### 7.1.4 Operational Model The Operational Model describes the ‘operational’ aspect of an IT system’s architecture, focusing on the **system’s infrastructure, both from a logical and physical perspective**. It describes the required operational characteristics and the architecture’s network of **computer systems, associated peripherals, software, middleware, and application software** used to support the system’s users. The **operational distribution**, which may be grouped into deployment units of a system's components, should be defined. Nodes, the placement of nodes and users across locations, and the connections between nodes necessary to support the required interactions between components should also be detailed to achieve the system's functional and non-functional requirements. For IT projects **hosted in a third party’s Data Centre**, the Operational Model is a key input since it will be extremely important for the system’s proper support and maintenance. | Key Participants | Description | |:------------------------- |:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Team Coordinator (TeCo) | Supports by facilitating the process of obtaining any need of information from the Managing Layer. | | Agile Team Member (ATeM) | Supports and actively contributes to the definition of the Operational Model. | | Architecture Owner (ArOw) | Responsible for preparing the Operational Model and for ensuring compliance with the organisation’s standards regarding the IT Architecture (Reference Architecture), hosting guidelines, etc. | | Product Owner (PrOw) | Is informed to have an overall understanding of the key architectural decisions and constraints, as also the IT system infrastructure, both from a logical and physical perspective. | | [[Project Manager (PM)]] | Accountable for the output of the Operational Model, the Project Manager understands and relays the key aspects of the needed <br> IT system infrastructure and establishes a communication channel with the hosting services. | **Guidelines** - **Understand the Problem to be solved** - Ensure the project context and the proposed solution are understood by checking the Business Case and the Project Charter. - **Keep updating the Operational Model** - As the project evolves and there is a better understanding of the solution, ==refine the Operational Model== to detail the required operational characteristics of the IT system. It should describe, at an architectural level, the network of computer systems and associated peripherals, together with the systems software, middleware, and application software required to support the users of the system, both from a logical and physical perspective. - **Make use of different models** – Because the IT infrastructure can be seen from different perspectives, PM2-Agile suggests using several UML models (such as Deployment diagrams). - **Take into account compliance concerns** – Similar to the Architecture Overview, organisation standards and policies can impact the solution’s infrastructure design. Ensure that compliance concerns are addressed in the information system’s architecture, such as security, document management, data protection, etc. - **Manage the feasibility of the Operational Model** - Manage the system’s operational complexity and ensure that it is viable, both at the development and operational stage. This is why keeping alignment between the Architecture Overview and the Operational Model is such an important activity. - **Everyone is involved** - Ensure the involvement of the whole Agile Project Core Team (A-PCT) and the broader project ==stakeholder community is informed of crucial operational decisions== that may impact the solution. ![[7.1.4 Operational Model — Inputs and main roles - 1.png]] ![[7.1.4 Operational Model — Inputs and main roles - 2.png]]