---
name: workflow-venture-operating-loop
type: workflow
description: >-
  The standing cycle an operator drives its vertical through — read goal and
  KPIs, assess, decide, dispatch to the functional fleet via Relay, gate at the
  mandate edge with the Owner, execute, report, repeat. The operator-tier
  equivalent of the delivery loop: the delivery loop is what the fleet runs, the
  operating loop is what drives the fleet toward a vertical's outcome. Read to
  see the operator path at a glance, or to render the Layer 4 Workflows layer on
  the agents site.
---

# Venture operating loop

The Layer 4 workflow for the operator tier (`core-operating-model`, Layer 3). Where the delivery loop moves a single build ticket from Backlog to Done, the operating loop moves a *vertical* toward its mandate outcome, cycle after cycle. It is venture-agnostic: an operator instance (`operator-bara` first) supplies the vertical, its mandate, and its goal/KPI sources; the executable inner behaviour is `skill-operating-loop`, run on a cadence by a thin `task-*` loader (`task-bara-operator-loop`).

## The path

Three tiers act in the loop. The **Owner** sets the mandate and gates the hard anchors. The **operator** owns the vertical and runs the cycle autonomously within that mandate. The **functional fleet** (Forge, Prism, Reach, Pixel, Sonar, dispatched through Relay) executes. Cross-vertical contention for the shared fleet is arbitrated by **Atlas** for the Owner.

```mermaid
flowchart TD
  A[Read goal + KPIs<br/>vertical strategy, analytics] --> B[Assess vs targets]
  B --> C[Decide next best actions<br/>refresh strategy via Atlas if it has shifted]
  C --> D[Dispatch via Relay<br/>route to the right functional agent]
  D --> E{Mandate edge?<br/>strategic pivot / budget-envelope breach / goal-set change}
  E -- yes --> F[Escalate to the Owner<br/>with a recommendation; hold until ruled]
  E -- no --> G[Proceed autonomously<br/>fleet executes; unflagged ready work promoted]
  F --> G
  G --> H[Report status<br/>progress vs proof points; surface upcoming plans for light Owner review]
  H --> A
```

## The gate, one tier up

The loop reuses the delivery loop's selective gating at the operator tier. Unflagged work proceeds autonomously — the operator is the gate within its vertical. Only the three hard anchors reach the Owner: a **strategic pivot** (a change to positioning or strategy, not a tactic), a **budget-envelope breach** (spend beyond the agreed figure), and a change to the **goal set**. Each is escalated with a recommendation, never actioned unilaterally. Tactical choices — which campaign, which acquisition channel, how to sequence — sit entirely inside the operator's autonomy. The operator does not approve its own merges: Prism's review gate and the delivery-loop merge gate still stand beneath.

## Composition

* **Behaviour:** `skill-operating-loop` (L1) — the inner cycle.
* **Deployment:** `task-bara-operator-loop` (L2) — the weekly thin loader for BARA; further verticals gain their own loaders as the role rolls out.
* **Roles:** the operator (`operator-bara`), the Owner (Aled), the functional fleet via Relay, Atlas for cross-operator arbitration.
* **Relation to the delivery loop:** the operating loop *drives* the delivery loop — it decides what work exists and dispatches it; the delivery loop *runs* that work from Backlog to Done.