Trigger Schema

Triggers are events, insights, or conditions that prompt an organizational response. They serve as the entry point to the Strategic Response Model, documenting what happened before defining why and how the organization responds.

Schema: trigger.schema.json
Shared definitions: common.schema.json
Specification: JSON Schema Draft-07

Overview

What is a Trigger?

A trigger is a documented occurrence that initiates the strategic response chain. Triggers can be:

• External — Regulatory changes, market shifts, competitor actions
• Internal — Performance threshold breaches, audit findings, strategic decisions
• Hybrid — Pressures that combine internal and external sources, such as stakeholder expectations reinforced by regulation

The origin attribute records which of these applies.

Trigger vs Strategic Intent

Trigger	Strategic Intent
Reactive — responds to an event	Proactive — pursues an opportunity
Event-driven	Vision-driven
"We must respond to this"	"We choose to pursue this"
Often external	Always internal

Both can initiate the SRM chain, but they represent different starting points. Strategic intents have their own schema, strategic-intent.schema.json; see the overview.

Trigger Categories

Triggers are classified into a standardized taxonomy for consistent analysis and reporting. The category is recorded in primaryCategory, which takes one of the values below, with an optional finer subCategory in free text.

Category Taxonomy (primaryCategory)

Value	Description	Examples
regulatoryCompliance	Legal, regulatory, or compliance-driven changes	New privacy law, audit finding, license requirement
technologicalChange	Technology shifts creating opportunity or risk	Cloud adoption, legacy sunset, API deprecation
environmentalSafety	Environmental, health, or safety considerations	Climate regulation, workplace safety incident
operationalTransformation	Process or operational efficiency drivers	Cost reduction mandate, automation opportunity
strategicRealignment	Shifts in organizational strategy	M&A activity, market exit, portfolio rationalization
customerStakeholder	Customer or stakeholder-driven changes	Customer feedback, partner requirement, investor pressure
workforceSkills	People, skills, or organizational capability gaps	Skills shortage, key person departure, culture change
performanceResponse	Performance threshold breaches	KPI failure, SLA breach, quality incident
politicalSocial	Political, social, or reputational factors	Social movement, political change, public perception
innovationOpportunity	Opportunities from innovation or research	R&D breakthrough, emerging technology, market opportunity
other	A trigger that fits none of the categories above; describe it in subCategory	—

Category Hierarchy

For advanced taxonomy management, categories can be organized into a hierarchy:

Trigger Attributes

Core Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
triggerID	String	✓	Unique identifier for the trigger
label	String	✓	Short, human-readable name of the trigger
description	String		Expanded explanation of the trigger's relevance
primaryCategory	Enum	✓	Primary classification of trigger context (see Category Taxonomy)
subCategory	String		More specific classification within the primary category
origin	String	✓	Whether the trigger originates from inside or outside the organisation, e.g. External, Internal, Hybrid
status	String		The current status in the lifecycle of the trigger (see Trigger Lifecycle)

Assessment and Detection Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
timeHorizon	Enum		The temporal nature of the trigger (shared time horizon list)
impactLevel	Enum		The potential significance of the trigger (shared four-point rating)
detectionMethod	String		How this trigger was detected (see Detection Methods)
evidenceStrength	Integer		Strength of evidence for this trigger, from 1 (weak) to 5 (strong)
detectionDate	Date		Date when the trigger was identified
validUntil	Date		Date when the trigger is no longer expected to be relevant
sourceReference	String		Reference to source document, report, or authority identifying the trigger
instrumentChange	Object		For a regulatory trigger, the new or amended instrument found and what changed (see Instrument Change)
detectedByDataFlowID	String		Data flow (monitored source) that detected the trigger

Linking Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
relatedTriggers	Array[String]		References to other related triggers
strategicResponseReferences	Array[String]		References to related Strategic Response Model artefacts
changeProposalIDs	Array[String]		Change proposals submitted through the governance interface in response to the trigger
affectedEntities	Array[Object]		Entities in any domain this trigger affects or relates to, by domain and ID (for example a market, budget, customer journey stage, risk control or channel)
supplyChainImpact	Object		Impact on supply chain operations
financialImpact	Object		Monetary impact of the trigger
riskImpact	Object		Impact on risk profile
innovationImpact	Object		Impact on innovation capabilities or projects
sustainabilityImpact	Object		Impact on sustainability efforts
peopleImpact	Object		Impact on workforce or culture
technologyImpact	Object		Impact on technology systems
channelImpact	Object		Impact on distribution channels

Affected Entity (affectedEntities)

affectedEntities replaces the per-domain ID fields earlier versions carried (marketID, budgetID, channelID and so on). Each entry is a shared entity reference naming a domain and the ID of a record in it, for example { "domainType": "market", "entityID": "MKT-ENTSW-001" }.

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
domainType	Enum	✓	The domain of the referenced entity (shared domain list, e.g. market, finance, customer, risk, channel)
entityID	String	✓	Identifier of the record within its domain, e.g. MKT-ENTSW-001
title	String		Name of the referenced entity, for readability

Instrument Change (instrumentChange)

When a monitored source publishes a new or amended instrument, the change is recorded as a Trigger with primaryCategory: regulatoryCompliance, and the obligations it affects are listed in affectedEntities. Commentary and news found along the way are recorded the same way with sourceRank 4 or 5: they are leads to an official source, never the basis of a change.

Attribute	Type	Description	Required
instrument	String	The instrument, e.g. CPS 230 or MAS Guidelines on AI Risk Management	✓
changeType	Enum	What happened to the instrument: newInstrument, amendment, commencement, consultation, guidance, supersession, repeal, withdrawal, correction	✓
jurisdiction	String	Jurisdiction of the instrument
externalOrgID	String	External Organization that issued it
sourceURL	String	Official source where the change was found
sourceRank	Integer	Precedence of the source the change was found in: 1 official text, 2 regulator publication, 3 standards body publication, 4 law firm or industry commentary, 5 news. Ranks 4 and 5 are leads to an official source, never the basis of a change
publishedDate	Date	Date the change was published
effectiveDate	Date	Date the change takes effect
summary	String	What changed, in source-describing language

Supply Chain Impact (supplyChainImpact)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
impactDescription	String		Description of supply chain impact
affectedProcesses	Array[String]		Supply chain processes affected
potentialLosses	String		Potential financial or operational impact
affectedCustomers	String		Impact on customer service

Financial Impact (financialImpact)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
impactAmount	Number		Estimated financial impact
impactType	String		Nature of financial impact
confidenceLevel	Enum		Confidence in financial impact estimate: low, medium, high
impactTimeframe	String		When financial impact is expected

Risk Impact (riskImpact)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
impactDescription	String		Description of risk impact
affectedRiskCategories	Array[String]		Categories of risk affected
potentialLoss	String		Potential financial impact if unaddressed
cascadingRisks	Array[String]		Additional risks that may result

Innovation Impact (innovationImpact)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
impactDescription	String		Description of innovation impact
affectedCapabilities	Array[String]		Innovation capabilities affected
opportunityWindow	String		Time window for competitive advantage
innovationPriorities	Array[String]		Innovation areas requiring focus

Sustainability Impact (sustainabilityImpact)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
impactDescription	String		Description of sustainability impact
affectedDimensions	Array[String]		Sustainability dimensions affected
stakeholderExpectations	String		Stakeholder expectations regarding sustainability
timelineImplications	String		Impact on sustainability timelines

People Impact (peopleImpact)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
impactDescription	String		Description of workforce impact
affectedRoles	Array[String]		Workforce roles affected
talentImplications	String		Implications for talent management
culturalDimensions	String		Impact on organizational culture

Technology Impact (technologyImpact)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
impactDescription	String		Description of technology impact
affectedSystems	Array[String]		Systems affected
technicalDebt	String		Implications for technical debt
architecturalImplications	String		Impact on technical architecture

Channel Impact (channelImpact)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
impactDescription	String		Description of channel impact
affectedChannelTypes	Array[String]		Channel types affected
potentialLosses	String		Potential channel capacity or revenue impact
affectedCustomerSegments	String		Customer segments affected by channel impact

Detection Methods

detectionMethod is free text. Typical methods include:

Detection Method	Description
Regulatory publication	Official regulatory announcement
Audit finding	Internal or external audit
Performance monitoring	KPI or metric threshold breach
Customer feedback	Voice of customer input
Market intelligence	Competitive or market analysis
Technology assessment	Technical evaluation or review
Strategic planning	Strategy development process
Incident report	Operational incident
Stakeholder request	Direct stakeholder communication
Innovation pipeline	R&D or innovation program

Time Horizon (timeHorizon)

Value	Response Timeframe	Example
immediate	Now to 3 months	Regulatory deadline, security breach
shortTerm	Up to 1 year	Compliance requirement, competitor threat
mediumTerm	2 to 3 years	Process improvement, capability gap
longTerm	4 to 5 years	Strategic opportunity, optimization
extended	Beyond 5 years	Demographic or climate shifts

Impact Level (impactLevel)

Value	Description	Example
low	Limited, localized significance	Process improvement in a single function
medium	Noticeable significance for one or more business units	Product-specific requirement
high	Major significance across divisions	Technology platform change
critical	Organization-wide or existential significance	Regulatory change affecting all operations

JSON Schema Definition

The full definition is trigger.schema.json. It requires triggerID, label, primaryCategory and origin, and rejects properties it does not define. timeHorizon, impactLevel, financialImpact.confidenceLevel and the affectedEntities entries use shared definitions from common.schema.json.

Examples

Regulatory Trigger

{
  "triggerID": "TRG-003",
  "label": "Privacy Act Amendment 2024",
  "description": "New privacy legislation requiring enhanced consent management and data subject rights processing within 12 months",
  "primaryCategory": "regulatoryCompliance",
  "subCategory": "Privacy legislation",
  "origin": "External",
  "timeHorizon": "shortTerm",
  "impactLevel": "critical",
  "status": "assessed",
  "detectionMethod": "Regulatory publication",
  "evidenceStrength": 5,
  "detectionDate": "2024-06-15",
  "sourceReference": "https://legislation.gov.au/privacy-act-2024",
  "strategicResponseReferences": [
    "srm-privacy-compliance-2024"
  ],
  "affectedEntities": [
    {
      "domainType": "policy",
      "entityID": "POL-007",
      "title": "Data Retention Policy"
    },
    {
      "domainType": "information",
      "entityID": "INF-012",
      "title": "Customer Consent Records"
    }
  ]
}

Technology Trigger

{
  "triggerID": "TRG-004",
  "label": "Legacy Platform End-of-Life",
  "description": "Core banking platform vendor announced end-of-support effective December 2025",
  "primaryCategory": "technologicalChange",
  "origin": "External",
  "timeHorizon": "shortTerm",
  "impactLevel": "critical",
  "status": "responded",
  "detectionMethod": "Technology assessment",
  "detectionDate": "2024-03-01",
  "validUntil": "2025-12-31",
  "sourceReference": "Vendor communication, 1 March 2024",
  "strategicResponseReferences": [
    "srm-core-banking-modernization"
  ],
  "affectedEntities": [
    {
      "domainType": "technology",
      "entityID": "TECH-CBS-001",
      "title": "Core Banking Platform"
    }
  ],
  "technologyImpact": {
    "impactDescription": "Core banking platform loses vendor support and security patches",
    "affectedSystems": [
      "Core banking platform",
      "Payments gateway"
    ],
    "technicalDebt": "Accumulated customisations must be retired or re-implemented",
    "architecturalImplications": "Migration to a modular core with API integration"
  }
}

Performance Trigger

{
  "triggerID": "TRG-005",
  "label": "Customer Satisfaction Below Threshold",
  "description": "NPS score dropped below 40 for three consecutive months, triggering mandatory improvement initiative",
  "primaryCategory": "performanceResponse",
  "origin": "Internal",
  "timeHorizon": "immediate",
  "impactLevel": "high",
  "status": "responded",
  "detectionMethod": "Performance monitoring",
  "evidenceStrength": 4,
  "detectionDate": "2024-09-30",
  "sourceReference": "Performance dashboard NPS alert, Q3 2024",
  "strategicResponseReferences": [
    "srm-cx-improvement-program"
  ],
  "affectedEntities": [
    {
      "domainType": "performance",
      "entityID": "PERF-001",
      "title": "Customer Satisfaction Score"
    },
    {
      "domainType": "customer",
      "entityID": "CUST-001",
      "title": "Affluent Professionals"
    }
  ]
}

Innovation Trigger

{
  "triggerID": "TRG-006",
  "label": "Generative AI Capability Maturity",
  "description": "Enterprise-ready generative AI tools now available, enabling automation of customer service and content generation",
  "primaryCategory": "innovationOpportunity",
  "origin": "External",
  "timeHorizon": "mediumTerm",
  "impactLevel": "high",
  "status": "assessed",
  "detectionMethod": "Innovation pipeline",
  "detectionDate": "2024-01-15",
  "strategicResponseReferences": [
    "srm-ai-enablement-2024"
  ],
  "innovationImpact": {
    "impactDescription": "Opportunity to automate first-line customer service and content generation",
    "affectedCapabilities": [
      "Customer service",
      "Content management"
    ],
    "opportunityWindow": "12 to 18 months before competitors catch up",
    "innovationPriorities": [
      "Conversational AI",
      "Knowledge retrieval"
    ]
  }
}

Trigger Lifecycle

status is free text. A typical lifecycle is:

Status	Description
identified	Trigger has been detected but not yet analyzed
assessed	Impact analysis complete, ready for response
responded	Strategic response defined and initiated
monitoring	Response in progress, being tracked
closed	Response complete, objectives achieved

Usage Guidelines

Creating Effective Triggers

1. Be specific — "Privacy Act Amendment 2024" not "New regulation"
2. Document the source — Include reference to original source material in sourceReference
3. Assess impact accurately — Avoid marking everything as critical
4. Record affected entities — List the specific records affected in affectedEntities
5. Link related triggers — Some events create multiple triggers; use relatedTriggers

Trigger Catalog Management

Maintain a centralized trigger catalog to:

• Ensure consistent categorization
• Enable trend analysis across triggers
• Support audit and compliance reporting
• Facilitate reuse of response patterns

Avoiding Common Mistakes

Mistake	Problem	Solution
Vague labels	"Market change" doesn't help	Be specific about what changed
Missing dates	Can't track response timeliness	Always record detectionDate
No source reference	Can't verify or audit	Link to original documentation
Wrong category	Affects analysis and reporting	Use category definitions carefully

For Data Engineers

Triggers map well to alert and event management systems. Consider integrating your data quality alerts, pipeline failures, and SLA breaches as triggers in the SRM to create full traceability from technical events to business responses.

Related Documentation

• Strategic Response Model Overview — Full SRM documentation
• Rationale Schema — How triggers connect to rationales
• Performance Indicators — Measuring response effectiveness
• Trigger and rationale walkthrough — Worked examples in the composite form