A framework for change
TOM, TIM & TAM
Every organisation has to change to survive. TOM, TIM and TAM are a simple framework for knowing where you are going — and the glue that joins business strategy to delivery.
As Heraclitus put it, the only constant is change. Strategy frameworks tell you where you want to go; delivery frameworks such as Agile, Scrum or SAFe tell you how to build. The hard part is the gap between the two.
TOM, TIM and TAM bridge that gap. They describe a future vision from three different but related viewpoints — business, data and technology — giving everyone a shared, consistent picture of the destination. The framework is deliberately non-prescriptive: when it doesn't answer a question, the instruction is to stop, think, and adapt it to what you are actually trying to achieve.
The three models
Three viewpoints, one destination
The business — the "what"
Target Operating Model
The business model you are looking to deliver. It captures the high-level process flow, the people and teams, the location strategy, operating regulations, monitoring and reporting, and ultimately the owners, roles and responsibilities of the business process.
The data
Target Information Model
The data architecture that supports the operating model. It covers data governance — ownership, lineage and quality — alongside logical and physical data modelling, supply chain analytics, the valuable and actionable data products you create, and the regulations and oversight identified in the TOM such as GDPR and data residency.
The technology — the "how"
Target Architecture Model
The technical vision you are looking to deliver. It comes last in the hierarchy because it is the solution to the business and data requirements set by the TOM and TIM — covering decisions on cloud usage, redundancy, scalability and security, language and component choices, time to market, and the cost to support and to change.
How they fit together
A linear hierarchy
The models follow an order. The TOM defines the business intent; the TIM defines the data needed to support it; and the TAM, last, is the technical solution to both. Technology comes last on purpose — choosing a solution before you understand the problem is the most common and costly mistake.
There is no tight coupling to the frameworks on either side. Use any method you like to set strategy, and any approach you like to deliver — from PRINCE2 through to Scrum. TOM, TIM and TAM are the guiding light in between, revisited and revalidated as the work progresses.
Why it matters
Know where you are going
Vision over plan
No plan survives contact with the enemy. A clear destination lets you adapt the route without losing sight of the outcome.
Bridges the gap
It links strategy to data to technology to execution — the connective tissue most change programmes are missing.
Problem before solution
By working business, then data, then technology, you avoid buying a solution before you understand the problem.