Strategic response model

Introduction

The Strategic Response Model provides a formalised structure for capturing how an organisation responds to external triggers and internal performance insights. It links these drivers to organisational reasoning (rationales) and defines the actions taken across strategic, policy, capability, and initiative domains. By making these relationships explicit, the model supports traceability, alignment, and accountability across the business architecture.

Each strategic response includes references to the triggers that prompted the change and the rationales that explain the basis for the response. Responses are associated with affected domains and are monitored through linked performance indicators, which define what success looks like and how progress is measured. These indicators support ongoing evaluation by including target values, baseline comparisons, timeframes, and data sources, enabling continuous assessment of strategic effectiveness.

This model supports continuous strategic alignment by documenting why a change occurred, how it was rationalised, and what was impacted and by how much—across strategies, capabilities, initiatives, policy, and organisational units.

Components of the Strategic Response Model

The Strategic Response Model (SRM) links observed conditions—both external and internal—to formal responses across Strategy, Capabilities, Policy, Initiatives, and other domains. It is comprised of three core elements:

• Triggers: Events, insights, or conditions that prompt a response. See: https://orthogramic.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/OM/pages/290914315

• Rationales: The reasoned justification for responding to a trigger. See https://orthogramic.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/OM/pages/289996835

• Responses: The aligned changes or activities, captured in other business architecture domains.

• Performance Indicators: The quantifiable metrics used to evaluate the success, efficiency, or impact. See: https://orthogramic.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/OM/pages/293077166

This structured model enables traceable, auditable, and adaptive decision-making throughout the organisation.

Purpose

The SRM strengthens strategic governance by ensuring that:

• Business responses are traceable to defined triggers

• Rationales are explicitly captured and consistently structured

• Impact across domains and organisational units is recorded

• Organisational learning and auditability are enhanced

Structure

Each Strategic Response includes:

• A trigger: drawn from the shared trigger catalogue

• A rationale object: structured and detailed, replacing simple references

• One or more affected domains: such as policy, initiatives, or capabilities

• Impacted organisational units: using defined role types

• Response actions: steps taken or planned

• Expected outcomes: anticipated benefits or changes in performance

• A performance indicator measuring a response

Trigger catalogue

Responses reference a trigger selected from a standardised catalogue of events, trends, or insights. This ensures consistency in classifying causes of change and enables systemic analysis across responses.

Affected domains

Strategic responses typically impact one or more of the following domains:

• Strategy: adjustments to goals or strategic direction

• Capabilities: development, enhancement, or decommissioning

• Initiatives: programs or projects started or stopped

• Policy: introduction or amendment of rules and frameworks

• Performance: redefinition or reweighting of KPIs

• Information: changes to how data is used or governed

• Value Stream: refinements in end-to-end value delivery

Impacted organisational units

The impactedUnits array uses standardised relationship roles (as defined in the Inter-unit Domain Relationships model). See: https://orthogramic.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/OM/pages/285016368

Relationship with Rationales

Rationales play an important role in classifying and organising strategic responses. Ensure that the trigger catalogue—which lists common environmental or operational triggers prompting strategic responses—is up to date. Reference to the trigger catalogue within this page ensures that rationales are accurately categorised based on their initiating context, improving traceability from external or internal stimuli through to strategic objectives, initiatives, and performance metrics.

Strategic Response Model JSON Schema

See: https://github.com/Orthogramic/Orthogramic_Metamodel

Schema properties

This format ensures that the strategic response definition is:

• Declarative (not procedural or UI-specific),

• Traceable (everything points to reusable metamodel entities),

• Reusable (across tools, audits, planning activities).