Ten-Second Coherence Test for P1 (Strategy) Ownership

Every enterprise design starts with intent. But most collapse because that intent has no owner.

You can test this in ten seconds.

The Test

Ask aloud in any design meeting: Who owns the P1 (Strategy) outcome by name?

If nobody answers within ten seconds, your architecture is already fragile.

Every system, rule, and metric below will drift — because no one guards the outcome that anchors them.

Why It Matters

In the ICMG Enterprise Anatomy™, P1 represents Strategy — the “why” behind every process, system, and operation.

When ownership is unclear at P1:

• P2 (Process) loses direction — workflows chase activity, not value.

• P3 (Systems/Logic) starts enforcing rules nobody validates.

• P4 (Components) evolve in isolation — APIs, tables, and screens multiply without purpose.

• P5 (Implementation) becomes a race to finish tickets, not realize intent.

• P6 (Operations) monitors what’s easy to measure, not what matters.

Every layer below inherits confusion.

What Ownership Looks Like

Ownership is not a committee. It’s one human name, tied to one measurable outcome, with a fixed review cadence.

Example:

Anita Verma owns “Reduce Onboarding Turnaround Time to 24 hours.” Review: Mondays 10:00 a.m.

This clarity converts ambition into system logic.

It ensures every downstream layer — process, rules, specs, and tasks — trace back to a single measurable anchor.

Rapid Hardening Checklist

Use this after every design session:

Layer	Checkpoint	Why It Matters
P1 – Strategy	Is there a named owner and metric?	Prevents drift.
P2 – Process	Are steps tied to that metric?	Aligns flow with value.
P3 – Systems/Logic	Are guardrail rules defined and enforced?	Stops silent regression.
P4 – Component Specs	Are critical APIs/fields tagged as P1-linked?	Prevents unintentional edits.
P5 – Implementation	Are tasks labeled by P1 impact?	Keeps developers aligned.
P6 – Operations	Does monitoring report the P1 metric first?	Ensures continuity of intent.

If even one box fails, the design is incoherent.

Common Failure Signals

Failure signal 1 - “Steering group” owns the outcome → no accountability.

Failure signal 2 - P1 stated as slogan (“Improve customer satisfaction”) → not measurable.

Failure signal 3 - P3 rules stored in policy documents → unenforced logic.

Failure signal 4 - P4 decisions justified by vendor constraints → strategy abandoned midstream.

Each signal shows the same disease: the enterprise lost its P1 owner.

Coherence Is a System Property

Coherence isn’t a mindset; it’s a trace.

If you can draw a straight line from a running dashboard metric (P6) to a named person (P1), your design is coherent.

If you can’t, no tool, framework, or consultant can fix it.

Diagnostic Prompt

At your next architecture review, pause for ten seconds and ask:

Who owns this P1(Strategy) outcome, by name?

Watch the room. If silence fills the space, you’ve found your first design flaw.

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