Architecture / Architecture Operating Models / Outcome model
04 · Accountability
Link architecture services to outcomes, owners, evidence, coverage and negotiated performance levels.
The core idea
Counts of diagrams, reviews and meetings show activity. They do not show that investment aligns, defects are found early, standards hold or releases are operable.
KPIs show performance, KRIs show exposure and KCIs show whether controls work.
Workbook source · ODM Overview
Purpose, rules, scope and operating rhythm.
Companion measurement framework for the EA, SA and OA Service Catalogues and the Service Through Life value stream. All targets are illustrative and subject to PLA negotiation.
| Purpose | Translate the Architecture capability (Enterprise, Solutions and Operational Architecture) into a small set of outcome-driven metrics (ODMs) that express the value and assurance architecture delivers - strategic alignment, design quality, governance, estate health, operability and engagement - negotiated with service consumers as Performance Level Agreements (PLAs), rather than measuring activity or artefact volume. |
|---|---|
| Design principle 1 - Anchor | ODMs are anchored to the three role Service Catalogues (EA, SA, OA), rationalised into six service families, because catalogue services have identifiable customers who can negotiate a performance level against cost. Lifecycle phases do not have customers and therefore do not own ODMs. Service references use the form EA-nn, SA-nn and OA-nn. |
| Design principle 2 - Two tiers | Tier 1: outcome metrics (this register) wrapped in PLAs, reported to executive, investment and portfolio audiences. Tier 2: contributing indicators instrumented at Service Through Life phase gates, used by EA/SA/OA leads as leading and diagnostic signals that explain ODM movement. |
| Design principle 3 - Indicator grammar | Each metric is typed using the Risk Ontology grammar: KRI (is architectural exposure - misalignment, debt, deviation, obsolescence - within appetite?), KPI (is the capability performing and protecting delivery velocity?), KCI (are the standards, baselines and traceability chains we specified healthy in the running estate?). The role split maps broadly to KRI ownership (EA), KPI ownership (SA) and KCI ownership (OA), with exceptions where accountability sits more naturally elsewhere. |
| Design principle 4 - Data first | Every ODM must be generatable from operational data (architecture repository, portfolio tooling, CMDB, dispensation and debt registers, delivery tooling, ITSM platform). If a metric requires a manual quarterly trawl it will decay; see the ODM Data Lineage tab for the source-to-metric path. |
| Design principle 5 - Negotiated targets | Targets are performance levels bought by the consumer at a known cost, not aspirations set by the architecture function. Each PLA records the negotiating parties, thresholds, and the cost delta of moving to a higher performance level. |
| Measurement plane | EA-16 (Architecture Metrics, Reporting and Decision Support) and OA-14 (Operational Metrics and Service Performance Reporting) form the measurement plane. They carry no outcome ODMs of their own - self-referential metrics get gamed - only data-quality and decision-uptake indicators (MP-01, MP-02 in the register). |
| Tab guide | ODM Service Family Map: 54 catalogue services (18 per role) grouped into 6 families with measurable outcome statements. ODM Register: the metric set. ODM PLA Definitions: one PLA per family. ODM Contributing Indicators: phase-gate instrumentation mapped to the Through Life value stream. ODM Data Lineage: source systems and quality checks. ODM Dashboard: illustrative scorecard with formula-driven RAG. ODM-01 to ODM-16 Roadmap: staged implementation plan per metric. |
| Standards alignment | Supports TOGAF Architecture Governance and Architecture Maturity assessment, ITIL 4 Measurement and Reporting and Continual Improvement practices, ISO/IEC 38500 (evaluate-direct-monitor) and HM Treasury / GovS 002 portfolio assurance expectations. ODM trendlines double as architecture maturity evidence - no separate maturity survey required. |
| Operating cautions | Keep the set small (16 ODMs plus 2 measurement-plane indicators). Pair every coverage KPI with a conformance KCI so paper traceability is checked against the running estate. Review performance levels annually or on material change to business strategy, operating model or technology direction. |
Workbook source · ODM Service Family Map
How 54 services contribute to six outcome families.
The 54 EA, SA and OA Service Catalogue services rationalised into six measurable service families plus a measurement plane. Outcome statements rewrite the catalogue benefit claims into measurable form.
| Family ID | Service Family | Catalogue Services (ID - Name) | Original Benefit Claim (Catalogue) | Measurable Outcome Statement | ODMs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Strategy, Roadmap & Investment Alignment | EA-01 - Architecture Strategy and Target State; EA-02 - Business Architecture: Capability and Value Stream Modelling; EA-03 - Capability-Based Planning and Architecture Roadmaps; EA-04 - Investment and Portfolio Architecture Advisory; EA-15 - Transformation and Change Architecture Assurance; SA-02 - Solution Options Analysis and Feasibility; SA-12 - Vendor and Product Evaluation | "Investment decisions converge on one direction"; "change is sequenced to deliver value early"; "capital flows to initiatives that advance the target state" | Investment is demonstrably steered by the target state: material spend traces to capabilities and roadmap items, transition architectures land close to plan, and leaders decide against a current capability map rather than anecdote. | ODM-01, ODM-02, ODM-03 |
| F2 | Design Quality, Standards & Reuse | EA-05 - Architecture Principles, Standards and Policy; EA-06 - Enterprise Reference Architectures and Pattern Catalogue; EA-07 - Data and Information Architecture Strategy; SA-03 - Solution Architecture Design (HLD/LLD); SA-05 - Pattern Instantiation and Tailoring; SA-06 - Integration and API Architecture; SA-07 - Solution Data Architecture and Migration Design; SA-08 - Cloud Solution Architecture; SA-09 - DevOps and Delivery Pipeline Architecture; OA-07 - Configuration Baseline and Drift Management | "Avoids late-stage rework"; "faster, cheaper, more predictable solution design"; "the estate converges rather than drifts" | Design flaws are designed out, not remediated: most are caught at or before the Design gate, architecture-attributable rework is bounded, and the running estate conforms to approved patterns and baselines with drift caught quickly. | ODM-04, ODM-05, ODM-06 |
| F3 | Governance, Traceability & Decision Assurance | EA-08 - Architecture Governance and Design Authority; EA-09 - Architecture Compliance and Dispensation Management; EA-10 - Architecture Repository and Knowledge Management; EA-11 - Security, Risk and Regulatory Alignment; SA-04 - Requirements and NFR Engineering and Traceability; SA-11 - Architecture Decision Records and Design Authority Submissions; SA-13 - Solution Assurance at Delivery Gates | "Timely, transparent architectural decisions"; "deviations that are conscious, time-bound decisions"; "an evidence chain from need to proof" | Governance is fast and trustworthy: requirements (including non-functional) trace to verified design at go-live, the Design Authority decides within committed turnaround, and every dispensation is owned, in date and on a path to closure. | ODM-07, ODM-08, ODM-09 |
| F4 | Estate Health, Technical Debt & Lifecycle | EA-12 - Technology Strategy, Lifecycle and Emerging Technology Advisory; EA-13 - Application and Technology Portfolio Rationalisation; EA-14 - Technical Debt Strategy and Remediation Prioritisation; SA-16 - Solution Optimisation and Technical Debt Remediation; SA-18 - Solution Decommissioning Design; OA-01 - Operational Architecture Ownership; OA-08 - Technology Currency, Patch and Lifecycle Operations; OA-09 - Operational Tooling and Platform Estate Management; OA-10 - Automation and Infrastructure as Code Operations; OA-13 - Run-Cost and FinOps Optimisation; OA-15 - Legacy and End-of-Life Risk Containment; OA-16 - Decommissioning Execution; OA-17 - Operational Process Improvement and Toil Reduction | "Avoids end-of-support cliffs"; "technical debt that is visible, priced and reducing"; "lower run-cost and complexity" | The estate stays healthy between projects: Tier-1 components remain in support or on a funded exit, technical debt is bounded and falling, and planned rationalisation lands as realised savings. | ODM-10, ODM-11, ODM-12 |
| F5 | Operability, Resilience & Service Transition | SA-14 - Transition Architecture and Cutover Design; SA-15 - Operability by Design; SA-17 - Incident and Problem Architectural Support; OA-02 - Operability Requirements and Service Design Input; OA-03 - Operational Acceptance and Service Transition Assurance; OA-04 - Observability and Monitoring Architecture; OA-05 - Resilience, Backup and Recovery Architecture; OA-06 - Capacity and Performance Architecture; OA-11 - Operational Change and Release Architecture; OA-12 - Incident and Problem Architectural Support; OA-18 - Managed Service and Supplier Operational Integration | "Nothing enters service that operations cannot support"; "recovery is a rehearsed procedure"; "a solution operations can run from day one" | New and changed services arrive operable - passing acceptance first time without waivers - and the recovery architecture of critical services is verified against RTO/RPO on a rolling basis. | ODM-13, ODM-14 |
| F6 | Engagement & Capability | EA-17 - Stakeholder Engagement and Architecture Advocacy; EA-18 - Architecture Community of Practice and Capability Development; SA-01 - Embedded Solution Architecture; SA-10 - Architecture in Agile Delivery | "Early engagement by default"; "architecture embedded in the backlog"; "routine design becomes self-served" | Delivery teams engage architecture early by choice rather than compulsion, and internal capability grows so routine good design is self-served through patterns and accredited practitioners. | ODM-15, ODM-16 |
| MP | Measurement Plane (not a family) | EA-16 - Architecture Metrics, Reporting and Decision Support; OA-14 - Operational Metrics and Service Performance Reporting | "Decisions rest on evidence"; "trustworthy numbers on how well services and operations perform" | The measurement system itself is trustworthy and used: ODMs are generated automatically from operational data, and governance decisions demonstrably cite ODM evidence. No outcome ODMs - measurement-plane indicators only. | MP-01, MP-02 |
Workbook source · ODM Register
Definitions, formulae, owners, consumers, cadence and thresholds.
The outcome-driven metric set. Type: KRI = architectural exposure vs appetite; KPI = capability performance and delivery velocity; KCI = standards, baseline and traceability health. Targets are illustrative pending PLA negotiation. Catalogue services use EA-nn / SA-nn / OA-nn references.
| ODM ID | Family | ODM Name | Outcome Claim | Metric Definition | Type | Unit | Direction | Target (Green) | Amber ≥ | Red < | Owner Role | Negotiating Consumer | Cadence | Contributing Indicators | Primary Data Sources | Catalogue Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODM-01 | F1 | Strategic alignment of investment | Money goes where the strategy says it should. | Percentage of Tier-1 investment (by approved value) traced to a target-state capability or architecture roadmap item at the investment approval gate. | KRI | % | Higher | 90 | 80 | 80 | EA | CIO / Investment Board | Quarterly | CI-01, CI-02 | Portfolio tooling; architecture repository (capability model and roadmap) | EA-01, EA-02, EA-04, SA-12 |
| ODM-02 | F1 | Transition architecture delivery | Roadmaps land as planned capability. | Percentage of architecture roadmap milestones (transition architecture plateaus) delivered within one quarter of plan. | KPI | % | Higher | 80 | 65 | 65 | SA | Portfolio Board / Programme Directors | Quarterly | CI-02, CI-12 | Portfolio/programme tooling; roadmap register | EA-03, EA-15, SA-02 |
| ODM-03 | F1 | Capability assessment currency | Leaders decide against a current map of the business. | Percentage of Tier-1 business capabilities with current- and target-state assessment (maturity, investment, risk) refreshed within the last 12 months. | KCI | % | Higher | 90 | 75 | 75 | EA | COO / Business Capability Owners | Semi-annual | CI-01 | Architecture repository (capability model, heat-maps) | EA-01, EA-02 |
| ODM-04 | F2 | Design-stage defect capture | Design flaws are found where they are cheapest to fix - at design, not in production. | Architecture and design defects identified at or before the Design gate as a percentage of all design defects found in the period (including build, test and production escapes). | KPI | % | Higher | 80 | 65 | 65 | SA | CIO / Portfolio Board | Quarterly | CI-03, CI-05, CI-07 | Design review log; defect tracker; problem records | SA-03, SA-05, SA-06, SA-07, SA-13 |
| ODM-05 | F2 | Architecture rework cost | Redesign cost avoided - the catalogue claim made measurable. | Effort/cost of post-build change attributable to architecture or design decisions, as a percentage of total delivery spend on in-scope initiatives. | KRI | % | Lower | 3 | 5 | 5 | EA | CFO / Portfolio Board | Quarterly | CI-04, CI-05 | Delivery tooling (change records); finance cost codes | EA-05, EA-06, EA-07, SA-03 |
| ODM-06 | F2 | Pattern & baseline conformance | The estate converges on approved patterns; drift is caught quickly. | Percentage of new deployments conformant with the approved reference pattern or configuration baseline that specifies them; drift detected within 30 days via configuration compliance scanning. | KCI | % | Higher | 85 | 70 | 70 | OA | Domain / Platform Owners | Monthly | CI-06, CI-08 | Architecture repository; configuration compliance scanning; CMDB | EA-06, SA-05, SA-08, SA-09, OA-07 |
| ODM-07 | F3 | Requirements & NFR traceability integrity | What we required is what was built and verified. | Percentage of Tier-1 changes whose functional and non-functional requirements trace to design elements and verification evidence at go-live (requirement → design → evidence). | KCI | % | Higher | 95 | 85 | 85 | SA | Change / Programme Boards | Quarterly | CI-02, CI-07 | Requirements repository; test management; architecture repository | SA-04, SA-13, EA-11 |
| ODM-08 | F3 | Design Authority decision cycle time | Governance gives fast, clear answers. | Median working days from a complete Design Authority submission to a recorded decision (approve, approve with conditions, reject), reported by tier. | KPI | days | Lower | 10 | 15 | 15 | EA | CTO / Delivery Leadership | Quarterly | CI-03, CI-04 | Design Authority decision log | EA-08, EA-10, SA-11 |
| ODM-09 | F3 | Dispensation health | Deviations are conscious, owned and time-bound. | Percentage of active architecture dispensations with a named owner, in-date expiry and a funded or scheduled remediation path; no dispensation past expiry without re-authorisation. | KRI | % | Higher | 95 | 85 | 85 | EA | Design Authority / CTO | Quarterly | CI-04, CI-11 | Dispensation (exception) register | EA-09 |
| ODM-10 | F4 | Technology currency | The estate runs on supported technology. | Percentage of Tier-1 service components (OS, middleware, database, runtime, platform) within vendor support, or covered by an approved and funded exit plan. | KRI | % | Higher | 95 | 85 | 85 | OA | CTO / Service Owners | Monthly | CI-09, CI-11 | CMDB; technology lifecycle register; vendor support data | EA-12, OA-08, OA-15 |
| ODM-11 | F4 | Technical debt exposure | Debt is bounded, visible and reducing. | Weighted index of open technical-debt items on critical services (severity × age), baselined at 100; no item older than 12 months without owner re-authorisation. | KRI | index | Lower | 100 | 130 | 130 | EA | CTO / Investment Board | Quarterly | CI-04, CI-11 | Technical debt register; dispensation register | EA-14, SA-16, OA-01 |
| ODM-12 | F4 | Rationalisation delivery | Simplification lands as savings. | Percentage of planned rationalisation actions (TIME Migrate/Eliminate retirements and consolidations) completed within one quarter of plan, with run-cost savings evidenced. | KPI | % | Higher | 80 | 65 | 65 | OA | CFO / CIO | Quarterly | CI-14, CI-17 | Application portfolio register; CMDB; finance / FinOps data | EA-13, SA-18, OA-09, OA-10, OA-13, OA-16, OA-17 |
| ODM-13 | F5 | Operational acceptance first-time pass | New services arrive ready to run. | Percentage of Tier-1 releases passing operational acceptance at first submission, without waivers, against the service acceptance criteria. | KCI | % | Higher | 85 | 70 | 70 | OA | Head of IT Operations / Service Owners | Quarterly | CI-07, CI-10 | Service transition records; operational readiness review outcomes | OA-02, OA-03, OA-06, OA-11, SA-14, SA-15 |
| ODM-14 | F5 | Resilience design verification | Recovery works on paper and in practice. | Percentage of critical services whose recovery architecture has been exercised within 12 months and met agreed RTO/RPO. | KCI | % | Higher | 95 | 85 | 85 | OA | Service Owners / Resilience Board | Quarterly | CI-13, CI-15 | BC/DR test records; service catalogue | OA-04, OA-05, OA-12, OA-18, SA-17 |
| ODM-15 | F6 | Early engagement rate | Teams come to architecture by default, before build. | Percentage of in-scope (Tier-1) initiatives with architecture engagement completed at Strategy or Planning - before Design gate entry. | KPI | % | Higher | 90 | 75 | 75 | SA | CIO / Delivery Leadership | Quarterly | CI-03, CI-16 | Delivery pipeline gates; engagement log | SA-01, SA-10, EA-17 |
| ODM-16 | F6 | Reuse & capability uplift | Routine good design becomes self-service. | Composite trend: number of accredited architecture practitioners in delivery teams and percentage of routine designs delivered via self-served patterns without Design Authority escalation. | KPI | trend | Higher | 10 | 5 | 5 | EA | CIO / HR (capability) | Annual | CI-16 | Training and accreditation records; pattern usage telemetry | EA-06, EA-18 |
| MP-01 | MP | Metric automation & data quality | The measurement system is trustworthy. | Percentage of ODMs generated automatically from operational data without manual adjustment; data-quality exceptions logged per cycle. | KCI | % | Higher | 80 | 60 | 60 | OA | Design Authority | Quarterly | - | Metrics pipeline; data-quality checks | EA-16, OA-14 |
| MP-02 | MP | Decision uptake | Metrics change decisions, not just slides. | Percentage of architecture governance decisions (Design Authority, investment gates) whose records cite ODM evidence. | KPI | % | Higher | 70 | 50 | 50 | EA | Design Authority | Quarterly | - | Governance minutes / decision log | EA-08, EA-16 |
Workbook source · ODM PLA Definitions
Negotiated commitments, trade-offs and investment implications.
One PLA per service family. The PLA is the negotiated contract: the consumer buys a stated performance level at a known cost; thresholds define when escalation and renegotiation occur. Cost deltas are placeholders for the negotiation.
| PLA ID | Service Family | Negotiating Parties | Performance Level Statement (negotiated) | ODMs in Scope | Threshold Logic | Appetite Linkage | Review Cadence | Cost Delta Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLA-F1 | Strategy, Roadmap & Investment Alignment | EA lead ↔ CIO / Investment Board, Portfolio Board | At least 90% of Tier-1 investment by value traces to a target-state capability or roadmap item at approval; 80% of roadmap milestones land within a quarter of plan; 90% of Tier-1 capabilities carry an assessment less than 12 months old. | ODM-01, 02, 03 | Green: all three ODMs at target. Amber: any one ODM in amber band for one quarter - remediation plan required. Red: any ODM in red band or two consecutive amber quarters - escalate to Investment Board. | Expresses appetite for strategically unaligned spend; the accepted 10% untraced allowance is a conscious trade-off for tactical and regulatory change. | Annual | Raising traced investment to 95% and refreshing capability assessments six-monthly requires additional business architecture capacity (est. +1 FTE) - priced for the consumer to accept or decline. |
| PLA-F2 | Design Quality, Standards & Reuse | EA lead ↔ CIO / CFO / Portfolio Board, Platform Owners | At least 80% of design defects are captured at or before the Design gate; architecture-attributable rework held below 3% of delivery spend; 85% of new deployments conform to approved patterns and baselines with drift detected inside 30 days. | ODM-04, 05, 06 | Green: all three ODMs at target. Amber: any one ODM in amber band - remediation plan required. Red: any ODM in red band or two consecutive amber quarters - escalate to Portfolio Board. | Aligned to appetite for delivery rework and configuration drift; the 20% design-escape allowance trades assurance depth against delivery velocity. | Annual | Raising defect capture to 90% requires embedded solutions architects on all Tier-1 work (est. +2 FTE); extending conformance scanning to Tier-2 adds tooling cost. |
| PLA-F3 | Governance, Traceability & Decision Assurance | EA lead ↔ CTO, Change / Programme Boards, Delivery Leadership | 95% of Tier-1 changes carry verified requirement-to-design-to-evidence traceability (including NFRs) at go-live; Design Authority decisions issued within a median of 10 working days; 95% of active dispensations owned, in date and on a remediation path. | ODM-07, 08, 09 | Green: all at target. Amber: traceability 85–95%, cycle time 10–15 days or dispensation health 85–95%. Red: any dispensation lapsed >90 days without re-authorisation, or cycle time >15 days for two quarters. | Expresses appetite for ungoverned deviation; the cycle-time bound protects delivery velocity as an explicit business value. | Annual | A 5-day median turnaround requires a standing weekly Design Authority and delegated Tier-3 decisions (est. +0.5 FTE secretariat and architect time). |
| PLA-F4 | Estate Health, Technical Debt & Lifecycle | EA lead ↔ CTO, CFO, Service Owners | 95% of Tier-1 components in support or on a funded exit plan; the technical debt index trends downward from baseline 100 with no item older than 12 months unre-authorised; 80% of rationalisation actions land within a quarter of plan with savings evidenced. | ODM-10, 11, 12 | Green: currency at target, debt index ≤ 100 and falling, rationalisation at target. Amber: currency 85–95%, debt index 100–130 or rationalisation 65–80%. Red: any Tier-1 component out of support without an exit plan, or debt index >130. | The debt index baseline and 12-month ceiling are the quantified expression of appetite for accumulated architectural and obsolescence risk. | Annual | Accelerating debt burn-down or technology refresh beyond plan is priced per remediation tranche in the technical debt and lifecycle roadmaps. |
| PLA-F5 | Operability, Resilience & Service Transition | OA lead ↔ Head of IT Operations, Service Owners, Resilience Board | 85% of Tier-1 releases pass operational acceptance first time without waivers; 95% of critical services have recovery architecture exercised within 12 months meeting RTO/RPO. | ODM-13, 14 | Green: both at target. Amber: first-time pass 70–85% or verification 85–95%. Red: any critical service unverified >18 months, or first-time pass <70%. | Maps to operational resilience appetite and, where applicable, NCSC CAF / NIS resilience outcomes. | Annual | Increasing exercise frequency to six-monthly for the top-10 services carries stated test and planned-downtime cost. |
| PLA-F6 | Engagement & Capability | EA lead ↔ CIO / Delivery Leadership, HR | 90% of Tier-1 initiatives engage architecture before the Design gate; accredited practitioner count and self-served pattern usage grow year on year. | ODM-15, 16 | Green: engagement at target, capability trend positive. Amber: engagement 75–90%. Red: engagement <75% - indicates the operating model, not the teams, needs attention. | Early engagement is the leading indicator for the whole framework; a red here predicts F2/F3 degradation within two quarters. | Annual | Uplift investment (training, accreditation, CoP time) is priced per cohort; declining it lowers the negotiable engagement target. |