BUSINESS CAPABILITY MAPPING
Effective business-IT alignment

ONE TARGET PICTURE IN A COMMON LANGUAGE

Shouldering daily business and creating the pre-conditions for the future – these dual roles require a common understanding of which changes are upcoming and close cooperation between everyone involved, especially between business and IT.

Business capabilities are the capabilities a company must have to reach its targets. When arranged on a business capability map, they show a visual structure, which makes it easier to take company-wide decisions about the necessary architecture and organization.

With business capability mapping and the accompanying software CAPAMAP we offer a proven methodological approach to develop this comprehensible target picture.

BUSINESS CAPABILITY MAPPING CORE TASKS

Clarify objectives:
We will clarify with our clients which questions should be addressed using business capability mapping. These could be accompanying a business transformation or the realignment of the IT landscape.

Identify success factors:
At an even higher level we identify success factors along the strategy for which capabilities still have to be developed or expanded to reach the targets detailed above. In many cases, the customer journey provides guidance here.

Collect requirements from operational business:
We derive the necessary business capabilities from use cases, customer journeys and core processes. Concentrating on strategic success factors helps us to keep the focus on the target. This is how we complete the capability map.

Clarify ambitions with regard to capabilities and visualize the need for action:
Each capability will then be evaluated for whether and how well it meets the ambition set – any discrepancies will increase the need for action, which we translate into a capability roadmap. The target picture created enables strategic planning and control in a dynamic environment.

WHICH CONCRETE CHALLENGES DOES BUSINESS CAPABILITY MAPPING SUPPORT?

CAPABILITY

A capability describes what a company must be able to do to meet its business goals and implement the strategy.

HOLISTIC

Capabilities consist of systems and tools, processes and personal and organizational skills. This means capabilities form a holistic approach, increasing the effectiveness of the business transformation.

COMPREHENSIBLE

Capabilities are described in simple words, so that they make a significant contribution to collaboration as a common language, for example, between business and IT.

STRUCTURE

Capability maps translate the requirements from the strategy and current business into easily understandable maps that provide guidance to employees and management.

CONTINUITY

In addition to daily business, capability maps will enable you to keep sight of the status and structure of capabilities. Capability maps form an ideal planning basis, which also provides transparency and fosters the dialogue during the year.

FOCUS

Capability heat maps will show you at a glance where your company is not yet strong enough to achieve its business goals.

STRATEGY BECOMES TANGIBLE

CAPAMAP will make strategy tangible for all employees, thus ensuring the capabilities required for it will be developed.

STRENGTHENING COOPERATION

By using simple language capability mapping will harness your forces and network business with IT.

MORE SUCCESSFUL TRANSFORMATION

In addition to systems, capabilities also consider people and the organization. Thanks to this holistic approach changes will become quicker and more easily adapted.

Our business capability mapping service offer and our approach

MILESTONES IN BUSINESS CAPABILITY MAPPING

Capability mapping relates to a commonly-used method to identify, structure and visualize the necessary business capabilities, supported by a software tool developed in-house.

The result is a capability map. This delivers a resilient basis for discussions and planning to develop the systems, processes, organization and skills of the future.

Business Capability Mapping Method

When identifying and evaluating existing capabilities in the company, we support clients with methods, steps by step. By structuring and visualizing capabilities on a capability map it will quickly be shown where there is a need for action in the further development of the business.

 

Software Tool CAPAMAP

The tool developed in-house, CAPAMAP, enables individual capability profiles and capability maps to be drawn up easily using drag-and-drop. Clear visualization and structuring features (e.g. heat maps) help to create transparency. The capability library, a comprehensive full text search and filter possibilities provide additional guidance. As a browser-based software as a service (SaaS) solution, CAPAMAP is easily accessible. The rights concept (Viewer / Editor / Architect) also optimizes the functional scope depending on the user’s application. Using automatic notifications, information about relevant changes to the business capabilities of the company will be provided at any time.

CAPAMAP Statement

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SOFTWARE CAPAMAP

PROJECT REFERENCES

GP+S Consulting has accompanied companies in numerous projects using the capability mapping method – whether during transformation projects, implementing business strategies, Business-IT alignment or personnel development plans.

The example projects selected here give an overview of various use cases and solution paths and show the results achieved.