Streamlining Business Capabilities Through Productization

Introduction

Every business initiated project either introduces new business capabilities or enhances existing ones. In previous blogs, I talked about how these business capabilities help with strategic planning, and how they ensure that business goals we are chasing are always aligned with technology. However, capturing required/impacted business capabilities at the start of a new project often brings challenges.

One of the primary challenges lies in translating the concept of business capabilities into something actionable and relatable for business stakeholders. To many business stakeholders, "business capabilities" seem like an abstract architectural construct rather than a practical tool. But what if we could simplify this process by organizing capabilities into a framework that resonates with business stakeholders?

In this blog, I will talk about a practical solution to this problem by productizing business capabilities and call them products.

Approach: The Challenge with Business Capabilities

When a new project/initiative is initiated, one of the first architectural steps in Capabilities Driven Design Methodology is assessing its impact on business capabilities. This involves determining which business capabilities are being added, removed, or modified. However, business teams often struggle with this process because they perceive these capabilities as theoretical constructs, making them less willing to engage.

This understanding can even bring more friction when attempting to assign business ownership to these individual capabilities. Ownership is critical from architecture point of view. Capabilities need to have business owners who must oversee implementations, establish standards, and ensure alignment with compliance [like 'one of the implementations is not consistent with the other from regulations point of view'] , security, risk, and customer experience [like 'one of the implementations is too slow compared to the other'] requirements.

Solution: Productizing Business Capabilities

The key to overcoming this challenge lies in organizing business capabilities under internal or external customer facing "products", and assigning ownership to them from the business side. By treating capabilities as "features" of these products, the business now begins to see capabilities not as abstract constructs but as practical elements of the product they own and manage.

When a project comes up, the question shifts from "What are the capabilities impacted?" to "Which products are affected, and what changes are needed in their capabilities?" This shift makes the process far more actionable from business point of view.

An Example: Telecommunications and eTOM Framework

The telecommunications industry provides an excellent example of this approach. The eTOM (Enhanced Telecom Operations Map) framework, widely recognized as a de facto standard, organizes business capabilities/processes hierarchically:

• Domain Level: Broad business areas such as Customer, Service, and Resource Management.
• Process Groupings (L2): High-level groupings like "Order Handling" or "Service Management."
• Processes/Capabilities (L3 and beyond): Specific processes such as "Order Capture" or "Order Fulfillment."

By treating each L2 grouping as an internal product, you can assign a business owner (for example, Product Manager) to it. Here's an example mapping:

Now, when a new project emerges, the enterprise architect asks: "Which products are impacted?" If, for example, a project requires modifications to the "Order Management" product, the Product Manager for that product will determine when can these be implemented by looking at priorities in their milestones view. Being the natural capability owner, for Order Management, they can also guide business analysts and architects how to implement these changes in line with company standards and guidelines.

Benefits of Productizing Capabilities

This approach offers several advantages:

Clear Ownership: By aligning capabilities with products, you automatically assign capability ownership to Product Managers, reducing resistance from business stakeholders.

Business Alignment: Product Managers view capabilities as integral features of their products, driving active involvement in defining and refining them.

Simplified Impact Analysis: Projects/Initiatives are evaluated in terms of product impacts, making it easier to assess changes, define scope, and prioritize efforts.

Improved Architectural Design: Capabilities become the foundation of the design process, ensuring traceability and continuous alignment with business goals.

A Capability-Driven Design Friendly Approach

As an architect, I’ve always advocated for capability-driven design—a methodology that starts with identifying business capabilities rather than just gathering immediate requirements. I've talked about this in my previous blogs but there's no harm re-iterating that it ensures:

• Designs are aligned with business goals.
• Every feature is mapped to a capability, enhancing traceability from code to a business capability.
• Designing for the future by anticipating needs and preparing for them in our designs.

By productizing capabilities, this methodology becomes even more effective. Product Managers, who see capabilities as features of their products, actively participate in capability definition and refinement. This reduces the burden on architects and creates a streamlined process for capturing and evolving business architectures.

Conclusion

Productizing business capabilities transforms enterprise architecture by creating better alignment between business and IT. Grouping capabilities under products and assigning ownership to Product Managers reduces friction, makes project assessments easier, and supports collaborative capability definition. This approach ensures capability ownership is embraced and designs stay aligned with strategic business objectives at all times.