RiverWare is widely used to support reservoir and hydropower operations, as well as broader water management planning. However, transitioning a model into an operational decision support system introduces challenges that extend beyond model development. Drawing on RTI's experience implementing operational forecast systems, this presentation discusses key considerations for operationalizing RiverWare models. Considerations include managing multiple forecast traces, reconciling differences between hydrologic modeling and RiverWare modeling assumptions, developing robust models that remain reliable during extreme events, creating environments for testing operational alternatives, determining the appropriate level of detail for representing plant characteristics, and selecting the appropriate modeling approach, whether simulation, rulebased simulation, or optimization, based on operational objectives and the user's ability to interact with and interpret model results. Underlying each of these considerations is the need to design systems that reflect how operators actually make decisions rather than how modelers assume decisions should be made.