Enterprise architecture · Design and build the function
Enterprise Architecture Operating Model & Governance
An enterprise architecture operating model that drives decisions instead of paperwork: decision rights in writing, a design authority that delivery routes through rather than around, standards teams use because they help, and value the board can read. Diagnosed first, designed to fit, and proven on live decisions before it is handed over.
The engagements at a glance
Definition
What is an enterprise architecture operating model?
An enterprise architecture operating model is the working design of an EA function: who holds which architecture decision rights, the forums those decisions pass through, the standards and principles delivery teams follow, and how the function proves its value to the board. Enterprise architecture governance is what gives it teeth: a design authority with decision rights in writing, so projects route through it because that is faster than routing around it.
Intelance designs and builds enterprise architecture operating models for UK organisations in three engagements: a diagnostic from £18,000 + VAT in three to four weeks, a full build from £95,000 + VAT, and enterprise programmes at custom fixed fees, typically £300,000 and above. Every fee is agreed in writing before work starts.
Centralised, federated or hybrid is a design decision rather than a default. Our guide to EA operating models in 2026 sets out the trade offs, and the wider practice is described under enterprise architecture consulting.
Decision rights in writing
Who decides what, at which threshold, on one page everyone has signed.
A design authority that works
An architecture review board at delivery pace, with routes sized to risk.
Standards teams use
Architecture principles and patterns tied to live delivery instead of left on a shelf.
Value the board can read
A scorecard that says what the function saved, unblocked and prevented.
The failure modes
Six reasons enterprise architecture functions fail
Most EA functions do not fail for lack of frameworks. They fail on the same six design faults. The diagnostic looks for all six. The build engineers them out.
Unclear decision rights
Nobody can say who approves a solution design, so the loudest voice in the room decides, and every escalation lands on the CIO.
InsteadA decision rights matrix on one page, thresholds agreed and signed.Governance that blocks
The architecture review board meets monthly while delivery ships weekly, so projects book the board after the decision is already made.
InsteadA design authority at delivery pace, with fast routes for low risk changes.Standards nobody uses
Sixty page standards written in year one and ignored by year two, because following them is slower than ignoring them.
InsteadShort standards tied to working patterns, versioned and maintained.No link to the money
Architecture is absent from budget rounds and business cases, so the estate is shaped by whoever writes the spreadsheet.
InsteadArchitecture wired into investment gates and business case review.Artefacts nobody trusts
The repository was accurate the week it was built, and the function spends its life re-documenting instead of deciding.
InsteadA living systems register in your tools, with a named owner and a monthly rhythm.No proof of value
The function cannot say what it saved or unblocked last quarter, so it is first in line at every cost review.
InsteadA value scorecard the board can read, reported quarterly.How it works
The route from diagnosis to handover
Operating models fail as documents and succeed as habits. The model is proven on live decisions before it is rolled out, then coached until it runs without us.
Diagnose
How architecture decisions get made today, mapped honestly: the real forums, the shadow routes, what is worth keeping, and where the six failure modes show up.
Design to fit
Decision rights, forums, standards, roles and the value scorecard designed around how your organisation works: centralised, federated or hybrid.
Prove on live decisions
The design authority runs on real gate decisions from your current portfolio. A forum that cannot survive a live programme decision is redesigned here.
Embed and coach
Your architects chair the forums with our coaching. Templates, patterns and the operating rhythm bed in across the portfolio.
Mature and hand over
The value scorecard reports to the board, maturity is baselined with a twelve month path, and the function runs without us. That is the test of the build.
Every build ends with an EA maturity model baseline and a twelve month development path, so the function keeps improving after we leave. If you would rather have it run for you, the Virtual EA Department operates the model you have just built.
Published fees
Three engagements priced before work starts
Start with the diagnostic. It stands alone by design, prices the build, and either engagement can stop there.
EA Operating Model Diagnostic
Three to four weeks against the six failure modes: what exists, what is failing and why, what is worth keeping, and a costed design for the fix. Standalone by design. You can take the findings and build internally.Best whenThe function is new, failing or about to be rebuilt, and you want the evidence before the investment. FeeFrom £18,000 + VATThree to four weeks
EA Operating Model Build
The full function: decision rights, design authority, architecture principles and standards, roles, operating rhythm and value scorecard. Designed to fit, proven on live decisions, coached into your team.Best whenThe diagnostic is done and the organisation wants a working function rather than a document set. FeeFrom £95,000 + VATScoped from the diagnostic
Enterprise programme
Multi division and federated estates: group level design authorities, divisional models that interlock, and standards that hold across operating companies without central bottlenecks.Best whenSeveral operating units need one coherent governance model. FeeCustom fixed feeTypically £300,000+
The alternatives
Your options side by side
Three ways organisations try to fix an EA function. The difference is what still exists a year later.
A transformation programme with a proprietary layer model and a bench of analysts, often seven figures
A slide pack and a target state. The forums rarely survive the consultants leaving
Twelve to eighteen months, with value reported at the end
Organisations buying an enterprise wide transformation with EA as one workstream
Your architects redesign their own function between day jobs
Old habits: the loudest voice still decides and the standards stay on the shelf
Indefinite, because it is nobody’s first job
A strong senior in house team with genuine headroom
A senior partner led design against the six failure modes, from £18,000 + VAT to diagnose
Decision rights in writing, a design authority at delivery pace, standards tied to live patterns
Diagnosed in three to four weeks, proven on live decisions during the build
Organisations that need a working EA function they own
Scope
What this includes and what it does not
You get
A decision rights matrix signed at the right level, with thresholds and escalation routes.
A design authority with terms of reference, membership, cadence and a working decision log.
Architecture principles and standards tied to live patterns, short enough to be used.
An operating rhythm: forums, inputs and outputs mapped to your delivery calendar.
A value scorecard and EA maturity model baseline, reporting to the board quarterly.
This is not
A document set. The model is proven on live decisions during the build, or redesigned until it is.
TOGAF doctrine. We are a TOGAF licensed organisation. The framework is used where it helps, never as a template to fill in.
A permanent dependency. Your team chairs the forums before we leave, and the handover is the point.
Governance theatre. If a forum does not speed a decision up or de risk it, it is cut from the design.
Related services
Where this sits in the sequence
The operating model usually follows evidence and precedes the running of the function. Four common routes in and out.
Why Intelance
The commitments we put in writing
Proven on live decisions
No operating model leaves the pilot until it has survived real gate decisions from your portfolio. Documents are the record. The working function is the deliverable.
Designed to fit your organisation
Centralised, federated or hybrid follows your estate and how your organisation decides rather than our template. The diagnostic decides, and you see the evidence.
Published fixed fees
The diagnostic from £18,000 + VAT and builds from £95,000 + VAT, agreed in writing before work starts. No day rate drift.
Independent of vendors
We sell no software and take no vendor commission, so the standards and the register serve your estate rather than a licence agenda.
Built to hand over
Your architects chair the forums before we leave, the maturity path is set for twelve months, and the Virtual EA Department exists only if you want the running done for you.
Who you will work with
Every operating model engagement is led by a senior partner. Nothing is offshored and nothing is handed to a junior bench.
Case studies
All case studiesReady to talk?
Tell us how decisions get made today
Thirty minutes with a senior architect on how architecture decisions happen in your organisation, and what a diagnostic would examine first. If the function has failed before, say so: finding out why is the first deliverable.
FAQs
Questions about the operating model work
How much does an enterprise architecture operating model cost?
With Intelance, the EA Operating Model Diagnostic is from £18,000 + VAT and runs three to four weeks. The full build is from £95,000 + VAT, scoped from the diagnostic. Enterprise programmes across multiple divisions are custom fixed fees, typically £300,000 and above. Every fee is agreed in writing before work starts.
How long does it take to build an EA operating model?
The diagnostic takes three to four weeks. A full build typically runs from four months through design, live pilot and coached handover. Larger and federated estates take longer. The working rule is that the model is proven on live decisions before rollout, however long that takes.
What is enterprise architecture governance?
The decision making layer of the operating model: decision rights in writing, a design authority with terms of reference and escalation thresholds, and standards with a clear route to waiver. A good EA governance framework is measured by decision speed as well as control, because if the governed route is slower than the workaround, the workaround wins.
What is the difference between a design authority and an architecture review board?
In most organisations the terms overlap. We use design authority for the standing forum with delegated decision rights that meets at delivery pace, and architecture review board for the senior escalation tier that handles exceptions and strategic calls. The diagnostic maps which your organisation needs. Many mid market estates only need the first.
Should our EA operating model be centralised, federated or hybrid?
It depends on how your organisation makes money and decisions. A single portfolio under one P&L usually suits a centralised model. Multiple operating companies suit a federated model with a small group core. Most UK mid market organisations land on a hybrid. Our 2026 guide sets out the trade offs, and the diagnostic gives you an evidence based answer for your estate.
Do you use TOGAF?
Intelance is a TOGAF licensed organisation and the lead architects are TOGAF certified. The framework is used where it helps, mostly vocabulary and method, and never as doctrine: the operating model is designed around your decisions rather than a framework diagram.
Our EA function has failed before. Why would this time be different?
Because the failure is diagnosed before anything is designed. Most failed functions share the same six faults: unclear decision rights, governance that blocks, standards nobody uses, no link to investment, artefacts nobody trusts and no proof of value. The build engineers each one out, and the model is proven on live decisions before it is rolled out.
How is this different from a target operating model programme?
A target operating model programme redesigns a whole business function. This engagement designs the enterprise architecture function itself and the governance it runs: weeks and months rather than years, from £18,000 + VAT to diagnose, and delivered against live decisions rather than a future state pack.
What happens after handover?
Your team runs the model. They have chaired the forums since the pilot. You keep an EA maturity model baseline and a twelve month development path. If you would rather have the standing work operated for you, the Virtual EA Department runs it monthly from £6,500 + VAT.