<s>
A	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
model	I-Architecture
or	O
business	O
capability	O
map	O
(	O
BCM	O
)	O
provides	O
structured	O
graphical	O
representations	O
of	O
all	O
organizational	O
business	O
capabilities	O
,	O
their	O
relationship	O
and	O
hierarchy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
represent	O
high-level	O
views	O
of	O
an	O
organization	O
from	O
the	O
perspective	O
of	O
its	O
business	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
are	O
very	O
stable	O
and	O
organizationally	O
neutral	O
in	O
nature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
most	O
changes	O
happening	O
in	O
organizations	O
do	O
not	O
affect	O
the	O
fundamental	O
structure	O
of	O
their	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
are	O
structured	O
in	O
a	O
hierarchical	O
manner	O
,	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
Specific	O
business	O
capabilities	O
in	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
can	O
be	O
titled	O
using	O
either	O
a	O
noun-verb	O
style	O
or	O
a	O
verb-noun	O
style	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
their	O
simplest	O
form	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
can	O
show	O
only	O
structured	O
sets	O
of	O
nested	O
business	O
capabilities	O
and	O
sub-capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
more	O
sophisticated	O
versions	O
of	O
these	O
EA	B-Architecture
artifacts	I-Architecture
can	O
also	O
provide	O
additional	O
information	O
regarding	O
an	O
organization	O
and	O
its	O
environment	O
relevant	O
for	O
strategic	O
decision-making	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Complex	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
often	O
include	O
an	O
organizational	O
mission	O
,	O
strategy	O
and	O
vision	O
,	O
document	O
its	O
long-term	O
goals	O
,	O
objectives	O
and	O
constraints	O
and	O
even	O
show	O
the	O
most	O
important	O
elements	O
of	O
its	O
external	O
business	O
environment	O
that	O
should	O
be	O
taken	O
into	O
account	O
during	O
strategic	O
planning	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
offer	O
only	O
a	O
very	O
high-level	O
view	O
of	O
an	O
organization	O
,	O
usually	O
they	O
can	O
be	O
created	O
rather	O
quickly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
more	O
intuitive	O
and	O
simple	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
are	O
more	O
likely	O
to	O
resonate	O
with	O
the	O
thought	O
processes	O
of	O
business	O
executives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
many	O
industries	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
can	O
be	O
accelerated	O
via	O
taking	O
openly	O
available	O
industry-standard	O
reference	O
models	O
or	O
even	O
proprietary	O
generic	O
reference	O
models	O
provided	O
by	O
commercial	O
vendors	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
producing	O
customized	O
,	O
organization-specific	O
capability	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
some	O
cases	O
,	O
separate	O
parts	O
of	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
representing	O
common	O
groups	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
typical	O
capabilities	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
are	O
often	O
used	O
for	O
strategic	O
planning	O
up	O
to	O
3-5	O
years	O
ahead	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
fundamentally	O
new	O
business	O
operations	O
should	O
be	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
capability	O
,	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
current	O
operations	O
should	O
be	O
raised	O
or	O
the	O
existing	O
capability	O
should	O
be	O
performed	O
at	O
lower	O
cost	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
color-coded	O
appropriately	O
in	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
some	O
cases	O
completely	O
new	O
business	O
capabilities	O
that	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
developed	O
from	O
scratch	O
may	O
be	O
added	O
to	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
and	O
heatmapped	O
accordingly	O
,	O
while	O
some	O
existing	O
capabilities	O
that	O
lost	O
their	O
importance	O
may	O
be	O
removed	O
as	O
irrelevant	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
set	O
of	O
heatmapped	O
business	O
capabilities	O
in	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
represents	O
a	O
consensus	O
understanding	O
of	O
the	O
organizational	O
focus	O
and	O
strategic	O
priorities	O
agreed	O
by	O
business	O
and	O
IT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
means	O
of	O
heatmapping	O
,	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
offer	O
very	O
effective	O
instruments	O
for	O
translating	O
an	O
abstract	O
business	O
strategy	O
into	O
more	O
specific	O
and	O
actionable	O
plans	O
for	O
IT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
highlighting	O
the	O
most	O
critical	O
target	O
capabilities	O
for	O
future	O
IT	O
investments	O
and	O
indicating	O
respective	O
maturity	O
levels	O
and	O
capability	O
gaps	O
,	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
can	O
be	O
also	O
color-coded	O
in	O
many	O
other	O
useful	O
ways	O
to	O
facilitate	O
strategic	O
decision-making	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
can	O
be	O
color-coded	O
to	O
distinguish	O
core	O
capabilities	O
from	O
non-core	O
ones	O
and	O
thereby	O
identify	O
the	O
opportunities	O
for	O
outsourcing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
have	O
many	O
other	O
helpful	O
uses	O
in	O
organizations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Secondly	O
,	O
mapping	O
of	O
the	O
accomplished	O
or	O
planned	O
IT	O
investments	O
to	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
helps	O
understand	O
how	O
the	O
IT	O
budget	O
is	O
allocated	O
and	O
where	O
IT	O
dollars	O
are	O
going	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Finally	O
,	O
business	B-Architecture
capability	I-Architecture
models	I-Architecture
provide	O
a	O
common	O
language	O
,	O
shared	O
vocabulary	O
and	O
unified	O
organization-wide	O
reference	O
points	O
to	O
all	O
stakeholders	O
involved	O
in	O
decision-making	O
processes	O
.	O
</s>
