# OPS02-BP02 - Processes and procedures have identified owners

Best practice: OPS02-BP02
Pillar: Operational Excellence
Source: https://wellarchitected.cloudvisor.eu/docs/operational-excellence/ops02-bp02.html

## Implementation Guidance

"Processes and procedures have identified owners" creates control points that keep operations aligned with business policy, risk, and compliance obligations. Treat ownership, exception handling, and review cadence as first-class operational mechanisms.

For the question "How do you structure your organization to support your business outcomes?", define measurable outcomes, assign owners, and review execution regularly. Integrate this practice into delivery and operations processes so improvements persist as workloads and requirements evolve.

### Key Steps

1. **Establish policy and control model**:
   - Define policies and standards that govern "Processes and procedures have identified owners"
   - Map control ownership and review cadence across teams
   - Set exception handling and approval workflows

2. **Implement controls in delivery and operations**:
   - Embed checks into deployment pipelines and operational processes
   - Use audit evidence and tracking to prove control effectiveness
   - Escalate policy violations through predefined response paths

3. **Review, audit, and improve**:
   - Measure compliance drift and operational outcomes regularly
   - Resolve control gaps with prioritized remediation actions
   - Update governance artifacts as architecture and risk change

## Risk / Impact

**Level of risk if not implemented**: High

**Impact**: If this best practice is missing, teams are more likely to experience preventable incidents, delayed recovery, and inconsistent change outcomes. Control gaps and weak visibility can increase customer impact during high-pressure events.

**Benefits of implementation**:
- Reduced operational risk through repeatable controls
- Faster detection and response during incidents
- Stronger auditability and decision traceability

## AWS Services to Consider

<div class="aws-service">
  <div class="aws-service-content">
    <h4>AWS Organizations</h4>
    <p>Applies governance controls across accounts so operational and architectural standards stay consistent.</p>
  </div>
</div>

<div class="aws-service">
  <div class="aws-service-content">
    <h4>AWS Control Tower</h4>
    <p>Automates multi-account setup with guardrails, making standardized operations easier at scale.</p>
  </div>
</div>

<div class="aws-service">
  <div class="aws-service-content">
    <h4>AWS Service Catalog</h4>
    <p>Publishes approved patterns so teams deploy compliant infrastructure consistently.</p>
  </div>
</div>

<div class="aws-service">
  <div class="aws-service-content">
    <h4>AWS Systems Manager</h4>
    <p>Provides automation, inventory, and operational runbooks for day-2 management.</p>
  </div>
</div>

## Related Resources

<div class="related-resources">
  <h2>Related Resources</h2>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/framework/ops-02.html">OPS02: How do you structure your organization to support your business outcomes?</a></li>
    <li><a href="https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/operational-excellence-pillar/welcome.html">AWS Well-Architected Framework - Operational Excellence Pillar</a></li>
    <li><a href="https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/operational-excellence-pillar/design-principles.html">Operational Excellence Design Principles</a></li>
  </ul>
</div>