Defining the capability operation
After identifying the correct location for a capability operation within the Business Object Model (BOM), that capability operation must be created and fully defined.
The correct level of generalization of service candidates is essential to maximize the reuse of the capability operation. Similarly, the correct level of granularity in the capability operation level is essential to maximize consumability of the resulting service architecture. Capability operations in BOM can also be maintained as separate documents based on the capability operation template.
- Task
- Capability operation
- Process
- Nested process
| Level | Operation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| CAPABILITY OPERATION #xxxx | A unique name defining the:
|
|
| Subject area | Positioning of the capability operation in a business area. | |
| Business event | Triggering event for the capability operation. | |
| Actor(s) | ||
| Primary | The role and resource involved in the execution of the capability operation. | |
| Secondary | Additional roles and resources involved in the execution of the capability operation. | |
| Capability operation overview | A concise and accurate business definition. For example: The business purpose of this task and capability operation is to… | |
| Preconditions | Conditions that must be fulfilled before the process can start. | |
| Post conditions | ||
| Success | Possible outcomes of the capability operation execution considered as successful. | |
| Failure | Possible outcomes of the capability operation execution considered a failure. | |
| Capability operation description | ||
| Main scenario | A detailed and unambiguous description of what
happens within the capability operation. This definition specifies
what is in and out of scope for this capability operation, and what
is achieved for the business by this capability operation. For example: This encompasses the activities necessary for <Organization Name> to… and may include a bulleted list of the specific responsibilities of this task, or the specific context describing why this task is necessary to the business to achieve certain goals, objectives and functions relevant to this process. |
|
| Extensions | Extensions of the main scenario. | |
| Variations | Variations of the main scenario. | |
| Business Rules | A definition of rules pertaining to this capability operation, often provided as a bulleted list, or as “if…then” conditional statements that describe how the capability operation is to be executed. | |
| Traceability to | ||
| Input summary | A business definition of the information required as input for this capability operation to function, or what information must be provided before this capability operation can begin. | |
| Output summary | A business definition of the information produced as an output of this capability operation, or what has changed for the business because this capability operation has completed. | |
| Critical success factors | A definition of preconditions or success factors that must exist for this task to execute successfully, often provided as a bulleted list. This may include a description of innovated areas to be done differently in the new process. | |
| Constraints | A definition of known limitations or restrictions on the process, including legal or regulatory requirements pertaining to this capability operation. | |
| Dependencies | A definition of logical units or other processes upon which this capability operation depends for its operations, including policy changes and organizational decisions that must be made to implement this capability operation. | |
| Capability operation notes |
Capability operation definition levels comprise:
- At the most basic level, a capability operation must have a name and a detailed textual definition. This definition must identify the scope and intent of the capability operation in question.
- The next level describes the informational requirements of that
service candidate. This is an external view of the capability operation.
Figure 1. Capability operation 
This provides a full analysis picture of the service candidate itself, but does not describe the inner workings of that service candidate or how it delegates to other known requirements.
- To capture this analysis, the black-box view of the capability operation must be opened to allow a description of the contents of that box. This information is captured as an internal view of a task or process in the Analysis Process Model (APM), describing the process flow that must occur during execution of that service candidate.
