So what are business capabilities?
Well, simply put, business capabilities are graphical representations of the capabilities of a business.
But, in order to run your own business successfully, you need to make yourself familiar with business capabilities in much more depth.
In this guide, we're taking a look at business capabilities in depth to understand what they are, how to identify them, and how to define them for your business.
Read on to find out more!
Within business, the word "capability" is a very overloaded term. This can make it difficult to pinpoint exactly what this term means for you and your company.
Even within your company, different departments will consider "capabilities" to be different things. This is why the majority of companies struggle to understand this term fully.
Bluntly put, a business capability is what a business does, and its ability to do something. However, depending on the purpose of your business, the way that you define these capabilities may differ.
With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the different methods that businesses can use to identify and define their business capabilities.
It is fine for different departments to have different business capabilities, as long as the definition of what constitutes a "capability" is the same throughout the business.
Capabilities refer to what a department contributes to the business, so once these are defined it is then possible to create frameworks within the business.
These frameworks will ensure that the business operates efficiently and that business goals are achieved.
Identifying business capabilities will involve taking a look at the operations of the business.
As you look at the operations of your company, you will be able to identify areas of the business where it is contributing to other departments, and ultimately the business goals.
These areas of contribution are the business's capabilities, which is why they will differ between each department.
As we have moved through this definition, it is really easy to see why so many businesses struggle to define business capabilities.
As you read into it, the term itself really is difficult to break down because there is so much weight to it. With that in mind, let's take a deeper look at how to define business capabilities.
As we have just seen, identifying business capabilities will involve looking at the different departments within your business and what they contribute towards the business goals.
All departments will have their own capabilities and these will all contribute ultimately to the output of the business.
To define business capabilities, you should look at them as building blocks. All businesses will be made up of multiple different blocks that together contribute to the running of the organization.
The blocks of capabilities should be separated into different categories, such as people, processes, and physical aspects.
Doing this will make it a lot easier to define capabilities.
Flow charts can be used to break each category down into the structure and hierarchy of the business.
For example, a flow chart for the people in the organization will have the CEO of the organization at the top and then work down through management to entry-level workers.
This system can be used to define all areas and systems within the organization. That is why using building blocks to define business capabilities is the easiest way to understand your organization.
In this guide, we have taken a deep look at what business capabilities are, how to identify them, and how to define them within your business. We hope this information has been helpful.
Thanks for reading!
