HOBA Pro vs Spreadsheets, PowerPoint and Consultants: How to Design Your Operating Model | HOBA

Three Ways Operating Models Get Designed Today

When an organisation needs a new operating model, it usually reaches for one of three things: a spreadsheet, a slide deck or a consultancy. Often all three.

Each has a place. Each also has a predictable way of failing. Here's an honest comparison, including where target operating model software fits.

Spreadsheets

Good for: lists, inventories and numbers. Capability lists, headcount, cost baselines.

Where they fail: spreadsheets hold data, not relationships. A capability in one tab doesn't know which process, team or system it depends on in another. Versions multiply by email, and nobody can say which one the board approved.

PowerPoint

Good for: telling the story to a board. A good deck makes a decision easy to take.

Where it fails: a deck is a picture of the model at one moment. The moment the design changes, every slide that depends on it is out of date, and someone has to rebuild them by hand. Over a long programme, the decks drift further from reality.

Consultants

Good for: capacity and outside perspective when you don't have either in-house.

Where it fails: the method, the models and the know-how leave when the consultants do. We've seen programmes where two global consultancies spent 18 months producing impressive documents without changing how the operation worked; the change came when the problem was approached differently, starting with eliminating the duplication. We've written more about why the old consulting model is under pressure.

Target Operating Model Software

Good for: holding one connected model, from strategy to roadmap, that the whole team works to.

Where it needs care: software doesn't replace judgement. It needs people who know the method, which is why HOBA Pro comes with training and certification, and why consultancies and partners use it to deliver the same way every time.

A Side-by-Side View

	Spreadsheets	PowerPoint	Consultants	HOBA Pro
One version of the design	No	No	While they're engaged	Yes
Traceability from strategy to roadmap	Manual	Manual	Depends on the firm	Built in
Board-ready outputs	Rebuilt by hand	Yes, by hand	Yes	Generated from the model
Capability stays in-house	Partly	Partly	No	Yes
Repeatable method	No	No	The firm's, not yours	HOBA's six steps

When Each Makes Sense

• Use spreadsheets for data that feeds the model, not as the model.
• Use PowerPoint for the final story, ideally generated from the model so it stays current.
• Use consultants for capacity, on the condition that the method and the model stay with you.
• Use TOM software when several teams need to work to one design over months or years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can HOBA Pro replace consultants?

It replaces the need to rent a method and a model. Many organisations still bring in partners for capacity; with HOBA Pro, the work they do stays in your model when they leave.

Can HOBA Pro produce PowerPoint?

Yes. Commercial licences generate PowerPoint and PDF documents directly from the model.

How much does HOBA Pro cost?

Team licences start from $15,000 per year for 10 named users. See HOBA Pro plans.

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