A service delivery framework (SDF) is a set of principles, standards, policies and constraints to be used to guide the designs, development, deployment, operation and retirement of services delivered by a service provider with a view to offering a consistent service experience to a specific user community in a specific business context.[further explanation needed] An SDF is the context in which a service provider's capabilities are arranged into services.
The term service delivery framework (SDF) has been used interchangeably with the term service delivery platform (SDP), which is a set of technology components that provide capabilities. A service delivery framework governs and guides the use of service delivery platform capabilities.[1]