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Demonstrate how IT continuously enables value for the organization.

A comprehensible IT operating model visualization is needed by leadership or management for every organization to conduct the following:

• Clearly outline the flow of operations and how different functional areas will work together.
• Define which capabilities are a priority for the organization and how each capability will be sourced through team members.
• Identify key stakeholders, how they are engaged, and how they obtain value from IT.

The Obstacles:

Despite its importance, many IT leaders struggle to define and visualize the IT operating model because:

• There is no consistent framework for defining what needs to be included in an operating model.
• The industry lacks information to help IT leaders select the right operating model archetype for their organization.
• It is difficult to reflect when and how IT capabilities fit within the organization.

DEFINE THE IT OPERATING MODEL BEFORE IT GETS DEFINED FOR YOU.

Our Insights:

• The landscape of the IT operating model is changing, making it even more critical to define and visualize for the organization.
• Visualizing the IT operating model provides an organization-wide perspective on how value is enabled through information and technology.
• Do not be fooled into selecting an operating model archetype just because it is trendy; pick the right model for your organization and succeed in reaching the vision.

DO NOT STRUGGLE TO DEFINE AND VISUALIZE THE IT OPERATING MODEL.

• Define the critical elements of your operating model from capabilities to stakeholder engagement to decisions rights and even value streams.
• Consider opportunities to enhance or improve how the IT organization categorizes and defines different critical groupings like services or products.

What is an operating model?

An IT operating model is a visual representation of the way your IT organization will function using a clear and coherent blueprint. This visualization demonstrates how capabilities are organized and aligned to deliver on the business mission, strategic objectives, and technological objectives.

Additionally, it should clearly show the flow of work so that key stakeholders can understand where inputs flow in and outputs flow out of the IT organization. Investing time in the front-end to get the operating model right is critical. This will give you a framework to rationalize future organizational changes, allowing you to be more iterative and your model to change as the business changes.

What is an “IT operating model visualization”?

It is a specific archetype you select for how IT delivers products, services, and technology to enable value for your organization. Visualizing the IT operating model provides an organization-wide perspective on how value is enabled through information and technology.

Visualize Your IT Operating Model:

1. Identify organizational drivers & influences: failure to establish principles will lead to selecting the wrong archetype.
2. Select and customize the IT operating model: selecting “trending” models will limit customization.
3. Position the components of the selected model: differ your IT operating model from other organizations by defining and aligning the following:
4. Deliver on IT outcomes: implement change management to effectively adopt the model.

Critical inputs required for designing the IT operating model

Strategic Objectives: What the organization is trying to achieve should inform you of the way you operate. Without a strategic vision, it is hard to design the right operating model.

Reference Architecture: Business reference architecture describes the various value streams your organization uses to deliver value to customers.

Product, Service, Technology Inventory: A list of the assorted products, services, and technologies that your organization needs supported informs the functional groupings that are formed.

Our Methodology for Model Visualization:

Establish Context and Prepare for OCM: Establish design principles that articulate what the future-state IT operating model will represent and why the organization values this change. This provides the basis for organizational change management (OCM) success.

Select & Customize the IT Operating Model: Selection and customization of the right IT operating model archetype, outlining when and where IT is embedded within the organization.

Define the IT Operating Model Components: IT operating model visualization reflects how capabilities are organized and prioritized, and stakeholders are engaged, the approach to sourcing, success criteria measures, IT value streams and outputs, and alignment to IT products, services, and technologies.

Outline Changes & Plan to Communicate: Understand the changes that are required to deliver on the new IT operating model and the next steps for the transformation.

In Conclusion

Defining the IT operating model is a critical component and can be quite hard. Visualizing the operation in a way so that all can understand it is even more difficult. But it doesn’t have to be.

We know when organizations have defined their IT operating model, it leads to increased clarity and an ability to deliver on strategic objectives. For many organizations, it is through defining the IT operating model that they discover how the current way of operating is preventing success and the ability to deliver on objectives.

But, beyond tracking key deliverables when providing services or products to internal users and external clients, an IT department’s operating model should be able to draw a clear line between its various functions and how they relate to the overall strategic goals of the organization.

The landscape of the IT operating model is changing, making it even more critical to fully articulate it for your organization.

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