OPS.1:1 - Problem Frame

Operations work begins in the middle. Demand has arrived, commitments already exist, cases are open, resources are shared, records disagree, and service must continue while changes are considered. Familiar representations make that situation look simpler than it is. A board foregrounds Work items, an organization chart foregrounds positions, a process map foregrounds recurring order, and a product model foregrounds the engineered object.

Answering the operating question may require several of these representations. A useful starting boundary therefore comes from the continuing result and present decision, then identifies the actual operating System, commitments, subjects, and units needed to decide.