A capability map differs from a capability framework (which looks at illustrating skills, knowledge and behaviours) in that it focuses on visualising core business drivers (aka capabilities) by their level of priority in value chains or business functions.
Business capability maps are usually arranged in a hierarchy to display their granularity. At the highest level, there are a few capabilities that are key to business success, each followed by a set of complementary capabilities that support them. Let’s take a deeper look at these levels.
- Level 1: Organise the map. At this level you are creating a logical way to flesh out and organise your lower levels. It’s common to define business capabilities based on value streams/chains or key functions that take you from conception to market. There’s no ‘ideal’ number of core capabilities at this level.
- Level 2: Develop the map. This level gives you the necessary detail to make more informed strategic and resourcing decisions. A key point is that you don’t need the same number of sub-capabilities for every core capability. It’s about the drivers defined as critical to your business.
- Level 3: Gain more insight. In most cases, 2-3 levels of sub-capabilities are enough. However, some organisations go deeper. This granularity further ensures the right capabilities are represented at that second level.
- Level 4: Further reinforcement. For smaller companies or those undertaking capability mapping for the first time, this level of granularity is usually not needed. It’s more common in mature organisations who may use a capability map from an operational viewpoint.
A capability map provides a more helpful bird’s eye view of how your business works than other visual aids. It keeps the focus on your big picture and aligns internal business processes with people and technology. It’s like a companion for all your other planning, strategy and business documents and allows you to undertake gap analysis more accurately.
There are 2 benefits to be gained from capability mapping.
- Better prioritisation of resources. A heatmap articulates the changes required for you to get to your future state. It visually determines what capability is the highest priority in terms of maturity, availability or value. Understanding what business capabilities need attention is important to realising the true impact of your map.
- Smarter investment decisions. All companies, regardless of size, will have to make investment decisions based on their unique alignment of business, people and technology. For your HR arm, a business capability map empowers strategic decision making and visibility. For executives, it shows the return on investment of technology used by employees. (And the list goes on.)
While it can begin from the top, capability mapping most commonly finds its grassroots in HR. This means implementing a business capability map is as much about creating one as it is generating buy-in for the process.
- Build a case for consensus: Much like building consensus for other business-related implementations, business capability mapping won’t stick if there isn’t a solid reason for using it. You want to find a common thread or gap in your current business architecture management that affects all and justifies the introduction of a new process.
- Generate management buy-in: There should be more than one champion in your organisation for a capability map, at multiple levels of your organisation. Buy-in needs to be based upon capability mapping being a pain killer, not just a nice-to-have supplement.
- Establish ownership: Your champions should also have key parts to play in managing the map for your organisation. Your map owners will manage scope and ensure that there is transparency on the big picture and true collaboration for a fair representation of organisation drivers.
For a more in-depth look at capability mapping, have a read of the full article.
