Foundation for Execution

A foundation for execution is a reusable base of business processes, data, and IT capabilities on which initiatives can build. MIT CISR relates this foundation to the integration and standardization requirements of the operating model. Reuse can reduce repeated work and support consistent operations, while the shared capabilities may themselves contribute to competitive advantage. Funding is a separate design choice: central budgets, joint contributions, or a first consumer can pay for capabilities that others later use. Identify who funds continued operation as well as initial delivery.

Build reusable capability around a demonstrated need

A capability is an ability the organization can sustain, not simply a one-off deliverable. In a fictional bank, multiple pilots need supported data access; an initial project could fund a reusable route, or several sponsors could share its cost. Decide its scope, operating owner, service commitments, and measures before expecting other projects to depend on it. Develop enough for the intended uses and adjust as demand becomes clearer. MIT CISR’s historical maturity account describes firms progressing from business silos through standardized technology and an optimized core to modularity. That account does not mean every organization must finish a prescribed stage before assigning target decision rights. Separate the intended authority from current technical constraints and the work required to make it effective.

How big it should be

The operating model informs what must be shared or consistent. Actual scope also depends on scale, risk, costs, existing assets, and the services users need. A business process owner may govern the process, data owners may govern meaning and use, and a platform team may provide selected IT capabilities. The foundation spans these responsibilities; it is not necessarily one team’s product or one implementation. Forty-Seven Initiatives and No Strategy explains investment choices, while Thirty People in a Room Every Month connects shared requirements to authority and escalation. Size the foundation against those requirements and continuing operating capacity rather than treating a model label as a budget formula.

References:

• MIT CISR, Classic Topics: Enterprise Architecture
• MIT CISR, 50th—50 Facts: Operating Models and Enterprise Architecture