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Triggers
Triggers initiate the Strategic Response Model by representing a change in context, observationidentifying changes, observations, or external condition that warrants attention. Each Trigger may lead to one or more Rationales, each providing a specific justification for change. Triggers ensure that organisational decisions are not made opportunities that warrant a strategic or operational response. Each trigger represents a catalyst—whether anticipated or unanticipated—that compels the organisation to act. See: Strategic Response Model
Triggers serve as the evidentiary foundation for change, ensuring that strategic initiatives and responses are not conceived in a vacuum, but are grounded in evidence or obligation. See: https://orthogramic.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/OM/pages/286228485
A trigger is defined as a catalyst event—internal or external—that compels an organisation to adapt. It is not a standalone structural element but a contextual stimulus that prompts changes to strategy, activates capabilities, or demands cross-functional coordination. Triggers may include legislative changes, customer demands, or performance breaches.
Trigger Taxonomy
Triggers in the Orthogramic Metamodel follow a standardized classification system that enables consistent categorization, improved searchability, and enhanced analytics. Each trigger is classified according to:
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real-world shifts, obligations, or forward-looking insights.
Expanded use: proactive strategic initiatives
Tiggers are not only focused on reactive responses to external or internal conditions—such as regulatory changes, stakeholder demands, or performance shortfalls. However, the Orthogramic Metamodel also supports proactive triggers that signal intentional strategic opportunities rather than external pressures.
These proactive triggers may arise from deliberate internal planning, capability reviews, or innovation roadmaps, and are used to initiate responses even in the absence of external drivers. This positions the trigger taxonomy as a tool for both risk response and opportunity-led transformation.
Examples include:
Identifying a market expansion initiative in response to positive trend analysis
Launching a strategic repositioning program based on foresight and scenario modelling
Enhancing core capabilities to support long-term digital transformation objectives
By supporting anticipatory time horizons and strategic planning origins, the model enables the capture and classification of future-oriented thinking and long-range planning decisions.
Trigger taxonomy
Orthogramic triggers follow a structured taxonomy to ensure clarity, governance, and analytics across strategic responses.
Each trigger includes:
Primary category – broad context for the trigger (e.g. , Regulatory compliance, Technological, Strategic opportunity)
Subcategory: A more – specific classification focus within the primary category
Origin: Whether the trigger is internal or external to the organization
Time Horizon: The temporal nature category (e.g. Innovation initiative, Market expansion)
Origin – where the trigger comes from (Internal, External, Strategic planning, Hybrid)
Time horizon – the timeframe of the trigger (immediateImmediate, short- Short term, long- Long term, Anticipatory)
Impact Level: The potential significance of the trigger (low, medium, high, critical)
This taxonomy provides a framework for organizing triggers consistently, allowing organizations to:
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Track patterns in strategic responses across similar trigger types
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Analyze the distribution of triggers by source, timeframe, and impact
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Identify which categories of triggers most frequently drive strategic changes
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level – estimated organisational significance
This classification enables:
Proactive identification of high-value opportunities
Consistent linkage to rationales and strategic responses
Improved transparency across strategic planning cycles
Enhanced auditability and traceability of decisions
Example
Trigger | Strategic Opportunity – Capability Enhancement |
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Description | Business planning process identifies need for workforce upskilling in AI analytics |
Origin | Strategic planning |
Time horizon | Anticipatory |
Impact level | High |
Linked rationale | To prepare the organisation for competitive positioning in data-driven decision making |
The standardized taxonomy also supports governance and auditability by ensuring that triggers are documented according to consistent criteria, making it easier to trace decision-making patterns over time.
Trigger Catalogue
Triggers are classified using the Trigger Catalogue, which defines accepted types of triggers.
The trigger catalogue provides a curated and expanding set of predefined triggers that can be used to initiate strategic responses. Each trigger is tagged to relevant business architecture domains, enabling efficient strategic response planning and alignment across organisational activities.
Each strategic response triggered using this catalogue links back to relevant Orthogramic Metamodel domains—such as capabilities, services, initiatives, and stakeholders—to produce a dynamic view of organisational readiness and response.
Common Trigger Catalogue types include:
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Regulatory: New or updated legislation or compliance obligations.
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Performance Insight: Metrics indicating deviation from expected outcomes.
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Risk: Identified operational, financial, or strategic risks.
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Opportunity: Market, partnership, or innovation opportunities.
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Stakeholder Need: Explicit demand from a stakeholder or stakeholder group.
Linking to
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rationales
Triggers can lead to multiple Rationales. Each Rationale references the originating trigger and justifies a different response path. This many-to-one structure allows a single trigger to influence several domains. See: Rationale
Example
See https://orthogramic.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/OM/pages/291242002 for reference cases.
Trigger and rationale linkage examples
See: https://github.com/Orthogramic/Orthogramic_Metamodel/blob/main/examples/trigger-rationale-links.md
Trigger JSON Schema
See: https://github.com/Orthogramic/Orthogramic_Metamodel
Schema properties
Field | Type | Required | Description | Example |
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| string (uuid) | Yes | Unique identifier for the trigger |
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| string | Yes | Short, human-readable name of the trigger |
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| string | No | Expanded explanation of the trigger's relevance |
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| string (enum) | Yes | Primary classification of trigger context |
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subcategory
| string | No | More specific classification within the primary category |
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| string (enum) | Yes | Whether the trigger originates from inside or outside the |
organisation |
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| string (enum) | No | The temporal nature of the trigger |
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| string (enum) | No | The potential significance of the trigger |
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| string (enum) | No | The current status in the lifecycle of the trigger |
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| string (date) | No | Date when the trigger was identified |
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| string (date) | No | Expected end of relevance for this trigger |
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| string | No | Reference to source document |
or authority identifying the trigger |
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| array of |
uuid |
No | References to other related triggers |
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| array of |
uuid |
No | References to related |
strategicResponseModel artefacts["SRM-2025-001", "SRM-2025-002"]Strategic Response artefacts |
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This schema allows organizations to systematically capture and manage triggers that necessitate strategic responses, ensuring traceability and alignment across the enterprise architecture.
Enumeration Values
primaryCategory
"Regulatory_Compliance"- Changes in laws, regulations, or compliance requirements"Strategic_Opportunity"- Forward-looking opportunities to create value"Market_Shift"- Changes in customer preferences, competitive landscape, or market dynamics"Technological_Change"- Emergence of new technologies or technical disruptions"Risk_Management"- Response to identified risks or vulnerabilities"Performance_Issue"- Internal operational or business performance challenges"Stakeholder_Demand"- Requirements from stakeholders (customers, employees, shareholders)"Resource_Constraint"- Limitations in financial, human, or material resources"Capability_Enhancement"- Need to develop or improve organizational capabilities"Innovation_Initiative"- Internal drive for product, service, or process innovation
origin
"Internal"- Trigger originates from within the organization"External"- Trigger originates from outside the organization"Strategic_Planning"- Trigger arises from deliberate strategic planning processes"Hybrid"- Trigger has both internal and external components
timeHorizon
"Immediate"- Requires action within days or weeks"Short_Term"- Requires action within months"Medium_Term"- Requires action within 1-2 years"Long_Term"- Requires action over multiple years"Anticipatory"- Proactive planning for future conditions
impactLevel
"Low"- Limited impact on operations or strategy"Medium"- Moderate impact requiring significant adjustment"High"- Major impact requiring substantial response"Critical"- Existential impact requiring immediate, comprehensive response
status
"Identified"- Trigger has been recognized but response not yet planned"Analyzing"- Trigger is being assessed to determine appropriate response"Responding"- Organization is actively responding to the trigger"Monitoring"- Response has been implemented and effects are being tracked"Resolved"- Trigger has been fully addressed"Archived"- Trigger is no longer relevant but retained for reference"Ongoing"- Trigger represents a continuing condition requiring sustained response
This schema allows organizations to systematically capture and manage triggers that necessitate strategic responses, ensuring traceability and alignment across the enterprise architecture.
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