Service Patterns

Avoid reinventing common service flows using service patterns which provide tested models of how transactional services typically work.

Service patterns operate at two levels: functional patterns and step patterns.

Functional patterns

Functional patterns describe common end-to-end service journeys, such as:

• Apply

• Register

• Request

• Make a payment

• Report

• Book

They show the typical stages of a service and how steps connect over time.

Use functional patterns to:

• Frame the overall journey

• Identify essential stages

• Avoid structural gaps

They are starting points, not rigid templates.

Step patterns

Step patterns are steps that are reused across many journeys.

Examples include:

• Collect information

• Verify identity

• Upload documents

• Match records

• Calculate fees

• Send notification

Each step pattern includes guidance on purpose, content, user considerations, and technical implications.

Use step patterns to help you:

• Design consistent interactions

• Align with building blocks

• Reduce common usability errors

How to use service patterns

Service patterns support the GovStack Implementation Playbook.

You can use them to:

• Compare your as-is service against common structures

• Assemble and adapt a to-be journey

• Prototype faster with fewer unknowns

• Align service design with architecture

Patterns do not replace research or testing. They accelerate it.

Start with a functional pattern, select the relevant step patterns, adapt them to your context, and validate through user testing.