Definition
An Organization is an identifiable and governable Object that represents an independent participant within the operational ecosystem. An Organization is not a subdivision of another Object, not a Domain, not a legal or regulatory term, and not an organizational chart structure. It is an architectural Object, defined for the purpose of modeling participants that exist independently within the operational model — for example, an operating company, a partner, a supplier, a customer organization, or a regulator. An Organization participates in the operational model through the same governed Relationships available to any Object.
Purpose
This document defines Organization within the OCOM Specification.
An Organization represents an independent participant in the operational ecosystem — capable of owning, initiating, or participating in governed interactions with other Objects.
This specification establishes Organization as a first-class specialization of Object, enabling OCOM to model distinct organizational participants without introducing a new architectural layer.
Business meaning
Organizations enable OCOM to represent operational reality involving more than one independent participant — for example, agreements, data exchange, or collaboration between separate companies, partners, suppliers, or regulators.
Representing these participants as Objects allows such interactions to be modeled using existing Relationship and Contract mechanisms, without requiring a separate organizational layer within the architecture.
Design principles
An Organization shall:
- possess a stable identity
- exist independently of other Objects
- participate in the operational model only through governed Relationships
- remain at the same architectural level as other Object specializations
- remain technology independent
Core characteristics
An Organization shares the core characteristics defined for Object: Identity, Metadata, Classification, Relationships, Lifecycle, Ownership, and Governance.
This document does not define additional characteristics, Relationship Types, or Ownership rules specific to Organization. Where such rules are required, they are addressed through the OCOM governance process.
Relationship to other specifications
Organization interacts with:
Organization does not redefine Domain, which continues to represent what is governed rather than who performs the work.
Modeling of relationships between multiple Organizations is addressed separately by the OCOM governance process.
Architectural role
Organization is a specialization of Object, at the same architectural level as Entity, Domain, Workflow, Event, Policy, and Contract.
Organization is not a container for other Objects and does not sit above Domain, Entity, or any other Object specialization in the architecture. Object remains the sole architectural root of OCOM.
An Organization connects to other Objects exclusively through ordinary, governed Relationships. This specification does not define Organization-specific connection mechanisms.
Independence
The Organization specification does not prescribe:
- legal entity structures
- corporate registration systems
- organizational charts
- HR or workforce management systems
- implementation technologies
Adopters remain free to model organizational participants using any compatible approach.
Conformance
A compliant implementation shall:
- support Organization as a specialization of Object
- assign Organization a stable, independent identity
- connect Organization to other Objects only through governed Relationships
- preserve traceability
- remain technology independent
Provenance
Governance records: CAND-005
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 25 July 2026 | Initial draft, per ADR CAND-005 (Option C — Organization as a first-class specialization of Object) |