Capability Mapping Quick Start

http://www.cutter.com/consulting-and-training/capability-mapping-quick-start.html

 

Business capabilities are the core of the business architecture. A business capability defines "what" a business does. This is different than "how" things are done or where they are done. Business capabilities provide a vocabulary for business leaders to communicate and collaborate with each other and with information technology planning and deployment teams. Communication and collaboration is enabled as a result of having a common language for terms and concepts that are often misinterpreted, poorly considered, and dangerously inconsistent. For example, most organizations have poorly defined definitions for simple terms such as customer, agent, product, account, policy, margin, and profit. The capabilities that they possess related to these and numerous other topics are equally ill-defined and misconstrued. Capability mapping sorts this out -- for once and for all for the business as a whole.

The business capability map -- a hierarchical topology of what the business does -- is a foundational view of the business that eliminates the inherent complexity involved in discussing "how" something is being done or who is doing it. The capability map is purely business focused and is used to facilitate problem analysis, expedite and align strategy discussions, formulate a common vision, and drive investment opportunities with laser-like focus. When mapped to other aspects of the business, such as information assets, organization, value streams, and IT resources, the capability map allows management to quickly identify redundancies, weaknesses, and gaps, and move towards streamlined solutions that maximize value and clearly align to business objectives.

Capability Mapping Benefits

Capability mapping establishes a complete view of what the business does in unambiguous, business terms. How? The capability map defines the basic business vocabulary (as established by the business) as a foundation for discussing issues, developing plans, aligning product line and business unit goals, and driving IT initiatives through a common voice. As a result, the capability map becomes the baseline for developing roadmaps, business-IT alignment and transformation, and strategic budgeting and roadmap creation.

Establishing a capability map takes time, but Cutter Consortium's Capability Mapping Quick Start makes it possible for your organization to put forth the foundation for its business architecture and go forward with its planning efforts. Specifically, creating a capability map will:

• Establish a common vocabulary across business units and product lines
• Remove organizational and technological complexities from issue analysis and decision making
• Provide a holistic baseline for developing roadmaps that avoid the trappings of silo-based budgeting and deployment
• Serve as basis for planning and deploying priority business initiatives, including business/IT transformation efforts

Cutter's Capability Building Approach

Cutter's team of experts has developed and proven a 6-step Capability Mapping Quick Start approach to assisting companies build their business capability map. The map that results from this approach will provide your enterprise with a common way to document and visualize capabilities within the context of a variety of analysis and planning exercises, including information assets, value stream, organization, and IT asset mappings. Our approach includes:

1. Leading a business architecture and capability mapping workshop
2. Guiding you in establishing the mapping objectives, mapping team, and rollout plan
3. Mentoring your team as it builds and socializes a Level 1 map
4. Driving mappings to the appropriate levels for major strategies and initiatives and creating appropriate definitions that become the foundation of the common business vocabulary for each capability
5. Advising your team how to leverage capabilities to drive information models, planning efforts and transformation initiatives
6. Ensuring you understand how and why it's critical to refine, socialize, and continue refining the capability map within the context of business architecture

Cutter's Delivery Approach

Defining and mapping business capabilities can be a major undertaking. It involves a degree of introspection that few people have experienced. Cutter Consortium's seasoned Senior Consultants are adept at facilitating the "difficult conversations" that are endemic to the analysis required to define and then map business capabilities. With every business unit within your enterprise included in the conversations required to construct the capability map, Cutter will mentor your team to deliver:

• Completed Level 1 capability map for the enterprise
• Completed Level 2 capability map for core/customer facing capabilities and stakeholder-related capabilities
• Definitions for all Level 1 capabilities stakeholder management
• Sample exercises mapping Level 1 capabilities to information assets and IT assets
• Sample walkthrough of how to use capabilities in planning various projects and transformation roadmap exercise

The journey of building a capability map -- an important foundational element for your business architecture -- is as valuable as the end result. Cutter's Capability Mapping Quick Start engagement gives you the support you need to move toward streamlined strategies, roadmaps, and related solutions that both maximize value and are effectively aligned with business objectives. To schedule your Capability Mapping Quick Start, or for more information, contact your Cutter Consortium Account Executive by phone at +1 781 648 8700 or email sales@cutter.com.