Capability Modeling

Capability models provide a visual representation of business functions, activities, and outcomes. They can also help identify where services could be implemented to deliver desired outcomes, particularly services that interact with stakeholders.

Define Focus Area 
The first step in the service identification and design process is to define the scope or “focus area” to be addressed. To determine scope, examine business drivers and associated objectives within the larger scheme of overall business information sharing goals. Questions such as “What are the specific pain points or areas where things could be made more efficient through the exchange of information?” can help crystallize the scope of the problem. Examination of drivers and objectives will lead to a focus area (e.g., warrants, booking, dispositions) to be modeled.

Identify and Prioritize Capabilities 
Core to the service identification and design process, which is outlined in the Global document Guidelines for Identifying and Designing Services, Version 1.1, is to identify and prioritize capabilities. From the Global Reference Architecture (GRA) perspective, a capability represents “An activity performed by a consumer or provider yielding a result of measurable value [real-world effect] to one or both.” A service, therefore, is the means by which one partner (consumer or provider) gains access to a capability offered by another partner. The GRA specifically focuses on identifying those capabilities that require intersystem or computer-to-computer communications and exchanges. Typically, these capabilities are outward-facing and cross either internal or external organizational or governance boundaries and are associated with the exchange of information either directly or through an application. Ultimately, these capabilities will manifest themselves as service candidates for design and implementation. 

Model Capabilities 
Capability models help to identify what a business does. It is not concerned with how the business is performed (e.g., business process model). A capability model illustrates external visible behavior (outcomes) as real-world effects (RWEs) associated with capabilities. Ultimately, these capabilities are exposed as services based on service-oriented architecture (SOA) concepts. The capability model captures the capabilities that a line of business should have in order to achieve and fulfill the business drivers through information exchange.

Identifying and modeling business capabilities are typically performed through a “Business Capabilities Analysis”, also referred to as a “Business Functional Decomposition.” The business functional decomposition process results in a hierarchical model of the business functions, lines of business, capabilities, and real-world effects (RWEs). RWEs are associated with specific capabilities. A number of RWEs can be associated with a single capability. Typically, these RWEs are an exchange of information and will be associated with service actions during service development.

The following Capability Models provide perspectives of the warrant and disposition business processes that highlight "what" the business does and the associated information exchanges (RWEs). The .mm files are Mind Maps that your team can edit to reflect your jurisdiction. Revising the .mm files requires a mind mapping program such as Free Mind or XMind (both a available free of charge).