The Cost to Serve Model
Trainer
Gerry Scullion
Learn how to measure, model, and reduce the true cost of delivering services. This course equips you with a powerful service architecture framework to understand and improve experience outcomes at every touchpoint.
Enquire about this course
Interactive & hands-on
Designed for real engagement with practical exercises and collaborative learning.
Built for all levels
Whether you're new to the topic or an experienced practitioner, the course meets you where you are.
Guided & grounded
We move from concepts into practice in a thoughtfully paced way, weaving stories, exercises, and tools together.
Practical takeaways
You'll leave equipped with frameworks, tools, and confidence to apply what you've learned immediately.
Course Overview
Created by Gerry Scullion, The Cost to Serve Model is a deep-dive course for organisations wanting to understand the financial and operational impact of delivering their current customer experiences versus their intended ones. Most organisations measure their CTS through a desired outcome only. The CTS Model aims to measure both the unhappy path (the real journey) and the happy path.
This course offers a clear framework for uncovering the hidden costs of service breakdowns caused by human deviation, poor design, or systemic gaps. Through practical modelling and coaching, participants learn how to apply this approach across multiple services to surface operational pain points, internal inefficiencies, and missed opportunities.
What You'll Learn
Understanding Service Deviations
Explore how human interaction outside of intended service delivery causes systemic strain, affects customer experience, and increases operational costs. Learn to identify where these deviations exist.
Quantifying the Cost of Dysfunction
Use a structured approach to map, analyse, and calculate the real cost of misaligned or inefficient service experiences. This includes time, money, and human energy.
Modelling for Improvement
By the end of the course, you’ll be equipped with a repeatable modelling framework to diagnose and present the ‘cost to serve’ across multiple services—and advocate for sustainable redesign based on evidence.
Get in touch to learn more
The Cost to Serve Model
Local taxes may apply.
What You'll Get
- 3 x 120 minute live sessions
- A proven ‘Cost to Serve’ framework to apply in your organisation
- Templates and modelling tools
- 3 x 1:1 coaching sessions with Gerry Scullion
- Lifetime access to course materials and updates
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for service designers, transformation leads, CX managers, and operations professionals working in complex organisations who want to uncover the true cost of experience gaps.
Do I need to know about Service Architecture?
No, but having a general understanding of service design principles will help. We introduce all core concepts as part of the course.
Will I need a computer?
Yes, you’ll need access to a computer to work on the modelling templates, engage with learning content, and participate in coaching sessions.
Have a question not listed here?
Please get in touch with us at support@thisishcd.com – and we will be more than happy to help you!
Your Trainer
Gerry Scullion
Trainer
Founder of The Human Centered Design Network / Podcaster at This is HCD Gerry Scullion is Founder of This is HCD, a global podcast and global design community. This is HCD includes a large international design focussed newsletter, podcasts on topics to enable change, an international Slack community, Design Conference and online design training. He has over 20-years professional design experience across a range of industries such as finance, healthcare, media, public services, social media and various startups. He contributed to the book ‘This is Service Design Doing’ (O’Reilly 2018) focusing on chapters about effective prototyping, and embedding Service Design teams within organisations alongside 200 service designers from around the globe. His purpose is to help enable access to strategic design to a global audience. Speak to Gerry about Service Design, Embedding Design into organisations and Human-Centered Design.
Interested in this course?
Let's have a conversation
Book a free 15-minute call with Gerry Scullion to explore tailored training options for your team.
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