An Operational Architecture (OA) facilitates the development of integrated capabilities. The OA is an overarching picture of an enterprise’s operational functions and the information exchanges required for task accomplishment. The OA is meant to be a living concept, which allows for new support operations, new functions, new technology, new data sources and datasets, and new alliances. It is conceived as a "plug-and-play" configuration where new enterprise functionalities are added to the existing system, and seamlessly integrated into the operator's activities and tasks.

One of the primary features and benefits of this "plug-and-play" configuration design is its interface with the user. It allows the decision-maker to visualize, in pictures and words, how the organization operates and how all the required tasks are performed. Another purpose of the OA is to provide the systems engineer with the information needed to define the system(s) to be developed without placing any technological restrictions on the system's design.

The OA provides different ways to examine the business of any organization or enterprise. For example, they can examine how weather data are incorporated into users’ operations, the datasets used and their sources, unmet needs for meteorological data, the decision making process with respect to weather information, special needs or circumstances, as well as processes for reengineering activities or for providing new technology and training. OAs reflect doctrinal and policy implications. They assist in the definition of the physical and system requirements that allow end users as well as potential end users of both commercial and public weather and climate products and services to accomplish any mission in an effective and efficient manner.

OAs form the basis for the move toward a monitor–process–assess–exploit–disseminate architecture for predicting weather and climate that is flexible in terms of system growth and adaptable to operational change. Properly developed OAs can make it easier to provide new system functionality and reduce operating costs through close coupling of the user and development community. In addition, the object-oriented (OO) nature of this modeling methodology greatly simplifies system development.

The nature of today's programming and software development environment is OO. By organizing operational system characteristics, processes, and activities in an OO form, developers are no longer required to reengineer the coding framework. Core or common elements are clearly recognizable. Using industry-standard, object-oriented Unified Modeling Language (UML) methodology, the OA team is able to bind vision, doctrine, and operational processes to the system design.