OGBA-101 Questions Bank

In business capability mapping, once all business capabilities have been documented, the next step is to organize these capabilities logically. This organization helps in understanding how different capabilities interact and align with the business strategy. Here’s a detailed explanation based on TOGAF principles:

Business Capability Mapping:

Business capability mapping involves identifying and documenting the capabilities required to execute the business strategy. Capabilities are the building blocks of the business, representing what the business does.

Logical Organization:

Grouping and Categorization: Capabilities should be grouped and categorized logically to reflect their relationships and dependencies. This can be done by aligning capabilities with business functions, processes, or strategic objectives.

Hierarchical Structure: Organizing capabilities into a hierarchical structure helps in visualizing how high-level capabilities decompose into more specific, detailed capabilities. This hierarchical view aids in understanding the complexity and scope of capabilities.

Alignment with Strategy: Logical organization ensures that capabilities are aligned with the business strategy and objectives. It helps in identifying which capabilities are critical for achieving strategic goals and which ones need development or improvement.

TOGAF ADM References:

Phase B: Business Architecture: This phase involves developing the business architecture, including capability mapping. Organizing capabilities logically is a key step in this process, as it helps in creating a coherent and comprehensive business architecture.

Capability Models: TOGAF recommends using capability models to represent the organization’s capabilities. These models should be logically organized to facilitate analysis and planning.

Practical Steps:

Analyze Relationships: Examine the relationships between capabilities to identify dependencies and interactions. This analysis helps in grouping related capabilities together.

Create a Capability Map: Develop a visual representation of the capabilities, organized logically. This map serves as a reference for understanding the business architecture and planning initiatives.

In summary, after documenting all business capabilities, organizing them in a logical manner is essential for creating a coherent and effective business architecture. This logical organization facilitates better analysis, planning, and alignment with business strategy.

A Business Capability Map is structured by categorizing and grouping capabilities into high-level clusters that align with business objectives. This approach aligns with TOGAF principles for clarity and simplification in business capability representation, enabling a coherent view of business abilities.

References: TOGAF Standard, Capability Mapping Techniques.

Business capability maps provide a structured view of what an organization does to achieve its objectives. To create a clear and understandable map, capabilities need to be organized effectively. Categorizing and grouping are the primary methods used for this purpose:  

Categorizing: This involves classifying capabilities into different types or categories based on their characteristics or purpose. Common categories include:

Core capabilities: Essential for the organization's core business.

Supporting capabilities: Enable or enhance core capabilities.  

Customer-facing capabilities: Directly interact with customers.  

Operational capabilities: Focus on internal operations.

Grouping: This involves grouping related capabilities together to create a hierarchical structure. This helps to visualize relationships between capabilities and understand how they contribute to broader business functions

An organization map provides a detailed representation of the complex interactions and relationships within an organization, going beyond the hierarchical structure shown in an organization chart. It includes the connections and dependencies between different business units, teams, and roles, offering a more comprehensive view of how the organization operates and collaborates to achieve its objectives.

When developing the Architecture Vision, it is essential for the architect to examine and search for Value Streams and Business Capabilities. Here’s a detailed explanation:

Architecture Vision Phase (Phase A):

The Architecture Vision phase sets the overall direction and context for the architecture project. It defines the scope and vision for the future state architecture and establishes a shared understanding among stakeholders.

Value Streams:

Definition: Value streams represent the end-to-end set of activities that deliver value to customers or stakeholders. They provide a high-level view of how value is created and delivered within the organization.

Importance: Understanding value streams helps in aligning the architecture with business processes and ensuring that the architecture supports the delivery of value.

Business Capabilities:

Definition: Business capabilities define what an organization needs to be able to do to achieve its business objectives. They represent the core functions or abilities of the organization.

Importance: Identifying and understanding business capabilities is crucial for ensuring that the architecture addresses the critical functions of the business and supports its strategic goals.

TOGAF ADM References:

Phase A: Architecture Vision: In this phase, the architect examines value streams and business capabilities to understand the current state and define the desired future state. This helps in creating an architecture vision that is aligned with business objectives and supports value creation.

Strategic Planning: Value streams and business capabilities provide a foundation for strategic planning, ensuring that the architecture is designed to support key business activities and capabilities.

In summary, when developing the Architecture Vision, examining value streams and business capabilities is essential for understanding how the organization delivers value and ensuring that the architecture supports critical business functions and strategic objectives.