We understand Scrum, Kanban, DevOps, and how they work together, not as competing frameworks but as complementary practices within coherent operating models.

Engineering-Grounded

Our approach is grounded in solid engineering practices and technical depth, not just process theory.

Evidence-Based

We design for measurement, visibility, and continuous adaptation using DORA and EBM as industry context.

Engagement Model

Timeboxed retainer with full risk reversal. No fixed scope, no change orders, no hourly billing. You retain capacity, we co-create operating model design and enablement within that timebox.

Ready to Design an Operating Model That Works? Let’s Talk

Book a Discovery Call

Our Happy Clients

We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.

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