Capabilities Governance

Question 1

What are the characteristics of capabilities?

Elaborate on them.

Answer 1

Capabilities generally describe “WHAT” is a specific business function. Process, on the other hand, answer the question “HOW” they are realized.

Capabilities:

are the building block of business
represent stable business functions
are unique and independent from each other
are abstracted from the organizational model
capture the business interests
Then, capabilities bridge the gap between business and IT (they include both).

Question 2

Mention the (7) properties of capabilities:

Answer 2

Capabilities have properties and they are measurable:

Owner
Performance
Business Value
Maturity
SLA (Service Level Agreement)
Compliance
Criteria

Question 3

How is a capability differentiated from a service?

Answer 3

COA and SOA are not contradictory, just different viewpoints:

Questions:
​Capability: WHAT
Service: HOW
Origin:
​Capability: Strategic Management
Service: Process & IT Management
Address:
​Capability: Top level management
Service: Architects
View of the Enterprise:
​Capability: Black Box
Service: White Box
(see picture).

Question 4

Name and describe at least three aspects in which capabilities and services differ:

Answer 4

They can differ in:

Questions they address
Origin
Address(ed) people
View of the Enterprise

(See picture)

Question 5

How can capability maps be structured?

Answer 5

A popular viewpoint for capabilities is a Capability map, therefore a specific capability map is a view.

It usually contains top level capabilities, which can be gradually detailed.
Only 2-3 hierarchy levels are recommended for a single map, more on separate maps.
(See example image).

Question 6

List the (8) steps for a Capability Based Planning:

Answer 6

Establish Context
Create Top-Level Capabilities
Assign Capability Attributes
Decompose Capabilities
Determine Attributes
Create Visualization (e.g. heat maps)
Validate view
Communicate

Question 7

What are the (6) indications for “correct” or “complete” capability maps?

Answer 7

Stability
Horizontal Structure
Vertical Hierarchy
Encapsulated and abstract
Measurability
Use of View (of Stakeholder)

Question 8

What are the capability levels?

Answer 8

Capability levels represent different level of detail of capabilities. For example:

Level 1 - Capabilities: which determine how enterprise is perceived by environment. E.g. customer relation management.
Level 2 - More details: capabilities similar to business functions. E.g. handling complaints.
Level 3 - Capabilities represent activities: e.g. register complaint.
Level 4 - Capabilities describe specific aspects of activities: e.g. customer notifications about complaint.

Question 9

What are the four types of functionality EA tools offer?

Answer 9

Design and Modeling
Analysis
Visualization and Publication
Storage and Managment

Question 10

What is in general Governance?

What are the six characteristics of good Governance by Naidoo?

Answer 10

In general, Governance is the distribution of rights and responsibilities or the rules and procedures for making decisions.

Discipline
Transparency
Independency
Accountability
Responsibility
Fairness

Question 11

What is EA Maturity?

What are the (5) levels of EA Maturity?

Answer 11

EA Maturity can be used to assess how EA is being utilized within strategic governance and decision making.

Ther are 5 levels:

0) No Architecture

Informal Architecture Program
Supervised Architecture Program
Governed Architecture Program
Iterative and Incremental Architecture Program

Question 12

Describe the purpose of EA Maturity as introduced in the lecture:

Answer 12

Find appropiate (Architecture) Governance
Lead to the next level of EA Maturity