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Operating Model

What is Operating Model?

A description of how an organization delivers value through the arrangement of its people, processes, technology, and governance structures.

Governance

Each of these is named in at least one of the same controls as operating model. The number is how many controls name both.

What the standards actually require on operating model

Requirements naming operating model across 6 standards, quoted from the control text.

COBIT 20194 controls

The IT capabilities are placed within the enterprise's organisational structure so that their position mirrors how strategically important IT is and how much operations depend on it, which includes the line the CIO reports to and how IT is represented in the b...

cobit-2019::APO01.06 · APO01.06 Optimize the placement of the IT function →

Design the operating model (centralized, decentralized, hybrid, federated) and the bodies and roles that make decisions and resolve issues: steering committee, council, office, stewards, with their decision rights and escalation paths.

dama-dmbok2-data-management-body-of-knowledge-2nd-edition::DG.2.6 · DG.2.6 Define the data governance operating framework →
ISO 30414:20252 controls

Guidance that, set against the organization's strategy and values, its operating model and its leadership, the HCRD process weighs seven elements: the guiding principles in 4.2; who the stakeholders are, internal and external kept apart (4.3);

iso-30414-2025::4.1 · General: the HCRD guidelines to consider →
ITIL 42 controls

The first dimension: the organization's structure, roles, responsibilities, lines of authority and communication systems are set out and support its strategy and operating model. It also needs a culture that supports the objectives;

itil-4::3.1 · 3.1 Organizations and people →

Recovery deals with the crisis's effects and the route back to normal, or adaptation to a new situation where the crisis has changed things for good.

iso-22361-2022::5.3.6 · Recovery →

Questions people ask about operating model

What is Operating Model?
A description of how an organization delivers value through the arrangement of its people, processes, technology, and governance structures.
Why is Operating Model important for compliance?
Operating Model is a key concept in Governance. Understanding operating model helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 1,016 frameworks with 316K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Operating Model?
Operating Model appears in the requirement text of COBIT 2019, DAMA-DMBOK2 - Data Management Body of Knowledge (2nd Edition), ISO 30414:2025, ITIL 4, ISO 22361:2022. Across these standards we have identified 12 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Operating Model?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how operating model applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 1,016 frameworks.

See how Operating Model applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 1,016 frameworks with 316K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.