ServiceNow Operating Model: All You Need to Know in 5 Minutes

NEWS

Learn everything about ServiceNow’s Operating Model in 5 minutes. Discover why Novabridge is the top partner for governance and operating model design services.

Searching for 'ServiceNow Operating Model' or the ServiceNow business model and Google's brought you here? You're in the right spot! In just 5 minutes, you'll understand why proper operating model design is the foundation of ServiceNow success.

This comprehensive guide covers everything from governance frameworks to AI integration, helping leaders and technical teams implement ServiceNow successfully. Whether you're running a mid-sized company or enterprise organisation, understanding the ServiceNow Operating Model is crucial for maximising your platform investment and achieving sustainable digital transformation.

What is the ServiceNow Operating Model?

By general definition, an Operating Model is the overall approach an organisation uses to arrange and operate its resources, including people, processes, and tools to execute business strategy effectively.

Similarly, the ServiceNow Operating Model is the comprehensive operational framework that helps companies deploy and scale the Now Platform efficiently, whilst supporting the ServiceNow business model to optimise enterprise value.

Unlike the "ServiceNow business model" which focuses on delivering value to customers, the ServiceNow Operating Model concentrates on how to implement and maintain the system, clearly defining roles, processes, and principles to ensure sustainable business efficiency.

Put simply: The Operating Model is like a "master blueprint" for running ServiceNow within your company. It answers the question: "How do we organise people, processes, and tools so ServiceNow operates effectively?"

Why it matters: Without a clear Operating Model, ServiceNow implementation tends to become ad hoc, leading to resource waste and failure to achieve business objectives.

Without a clear ServiceNow governance framework, platform implementation becomes chaotic, leading to:

  • Resource waste and budget blowouts
  • Inconsistent user experiences
  • Technical debt accumulation
  • Failed business objective alignment
  • Poor ROI on ServiceNow investment

Who should understand the ServiceNow Operating Model?

Once you've decided to explore and invest in ServiceNow, understanding the ServiceNow Operating Model isn't just for the tech team anymore. It's not merely technical documentation, it's a comprehensive operational roadmap that impacts strategy, people, and technology across your entire enterprise. Therefore, understanding this model is essential for the following groups:

  • Business Leaders (mid-sized and large companies): To control investment effectiveness, understand the platform's capabilities and limitations, and ensure digital initiatives align with strategic direction.
  • ServiceNow Architects: As the people designing core systems, they need standardised operational models to ensure scalability, reusability, and synchronisation across domains (ITSM, HRSD, SecOps, etc.).
  • Development Engineers: Without an Operating Model, developers easily create fragmented custom code that's uncontrolled and difficult to maintain. The Operating Model helps them know what to do, which rules to follow, and who provides approval.
  • Business Process Owners / SMEs (Subject Matter Experts): They need to understand the model to shape proper requirements that align with technical capabilities and standard development processes.

In summary, anyone involved in requesting, implementing, maintaining, or measuring ServiceNow effectiveness needs to understand the Operating Model and how it supports the ServiceNow business model. It's the foundation of consistency and success.

ServiceNow Operating Model Core Components

As mentioned above, the ServiceNow Operating Model is the foundation that shapes how ServiceNow is deployed and operated systematically, flexibly, and effectively. This model isn't just an organisational chart, it also defines decision-making processes, demand management, and technical resource optimisation to ensure sustainable platform development.

The core of the ServiceNow Operating Model is divided into three fundamental groups:

ServiceNow Operating Model
ServiceNow Operating Model (Source: ServiceNow Community, 2021)

1. Governance board

Executive Steering Board (Leadership)

  • Set platform vision
  • Manage risk
  • Resolve conflicts and escalations
  • Oversee business objectives & value realisation

Demand Board (Requirements Management)

  • Review platform demand
  • Review platform backlog
  • Coordinate project alignment

Technical Governance Board (Technical Management)

  • Review customisation requests
  • Track technical and design debt
  • Enforce technical standards

2. Operating teams

Business Engagement and Delivery

  • Business Analyst
  • Programme Manager
  • OCM Lead (Organisational Change Management)
  • Demand Manager

Strategy

  • Platform Owner
  • Reporting/BI Data Lead
  • Value Management Lead

Platform Architecture and Support

  • Platform Administrator
  • Platform Architect
  • Development Lead
  • Security Admin
  • Integration Expert
  • Project Manager
  • Scrum Master/RTE
  • Data Manager
  • Release Manager

Innovation

  • ServiceNow Evangelist
  • Business Process Expert
  • Developer
  • UX Experience Engineer/Architect

3. Product Teams

This is where real value is created from the ServiceNow platform. Each ServiceNow product (ITSM, ITOM, HR, etc.) needs its own team to reduce cognitive load.

Organised according to main workflows:

  • IT Workflows
  • Employee Workflows
  • Customer Workflows
  • Creator Workflows

Each Product Team includes:

  • Product Owner
  • Project Manager
  • Process Analyst
  • Developer(s)
  • Product Architect

Main Workflow:

  1. New Demand → Demand for Approval and Planning
  2. Approved Demand → Customisation Review and Approval
  3. Implementation through Product Teams and Creator Workflows

Key point: This model creates a workflow from idea (demand) → approval → implementation → governance, ensuring all changes are controlled and aligned with business objectives.

From 2025: ServiceNow Operating Model Features AI Agents

Following The Knowledge 2025 event, ServiceNow officially announced its transformation into an AI-first platform, integrating Responsible AI, data, and automated workflows in one platform for intelligent automation and strategic orchestration.

Therefore, the 2025 version of the ServiceNow Operating Model has been significantly updated to meet AI management and scaling requirements:

  • ServiceNow AI Control Tower: A centralised coordination centre that allows monitoring, controlling, and optimising the performance of all AI agents, whether from ServiceNow or partners.
  • ServiceNow AI Agent Fabric: A communication network between AI agents and third-party platforms like Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle, enhancing flexibility and open integration.
ServiceNow AI Control Tower
ServiceNow AI Control Tower is one of the latest applications in 2025

These updates don't change the core model but add AI agent operational capabilities to the same governance and control structure, thereby expanding ServiceNow's capacity as a digital operating system for modern enterprises.

Explore the details of ServiceNow AI Control Tower and AI Agent Fabric here!

Best Practices for ServiceNow Operating Model from Novabridge

To operate the ServiceNow platform systematically with long-term scalability, Novabridge suggests businesses apply the following best practices:

  1. Establish clear ServiceNow Governance Framework

Governance Board Setup:

  • Schedule regular meetings: Monthly Steering Board, bi-weekly Demand Board, weekly Technical Board
  • Transparent approval processes: Clear criteria, documented decisions, stakeholder communication
  • Defined evaluation criteria: ROI impact, strategic alignment, technical feasibility, resource requirements

Benefits: Prevents uncontrolled customization, reduces technical risk, ensures strategic alignment

  1. Clear role definitions

Everyone in the organisation from leadership to engineers and end users, needs to know their responsibilities (Responsible), approval authority (Accountable), consultation role (Consulted), or notification requirements (Informed) at each stage of the request lifecycle. A clear RACI model helps avoid conflicts and delays.

  1. Standardise ServiceNow Development Processes

DevOps Implementation:

  • CI/CD Pipelines: Automated development, testing, and deployment workflows
  • Environment Management: Structured progression from Dev → Test → UAT → Production
  • Code Quality Gates: Automated testing, security scanning, performance validation
  • Release Management: Controlled deployments with rollback capabilities

Benefits: Reduces errors, ensures consistency, accelerates delivery

  1. Apply ServiceNow Maturity Model Assessment

Continuous measurement and improvement: Establish KPI systems to measure effectiveness including feature deployment velocity, post-release error rates, CMDB completion levels, and request response times. These metrics help leadership make decisions based on real data.

Additionally, businesses should apply maturity models to assess their current level from manual operations to comprehensive automation, to set clear improvement objectives with defined roadmaps.

Novabridge already has this service: Governance and Operating Model Design. You should see what we can make it do for you!

Novabridge - the leading partner for Governance and Operating Model Design in ANZ

With our platform governance and operating model design, you’ll achieve:

  • Clear Ownership Structures: Establish well-defined roles and responsibilities to ensure accountability and effective platform management.
  • Operational Excellence: Implement streamlined processes that maximize efficiency and reduce complexity in managing your ServiceNow platform.
  • Scalability: Build a governance framework that adapts to changes in your organization, whether scaling operations or integrating new functionality.
  • Improved Compliance: Ensure your platform adheres to internal policies and external regulatory requirements with confidence.
  • Risk Reduction: Proactively identify and address potential governance risks, minimizing disruptions and ensuring long-term stability.

As a leading ServiceNow Elite Partner in consulting and implementation in Australia and New Zealand, as well as a ServiceNow Platform Partner, Novabridge has the capability to design customised Operating Models that suit the culture and strategy of both SMEs and large organisations.

Novabridge consulting team
Find Novabridge for governance and operating model design in ANZ

Find us in Canberra, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne if you're in Australia. Or we'll meet you directly if you're located in Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand.

Conclusion

Understanding the ServiceNow Operating Model not only helps businesses implement effectively but also optimises long-term investment. If you're considering digital transformation with ServiceNow, start by designing a proper operational model—with Novabridge.

Honestly, we're total nerds for it! Our ServiceNow Governance and Operating Model Design services have been successfully implemented in mid-sized and large enterprises across ANZ, establishing Novabridge as a trusted leader in the region.

Contact Novabridge for more information!

FAQ

Q: Is the ServiceNow Operating Model mandatory?

A: Not mandatory, but it's essentially a prerequisite for effective, long-term, and scalable platform operation.

Q: How often should we update the Operating Model?

A: Review every 12–18 months or when expanding to new domains (like CSM, HRSD, FSM, etc.).

Q: Can we use ready-made templates?

A: Yes. Novabridge provides customised industry-specific templates, ready to implement, saving considerable time and resources.

Q: Can medium-sized businesses implement the ServiceNow Operating Model in phases?

A: Absolutely. Many companies start with one module (like ITSM) and implement initial governance or CoE, then expand to other areas according to their roadmap. This approach optimises limited budgets across stages.

Q: Who in the company should participate in building the Operating Model?

A: Not just IT, but also strategic leadership, business process managers, technical teams, and data analysts should all be involved to build a practical and sustainable model.

EMPATHETIC
RELIABLE
EXPERT
DYNAMIC
BRAVE
EMPATHETIC
RELIABLE
EXPERT
DYNAMIC
BRAVE