---
title: "Service blueprint"
source: 18F Guides
source_url: https://github.com/18F/guides
licence: CC0-1.0
domain: engineering
subdomain: 18f-guides
date_added: 2026-04-25
---

## How to do it{#how-service}

1. Gather information on the service through desk research and  [interviews]({{ "/methods/discover/stakeholder-and-user-interviews/" | url }}) with users, frontline staff, and support staff.
2. Create a diagram with four rows:
    - __User steps__: the primary action someone takes when interacting with the service
    - __Frontstage actions__: the online and offline interactions that users have with the service, including people, places where interactions occur, and physical or virtual objects that users interact with, like forms
    - __Backstage actions__: activities in the systems and processes that support the frontstage experience, but are not visible to users
    - __Support processes__: activities executed by the rest of the organization or external partners — such as ongoing data management or software licensing — that don’t fall into the other rows
3. Map the flow of each user interaction through the service. Note critical points and interactions in delivering the service, as well as any opportunities to handle interactions more efficiently or that would result in a better user experience.

<section class="method--section method--section--18f-example" markdown="1" >

## Examples {#ex-service}

- 18F created [this example of a service blueprint for getting fast food]({{ "/methods/service-blueprint-example/" | url }}).
- Centers of Excellence and the U.S. Department of Agriculture [created a service blueprint](https://coe.gsa.gov/2019/12/18/cx-update-17.html) as part of the OneUSDA ecosystem project.

</section>

<section class="method--section method--section--government-considerations" markdown="1" >

## Government considerations{#con-service}

No PRA implications. No information is collected directly from members of the public.

</section>
