Operating Model & Delivery ยท OPM-03
Running cost management
The ongoing cost of each AI service, including usage-based charges, is known, forecast, assigned to an owner and kept within agreed limits.
Why it matters
AI services are often priced by usage, so costs can grow quickly and unpredictably as adoption spreads. Costs that nobody watches can erode the benefits a use was approved for, or lead to abrupt withdrawal when the money runs out.
Levels
| 0 Absent | Confirmed absent: the evidence shows nothing is in place. Not known is recorded as insufficient evidence, not 0. |
|---|---|
| 1 Initial | Running costs are not tracked separately; they surface in general budgets after the event. |
| 2 Developing | Costs are tracked for some services, but forecasts, usage limits or cost owners are missing. |
| 3 Defined | Running costs of every AI service are tracked, forecast and held by a budget holder, with usage limits or alerts and regular review against budget. |
| 4 Managed | Cost per unit of use is measured and compared with the business case, overspends trigger action, and unused licences or capacity are removed. |
| 5 Optimising | Cost data shapes design and sourcing choices, and pricing models are renegotiated or changed from evidence of how services are used. |
Level 3 criteria
Level 3 is met when every applicable criterion is met. Criteria marked with an overlay apply only to organisations with that characteristic (overlays).
- OPM-03.1 Actual running costs are tracked for every AI service.
- OPM-03.2 Running costs are forecast for every AI service.
- OPM-03.3 The running costs of each AI service are assigned to a named budget holder.
- OPM-03.4 Usage limits or cost alerts are set for each AI service.
- OPM-03.5 Running costs are reviewed against budget on a set cycle.
Assessment questions
- What does each AI service cost to run each month, and who owns that cost?
- What stops usage-based charges rising beyond budget without anyone noticing?
- How do actual running costs compare with what the business case assumed?
- Cost reports by AI service, with budget holders
- Usage limits, alerts or forecasts in place for usage-priced services
How to reach Level 3
- List every AI service, including licences and usage-priced services, and assign each to a named budget holder.
- Set up tracking so the running cost of each service can be seen separately each month.
- Forecast the cost of each service for the year ahead, using expected growth in use.
- Set usage limits or spending alerts on usage-priced services, at levels agreed with the budget holder.
- Review actual cost against budget and forecast on a fixed cycle, and adjust limits or forecasts as needed.
Common pitfalls
- Tracking licence costs but missing charges that rise with use, such as per-request pricing.
- Setting alerts that go to a shared inbox nobody reads.
Starter artefacts
- AI service cost register with budget holders
- Monthly cost report
- Usage limit and alert settings record
Cross-references
| UNESCO AI Maturity Framework | 3.2 partial |
|---|
direct: this control at Level 3 meets the item. partial: it covers part of it.