---
id: what-foundation-should-i-build-in-my-first-intelligent-network-operations-use-ca
title: "What foundation should I build in my first Intelligent Network Operations use case?"
category: guide
subtopic: build-foundation
page_type: guide
source_url: "https://neosbyargonandco.com/start-building-intelligent-network-operations"
tags: ["governance", "shared services", "data access", "decision framework"]
questions:
  - "What should my first implementation include?"
  - "How do I design for scaling beyond the first use case?"
  - "What's a reusable foundation for network operations?"
  - "How do I set up governance from the start?"
related: [start-one-network, choose-network, expand-dependencies]
---

Even in a focused first implementation, design for enterprise scale. Create reusable definitions for the entities involved, establish governed access to source systems, and expose specialized models through stable services.

Define decision ownership, objectives, policies, escalation rules, and permissible actions-these become your foundation for expansion. In a manufacturing capacity example, you'd establish product, plant, resource, order, and customer commitment definitions. The solution monitors capacity and material signals, identifies affected decisions, invokes planning and optimization, and lets human reviewers see tradeoffs while approved actions return to execution systems.

Built with shared context and governed interfaces, these product, location, and decision services later support inventory, warehousing, and transportation questions. Without this foundation, even impressive technical pilots remain isolated.

Also establish a baseline: understand current decision time, where information assembles, how often recommendations are overridden, and what outcomes follow. This discipline makes expansion credible.

Ready to design a scalable foundation for your network? Argon & Co's strategy and planning services can help you build it right the first time.