Chapters 07–10

Humans and agents, under clear rules

Clear roles. Bounded autonomy. Human accountability.

07. Human + agent operating model

Humans Don't Disappear. Their Role Changes.

Traditional model

Humans execute the work.

Human
  1. 01Task
  2. 02Task
  3. 03Decision
  4. 04Task
  5. 05Outcome

Agentic model

Agents execute routine and coordinated work. Humans direct it.

Humans
  • Set goals
  • Exercise judgment
  • Handle exceptions
  • Provide oversight
  • Remain accountable
Agents
  1. 01Execute
  2. 02Monitor
  3. 03Coordinate
  4. 04Adapt

From human execution to human orchestration and oversight.

Different processes need different levels of autonomy

Select a level
Less autonomyGovernance required ↑More autonomy

Decision rights for every agent

Five decisions to settle before deployment.

QuestionOwnerRule
Who approves deployment?Business ownerName an owner; review risk.
Who monitors its behavior?Agent ownerTrack performance and incidents.
Who can intervene or stop it?Process ownerProvide a human override.
Who owns the handoff between teams?End-to-end process ownerOwn the complete flow.
Who is accountable for the outcome?Business unit leaderOwn the business outcome.

Final accountability stays singular and human.

Autonomy needs architecture.

08. Governed autonomy

More Autonomy Requires Better Governance

Give every agent an identity, boundaries and an accountable owner.

Agents across the enterprise

Service agentProcurement agentFinance agentPlanning agentResearch agent

Governance control layer

Identity & AccessPermissionsHuman OversightRisk ClassificationCompliance Controls

Enterprise systems, data and people

ERPCRMData platformKnowledge baseProcess owners
Low risk
Greater agent autonomy
Medium risk
Bounded autonomy with monitoring
High risk
Human approval before action
Critical decisions
Human decision, supported by AI
Exhibit 3 · Autonomy follows riskBar = agent autonomy
09. The shift

From AI Projects to AI Transformation

FromTo
Scattered AI pilotsStrategic AI programs
Individual use casesEnd-to-end business processes
Technology metricsBusiness outcomes
10. The enterprise foundation

Four Capabilities Make Agentic Transformation Scalable

People

  • AI literacy
  • Workforce redesign
  • Human-agent collaboration

Governance

  • Agent autonomy
  • Accountability
  • Risk classification

Technology

  • Agent orchestration
  • Enterprise integration
  • APIs

Data & Knowledge

  • Accessible enterprise data
  • Reusable data products
  • Data quality
Scalable agentic operating model
NextApproach & toolsFrom first step to scale