Capability modeling

Initiatives that span multiple projects require shared understanding of the business context, operating model, and strategic goals of an organization, as well as any existing technical, organizational and process constraints impinging on planning and design activities. As part of our evolutionary approach to enterprise architecture, we use business capability modelling to create lightweight hierarchical models of the business functions that are an essential part of an organization’s needs and goals. Capabilities describe an organization’s operating model in terms of goals and competencies (what is to be done), rather than implementation specifics (how things are done). Whereas business architecture models based on people, process or technology are contingent, volatile and often short lived, and therefore ill-suited to the long-term planning needs of the organization, capability models provide a description of the business context that is stable enough to serve as a basis for identifying and prioritising technology and process initiatives.