skills/org-design/references/operating-models-and-roles.md

# Operating models, roles, and transition

## Structural choices

| Structure | Can help when | Cost or condition to test |
|---|---|---|
| Functional | Expertise, standardization, and scale dominate | End-to-end customer accountability and cross-functional handoffs. |
| Product or business division | Distinct economics and end-to-end ownership matter | Duplication, shared infrastructure, scale of specialist functions. |
| Geographic | Local market and regulatory differences drive work | Consistency, duplicated capacity, coordination across regions. |
| Customer segment | Customer needs and service models differ materially | Overlapping customers, product coordination, account conflicts. |
| Matrix | Two dimensions need persistent influence over decisions | Explicit authority at conflicts, managerial capacity, performance incentives. |
| Network or agile teams | Work needs fluid multidisciplinary collaboration | Stable accountability, coordination, capability development, career paths. |
| Platform plus value streams | Shared infrastructure enables multiple offers | Platform prioritization, service commitments, bottleneck risk, funding. |

Centralization is a choice by activity and decision, not necessarily for an entire function. Consider scale economies, local knowledge, risk, responsiveness, and handoff cost. Define how shared services are funded, prioritized, measured, and escalated.

## Decision and role architecture

For each material decision, state who decides, who must agree under the actual authority, who contributes evidence, and who executes. Do not treat RACI and RAPID labels as interchangeable definitions; use the client's method consistently or plain-language roles. Escalation needs a deadline and a way to resolve competing objectives.

Define role purpose, outcomes, authority, interfaces, skills, and capacity. Distinguish individual contributor expertise from people management. Level roles by scope, complexity, autonomy, and impact using the organization's architecture rather than a generic percentage distribution of grades.

Set spans using the work's variability, supervision, coaching, coordination, location, automation, and manager workload. Benchmark ranges can be a question to investigate when sourced and comparable, not a target. Check the distribution and exceptions, including player-coach and specialist roles.

## Transition

Identify continuity-critical work and staff coverage before moving responsibilities. Map current to future roles, vacancies, duplicated mandates, selection requirements, consultation obligations, and training. Preserve the client's HR and legal processes where relevant; preparation of a design is not authorization for personnel actions.

Communicate the rationale, confirmed changes, unresolved decisions, selection process, timing, and support. Equip managers for the questions people will ask. Define interim authority during overlap so the old and new structures do not both claim ownership or leave a gap.

Test whether career paths, incentives, systems, and shared services support the new design. Monitor operating outcomes, workload, role clarity, and unintended effects. A design should be revisable when evidence changes, without assuming constant restructuring is itself a benefit.