Target Operating Model

A target operating model, or TOM, describes the intended future state of key organisational features and the route towards implementation. It makes visible how the organisation is expected to deliver services, make decisions, and connect capabilities, people, processes, data and technology. A TOM is a contextual design choice, not a universal ideal model.

Use the term when a strategy or transformation requires concrete changes to structures, accountabilities, capabilities and ways of working, and a shared target state is needed.

The TOM is treated as a fixed end state before assumptions, dependencies and implementation risks have been tested. Without a roadmap, ownership and feedback, it remains a presentation.