Capability-Based Planning

Capability-Based Planning in TOGAF 10 Foundation

Introduction to Capability-Based Planning

Capability-Based Planning is a strategic approach within the TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework) ADM (Architecture Development Method) that focuses on understanding and developing the capabilities an organization needs to achieve its business objectives. Rather than organizing planning around traditional IT projects or business units, this technique centers on the capabilities required to deliver business value.

Why Capability-Based Planning is Important

Strategic Alignment: Capability-Based Planning ensures that architectural decisions are directly tied to business strategy. By identifying required capabilities first, organizations can make architecture decisions that support strategic goals rather than reacting to ad-hoc requests.

Business-IT Alignment: This approach bridges the gap between business and IT by using a common language of capabilities. Both business stakeholders and IT professionals can discuss what capabilities are needed and how technology will support them.

Prioritization and Resource Allocation: Organizations can prioritize which capabilities to develop based on business value and strategic importance. This enables better allocation of limited resources and budgets.

Transformation Planning: Capability-Based Planning provides a structured approach to organizational transformation by identifying current-state capabilities and planning the roadmap to desired future-state capabilities.

Risk Reduction: By understanding capability gaps and dependencies, organizations can identify risks early and plan mitigation strategies more effectively.

Portfolio Management: It supports better portfolio management by grouping related initiatives that contribute to similar capabilities rather than managing disconnected projects.

What is Capability-Based Planning?

Capability-Based Planning is a technique that:

Defines Organizational Capabilities: A capability is the ability to perform a particular business process or function. It represents what an organization can do, rather than how it does it. Examples include 'customer relationship management,' 'financial reporting,' or 'supply chain optimization.'

Assesses Current State: The technique involves analyzing and documenting the organization's current capabilities—what it can do today and how well it performs those functions.

Identifies Future Capabilities: It defines what capabilities the organization needs to develop or enhance to achieve its strategic vision and business objectives.

Creates Capability Maps: These visual representations show capabilities and their relationships, dependencies, and current maturity levels. They help stakeholders understand the capability landscape.

Develops Capability Roadmaps: These roadmaps outline the journey from current-state to future-state capabilities, including timelines, dependencies, and required investments.

Links to Architecture: The identified capabilities inform architectural decisions about applications, data, technology, and business processes that will support or enable those capabilities.

How Capability-Based Planning Works

Step 1: Identify Business Strategy and Objectives
Start by understanding the organization's strategic direction, business goals, and competitive positioning. This provides the foundation for determining what capabilities are needed.

Step 2: Define and Map Current Capabilities
Document existing capabilities within the organization. Create a capability map showing which capabilities exist, their maturity levels, and their relationships. Assess the performance of current capabilities against business needs.

Step 3: Identify Capability Gaps
Compare current-state capabilities with the capabilities needed to achieve strategic objectives. This gap analysis reveals which new capabilities must be developed or which existing capabilities must be enhanced.

Step 4: Prioritize Capabilities
Evaluate capability gaps based on business value, strategic importance, dependencies, and implementation complexity. Prioritize which capabilities to address first.

Step 5: Create Capability Roadmap
Develop a phased roadmap showing how capabilities will be developed or enhanced over time. This roadmap should include:
- Timeline and sequencing
- Dependencies between capabilities
- Resource requirements
- Expected business outcomes
- Investment requirements

Step 6: Translate to Architecture
Convert capability requirements into specific architectural components such as:
- Business processes and organizational structures
- Applications and systems
- Data and information architecture
- Technology infrastructure
- People and skills

Step 7: Monitor and Adjust
Track capability development against the roadmap. Assess whether capabilities are being built as planned and delivering expected business value. Adjust the roadmap based on changing business conditions or realized dependencies.

Key Components of Capability-Based Planning

Capability Model: A structured representation of the organization's capabilities, typically organized by business domain or value chain.

Capability Map: A visual diagram showing capabilities, their relationships, and interdependencies. Often includes color-coding to show current maturity levels (e.g., red for developing, yellow for operational, green for optimized).

Capability Maturity Assessment: Evaluation of how well current capabilities are performed using a maturity model (e.g., initial, managed, defined, quantitatively managed, optimized).

Business Capability Dictionary: Documentation describing each capability, including its purpose, processes, required resources, and current state.

Roadmap: A timeline showing capability evolution from current state to future state, organized by transformation initiatives or phases.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Capability-Based Planning

Understand the Core Concept: Remember that Capability-Based Planning is about understanding what the organization needs to do (capabilities) rather than focusing initially on how to do it (technology solutions). This is a business-centric approach before technology-centric thinking.

Remember the Sequence: The typical sequence is: Business Strategy → Identify Capabilities → Assess Current State → Identify Gaps → Prioritize → Create Roadmap → Implement Architecture. Know this flow for scenario-based questions.

Distinguish from Project-Based Planning: Exam questions may ask you to contrast Capability-Based Planning with traditional project-based planning. Key difference: Capability-Based Planning groups related work into capability streams, while project-based planning focuses on discrete projects with defined start and end dates.

Know Capability vs. Project: A capability is typically longer-lived and ongoing (e.g., 'customer service'), while a project is temporary and specific (e.g., 'implement new CRM system'). Multiple projects may contribute to a single capability.

Gap Analysis is Critical: Questions often focus on capability gap analysis. Be able to explain how to identify what's missing between current and future states, and why this analysis drives architecture decisions.

Maturity Levels Matter: Understand that capabilities have maturity levels. Questions may ask about assessing whether a capability is 'initial,' 'operational,' or 'optimized.' This assessment drives prioritization of which capabilities to develop first.

Business Value Connection: Always link capability planning to business value. When answering questions, emphasize how capability planning ensures IT investments align with strategic business objectives and deliver business outcomes.

Dependencies and Sequencing: Be prepared to answer questions about capability dependencies—which capabilities must be in place before others can be developed. This is crucial for roadmap planning and realistic timelines.

Roadmap Development: Questions may ask how to develop or phase a capability roadmap. Remember to consider dependencies, resource constraints, business priorities, and risk factors when sequencing capability development.

Architecture Translation: Be ready to explain how identified capabilities translate into architecture decisions. For example, if a capability gap is 'real-time customer data access,' this might translate to architectural requirements for data integration, analytics platforms, or specific applications.

Stakeholder Communication: Capability-Based Planning is an excellent communication tool. Exam questions may ask how this technique helps communicate with non-technical stakeholders. Answer that capabilities provide a business-focused language that both business and IT stakeholders understand.

Common Question Patterns:
- 'Which capability must be in place before capability X can be developed?' (Dependencies)
- 'How should capabilities be prioritized?' (Business value, risk, dependencies)
- 'What is the relationship between capabilities and architecture?' (Capabilities drive architecture)
- 'What is the first step in capability-based planning?' (Understanding business strategy)
- 'How does capability-based planning differ from project-based planning?' (Scope, timeline, organization)

Practice Scenario Application: When encountering scenario-based questions, work through the capability planning process: identify the business objective, determine required capabilities, assess current state, identify gaps, prioritize, and suggest architectural implications. This methodical approach demonstrates understanding.

Be Precise with Terminology: Use terms like 'capability map,' 'capability model,' 'maturity assessment,' and 'capability roadmap' accurately. Confusing these terms can cost points on exam questions.

Remember the Context: Capability-Based Planning is part of the ADM—keep it connected to overall architecture development. Questions may test how it fits within the broader TOGAF framework, particularly in relation to business architecture and strategy.

Summary

Capability-Based Planning is a strategic ADM technique that bridges business strategy and IT architecture by focusing on organizational capabilities. It provides a structured approach to understanding what an organization needs to do, assessing current state, identifying gaps, and creating a roadmap for capability development. Success in exam questions requires understanding this flow, being able to distinguish capabilities from projects, appreciating how capabilities drive architecture decisions, and connecting everything back to business value. By following the exam tips above and practicing scenario-based applications, you will be well-prepared to answer TOGAF questions on this important technique.