PreliminaryDerived from Ross and Weill

Operating Model Grid

Place a business by how standard its processes are against how much its units share data, and read off which of the four Ross and Weill operating models fits.

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Operating model grid: standardisation against integration

The Ross, Weill and Robertson model places a business by how standard its processes are against how much its units share data, and that position names one of four operating models.

Operating model grid: standardisation against integration The Ross, Weill and Robertson operating model as a two by two. Standardisation runs along the bottom, integration up the side. Low standardisation, high integration: Coordination, shared data but local processes, such as a group sharing one customer record. High standardisation, high integration: Unification, one process on shared data, such as a single distribution network operator. Low standardisation, low integration: Diversification, units run their own way. High standardisation, low integration: Replication, the same process repeated independently across sites. LOW STANDARD . HIGH INTEGRATION Coordination Shared data, processes stay local Group shares one customer record HIGH STANDARD . HIGH INTEGRATION Unification One process on shared data Single regulated network operator LOW STANDARD . LOW INTEGRATION Diversification Units run their own way, little shared A holding group of separate firms HIGH STANDARD . LOW INTEGRATION Replication Same process, run site by site A franchise repeated across regions

Pick the corner that fits how the business actually runs, not the one that sounds most joined up. The choice sets which foundation the architecture has to build, from shared data to a single way of working.

Early in strategy and vision work, to agree the operating model the architecture must support before designing capabilities or systems.

What you need and what you get

You'll need

  • How standardised the core processes are across units
  • How much the units need to share data and customers

You'll get

  • A named operating model with its rationale
  • The integration and standardisation the architecture must deliver

Taught in

No course modules linked yet.

Derived from

  • MIT Center for Information Systems ResearchRoss, Weill and Robertson, "Enterprise Architecture as Strategy" (MIT CISR)Source