Business Architecture Review
Find out why the same business problem keeps coming back, and what to change first.
Depthics examines one business problem across the teams, processes and systems involved. You receive a written report explaining the likely causes, what remains unclear and what to address first. We then discuss the findings with you.
Briefly describe what is happening. Please do not include confidential documents.
The pattern may look familiar.
A recurring problem can survive local fixes when more than one part of the business affects the outcome. These situations are reasons to investigate, not conclusions to assume.
- 01
The same business problem returns after repeated local fixes.
- 02
Hiring more people has not reduced delivery delays.
- 03
Decisions still wait for the founder, even after responsibilities are delegated.
- 04
Finance, sales and operations have different explanations for the same problem.
- 05
Management reports arrive too late to support decisions.
- 06
Ownership or decision rights are unclear.
The Review checks what is happening before recommending a change.
What the Review answers
The investigation is built around the questions leadership needs answered before deciding what to change.
- 01
What is actually happening?
- 02
Why is it happening?
- 03
Which explanation is best supported by the available evidence?
- 04
What should leadership decide or change first, and how will it know whether that worked?
One problem can cross several parts of the business.
A problem that starts in one team can be affected by decisions, responsibilities, information, workflows, money, technology, governance, people, risk and dependencies elsewhere. The Review follows only the parts that may change the answer.
A report is useful only when it connects the parts of the business that affect the decision. For example, a pricing decision may depend on operational information, a reporting handoff and the approval process that controls when the figures arrive. The Review follows those connections only when they may change the answer.
Who performs the Review
Depthics is a founder-led practice.
Every current Business Architecture Review is led by Henry Steinberg.
How the Review works
The Review starts with the question you need answered, checks what is happening and recommends what to address first. What remains unclear stays visible.
How the review reaches its findings
- 01Start with the business question
- 02Check the relevant information
- 03Consider other possible causes
- 04Recommend what to address first
- 05Check whether a change helped
Management needs the monthly figures before making a pricing decision. The report arrives too late. In this example, the written process and actual approval route assign responsibility differently. That suggests the handoff may be contributing to the delay, but staffing and software issues have not yet been ruled out. The first recommendation is to clarify responsibility and track where the next reporting cycle is delayed. Further changes should depend on what that check reveals.
See the steps behind this example
What happened
The monthly management report arrived after the pricing decision it was meant to support.
What we checked
Dated documentary evidence, an observed process walkthrough and corroborated accounts show the timing and handoffs.
What did not match
The written process names one owner, while the actual approval path uses another.
Other possible causes
The delay may be caused by staffing capacity or by the reporting software.
What the evidence suggests
Unclear decision rights at the finance and operations handoff may be delaying the report.
How certain
Moderate.
What remains unclear
The review covers one reporting cycle and does not include a complete transaction-level sample.
What to address first
Clarify responsibility and track where the next reporting cycle is delayed. Consider a software change only if further investigation shows that the system is contributing to the delay.
How to check whether it helped
The next report arrives inside the decision window with fewer handoff exceptions.
A person reviews the information, checks the findings and makes the final decisions about conclusions and recommendations.
Read the full methodWhat you receive
You receive one written Review of the agreed business problem, with the information behind the findings, what remains unclear and recommended next steps.
What you receive
The central outcome is a written explanation of the likely causes, the important uncertainties and what to address first.
Included in the written report
- 01A short decision brief for leadership.
- 02The question, information covered, assumptions, limitations and unanswered questions.
- 03A map of the teams, processes, decisions and systems involved.
- 04Findings, likely causes and other possible explanations.
- 05Connections across the business that may affect the decision.
- 06Recommended next steps and how to check whether a change helped.
- 07The written Business Architecture Review and a discussion of the findings.
Is this the right time for a Review?
Good fit
- 01One business question, recurring problem, transition or decision.
- 02A decision-maker can act on the findings.
- 03Relevant materials and people can be made available.
- 04Willingness to check the current explanation against the available information.
- 05The decision value justifies an independent review.
Not a fit
- 01A predetermined conclusion requiring confirmation.
- 02Hands-on implementation or outsourced management.
- 03No relevant evidence or stakeholder access.
- 04An active legal, fraud, employment or cybersecurity incident.
- 05A request for statutory, tax, legal or regulated advice.
- 06A whole-enterprise transformation request without a bounded question.
Review boundaries in detail
- 01Statutory audit, tax advice, legal advice or regulated investment advice.
- 02Fraud, employment or misconduct determination.
- 03Cybersecurity incident response or a complete technical security audit.
- 04Employee ranking, blame allocation or clinical judgement.
- 05Outsourced management or implementation ownership unless separately scoped.
- 06Guaranteed growth, savings, fundraising or implementation outcomes.
- 07Unlimited evidence review, stakeholder access, revisions or advisory availability.
- 08Whole-enterprise transformation without a bounded question.
Next step
Discuss the problem.
Tell us what is happening and what you have already tried. We will discuss whether a Review is suitable and agree the scope before substantive work begins.
Start with a short, non-confidential description. Evidence is requested only after fit, scope, and confidentiality are agreed.