Operating Model Architecture

Operating Model Architecture defines how the organization structures its people, processes, and governance to deliver and sustain value. Even the most brilliant technical architecture will fail if the organization is not designed to build, run, and evolve it effectively.

It answers the question: “How do we organize ourselves to deliver on our architectural promises?”

Core Objectives

• Alignment: Ensuring teams are structured around value streams or business domains rather than technology silos (Conway’s Law).
• Velocity: Removing friction in decision-making and deployment processes through automation and decentralized governance.
• Accountability: Clearly defining ownership of systems, data, and risks throughout their lifecycle.

Key Components

• Team Topologies: structuring teams (e.g., Stream-aligned, Enabling, Platform, Subsystem) to minimize cognitive load and maximize flow.
• Governance Model: Moving from “Gatekeeper” governance (Architecture Review Boards as blockers) to “Guardrails” governance (automated policy enforcement and paved roads).
• DevSecOps Culture: Embedding security and operations into the development lifecycle, shifting responsibility left to the delivery teams.
• Skills & Enablement: Acknowledging that new architectures (like Technology Capability Architecture) require new skills, and planning for the training or hiring needed to bridge the gap.

Relationship to other Architectures

The Operating Model is the engine that drives the execution of the Portfolio Architecture. It must be designed to support the complexity defined in the Technology Implementation Architecture. For example, adopting a microservices implementation architecture without an operating model that supports decentralized, autonomous teams will result in a distributed monolith and operational chaos.