Triggers
Triggers initiate the Strategic Response Model by identifying external or internal events that necessitate a strategic change. These are then elaborated through Rationales and linked to responsive changes across domains. See: Strategic Response Model
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.
A Trigger is not a standalone structural element of an organisation but an external or internal event, condition, or hypothesis that causes the organisation to:
Mobilise capabilities,
Evaluate policies,
Adjust strategies,
Initiate new initiatives,
Coordinate across services and information flows.
In the Orthogramic Metamodel:
Trigger is a supporting artifact, not a domain.
It is only relevant in the context of a
strategicResponseModel.
Trigger catalogue
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.
Trigger Category | Example Triggers |
Regulatory or compliance | New legislation, compliance audit mandate, data sovereignty changes |
Technological change | AI rollout, cybersecurity breach, platform deprecation |
Environmental & safety | Natural disaster preparedness, climate risk disclosures, workplace injury reform |
Operational transformation | Business process outsourcing, shared services implementation, lean redesign |
Strategic re-alignment | Mergers and acquisitions, board-level strategic pivot, budget realignment |
Customer & stakeholder | Community expectations shift, digital service demand surge, key account loss |
Workforce & skills | Critical skill shortage, union action, remote work policy adoption |
Performance response | KPI threshold breach, repeated incident occurrence, audit fail |
Political or social | Public inquiry, ministerial intervention, social licence erosion |
Innovation-led opportunity | Grant funding availability, pilot program success, ecosystem partnership offer |
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.
Definition of trigger as a new open entity
Triggers are defined as a new open entity within the Orthogramic Metamodel, enabling them to be referenced independently and reused across strategic responses. Each trigger includes a unique identifier, category, description, and links to strategic responses in which it plays a role.
Attribute | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| UUID | Unique ID |
| Text | Short name (e.g. “Cybersecurity Incident”) |
| Enum | From defined set (e.g. Technological, Regulatory, etc.) |
| Text | Explanation of why this trigger matters |
| List of | Optional reverse reference |
Trigger JSON Schema
{ "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema", "$id": "https://orthogramic.org/schema/trigger.json", "title": "trigger", "type": "object", "required": ["triggerID", "label", "category"], "properties": { "triggerID": { "type": "string", "format": "uuid", "description": "Unique identifier for the trigger" }, "label": { "type": "string", "description": "Short, human-readable name of the trigger" }, "category": { "type": "string", "enum": [ "Regulatory or compliance", "Technological change", "Environmental & safety", "Operational transformation", "Strategic re-alignment", "Customer & stakeholder", "Workforce & skills", "Performance response", "Political or social", "Innovation-led opportunity" ], "description": "Classification of trigger context" }, "description": { "type": "string", "description": "Expanded explanation of the trigger’s relevance" }, "examplestrategicResponseModels": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string", "format": "uuid" }, "description": "Optional references to related strategicResponseModel artefacts" } }}