Operating model
The design connecting roles, processes, decisions, systems, controls, information, governance, and measures to operational outcomes.
Updated
An operating model is the documented design for how an organization turns responsibilities and resources into repeatable outcomes. In revenue-cycle operations, it connects capabilities, accountable roles, process boundaries, decision rights, systems of record, controls, evidence, service expectations, and performance review.
It sits between strategy and detailed procedures: strategy states what the organization intends to achieve, while procedures explain how a particular task is completed.
In practice
A usable operating model makes cross-team handoffs and exception ownership visible. Review it when responsibilities, vendors, systems, policy requirements, or governance structures materially change.
Commonly confused with
- Organizational chart: An organizational chart shows reporting lines; an operating model also defines processes, decisions, systems, controls, and handoffs.
- Procedure: A procedure gives task-level instructions; an operating model defines the arrangement in which procedures operate.