ANALYZING THE CAPABILITIES OF A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

Analyzing the capabilities of a business enterprise, including: identifying, by a capability advisor module, capabilities required to carry out a business initiative; identifying, by the capability advisor module, capabilities of the business enterprise; and determining, by the capability advisor module, lacking capabilities of the business enterprise that are required to carry out the business initiative in dependence upon the capabilities required to carry out the business initiative and the capabilities of the business enterprise.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Example methods, apparatus, and products for analyzing the capabilities of a business enterprise in accordance with the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, beginning withFIG. 1.FIG. 1sets forth a block diagram of automated computing machinery comprising an example computer (152) useful in analyzing the capabilities of a business enterprise according to embodiments of the present invention. The computer (152) ofFIG. 1includes at least one computer processor (156) or ‘CPU’ as well as random access memory (168) (‘RAM’) which is connected through a high speed memory bus (166) and bus adapter (158) to processor (156) and to other components of the computer (152).

Stored in RAM (168) is a capability advisor module (204), a module of computer program instructions for analyzing the capabilities of a business enterprise according to embodiments of the present invention. A business enterprise may be embodied, for example, as a company or other business entity that engages in one or more business initiatives. Each business initiative represents a high level activity carried out by a business entity. For example, a business initiative may include producing a particular product, reducing the costs associated with engaging in some activity, attempting to meet a particular milestone, and so on.

The capability advisor module (204) ofFIG. 1can analyze the capabilities of a business enterprise by identifying capabilities required to carry out a business initiative. The capabilities required to carry out a business initiative represent the various resources and skillsets that are needed to carry out the business initiative. Consider an example in which the business enterprise desires to undertake a business initiative of manufacturing a particular device. In such an example, the capabilities required to carry out such a business initiative would include a manufacturing plant, manufacturing equipment, personnel to operate the manufacturing equipment, materials to be used in manufacturing the device, engineers to design the device, legal representatives to ensure that the device adheres to governmental regulations, and others as will occur to those of skill in the art.

The capability advisor module (204) ofFIG. 1can further analyze the capabilities of a business enterprise by identifying capabilities of the business enterprise. The capabilities of the business enterprise represent the various resources and skillsets that are possessed by the business enterprise. Examples of capabilities of the business enterprise can include physically resources owned by the business enterprise, financial resources held by the business enterprise, labor resources that are at the disposal of the business enterprise, and others as will occur to those of skill in the art. Identifying the capabilities of the business enterprise may be carried out, for example, by taking an inventory of assets available to the business enterprise.

The capability advisor module (204) ofFIG. 1can further analyze the capabilities of a business enterprise by determining the lacking capabilities of the business enterprise that are required to carry out the business initiative. Determining the lacking capabilities of the business enterprise that are required to carry out the business initiative is carried out in dependence upon the capabilities required to carry out the business initiative and the capabilities of the business enterprise. Determining the lacking capabilities of the business enterprise that are required to carry out the business initiative may be carried out by identifying those capabilities that required to carry out the business initiative which are not included in the set of capabilities of the business enterprise.

Consider the example described above in which the business enterprise desires to undertake a business initiative of manufacturing a particular device. Assume that the capabilities required to carry out such a business initiative include a manufacturing plant, manufacturing equipment, personnel to operate the manufacturing equipment, materials to be used in manufacturing the device, engineers to design the device, and legal representatives to ensure that the device adheres to governmental regulations. In such example, assume that the capability advisor module has determined that the business enterprise includes the capabilities of a manufacturing plant, manufacturing equipment, personnel to operate the manufacturing equipment, materials to be used in manufacturing the device, and legal representatives to ensure that the device adheres to governmental regulations. In such an example, however, engineers to design the device are not part of the set of capabilities of the business enterprise. As such, engineers to design the device would be identified as a lacking capability of the business enterprise. In such an example, the lacking capabilities of the business enterprise can be reported to operatives of the business enterprise for consideration when determining whether to move forward with the business initiative.

Also stored in RAM (168) is an operating system (154). Operating systems useful is analyzing the capabilities of a business enterprise according to embodiments of the present invention include UNIX™, Linux™, Microsoft XP™, AIX™, IBM's i5/OS™, and others as will occur to those of skill in the art. The operating system (154) and the capability advisor module (204) in the example ofFIG. 1are shown in RAM (168), but many components of such software typically are stored in non-volatile memory also, such as, for example, on a disk drive (170).

For further explanation,FIG. 2sets forth a flow chart illustrating an example method for analyzing the capabilities of a business enterprise (200) according to embodiments of the present invention. A business enterprise may be embodied, for example, as a company or other business entity that engages in one or more business initiatives. Each business initiative represents a high level activity carried out by a business entity. For example, a business initiative may include producing a particular product, reducing the costs associated with engaging in some activity, attempting to meet a particular milestone, and so on. Each business enterprise (200) illustrated inFIG. 2represents an abstraction of an actual business and each business initiative (202) represents an abstraction of an activity carried out by the actual business.

The example method ofFIG. 2is carried out by a capability advisor module (204). The capability advisor module (204) ofFIG. 2may be embodied, for example, as a module of computer program instructions executing on computer hardware such as a computer processor. In the example method ofFIG. 2, the capability advisor module (204) is illustrated as being external to a business enterprise (200). Readers will appreciate that the capability advisor module (204) may also be one of the resources that are part of the business enterprise (200). For example, a particular business enterprise (200) may own one or more servers that are executing the capability advisor module (204).

The example method ofFIG. 2includes identifying (206), by a capability advisor module (204), capabilities (208) required to carry out a business initiative (202). In the example method ofFIG. 2, the capabilities (208) required to carry out a business initiative (202) represent the various resources and skillsets that are needed to carry out the business initiative (202). Consider an example in which the business enterprise (200) desires to undertake a business initiative (202) of manufacturing a particular device. In such an example, the capabilities (208) required to carry out such a business initiative (202) would include a manufacturing plant, manufacturing equipment, personnel to operate the manufacturing equipment, materials to be used in manufacturing the device, engineers to design the device, legal representatives to ensure that the device adheres to governmental regulations, and others as will occur to those of skill in the art.

In the example method ofFIG. 2, the capabilities (208) required to carry out a business initiative (202) may be identified by the business initiative (202) itself. For example, the business initiative (202) may be embodied as a data structure that includes identifiers for one or more capabilities (208) that are required to carry out the business initiative (202). Alternatively, the capabilities (208) required to carry out a business initiative (202) may be identified through the use of a central data repository that includes information identifying the capabilities (208) required to carry out various common business initiatives (202). Such a repository may be developed over time as an entry can be created for each business initiative (202) encountered by the capability advisor module (204). The entry that is created for each business initiative (202) encountered by the capability advisor module (204) can also include information identifying the capabilities (208) that were required to carry out the business initiative (202) identified in a particular entry.

The example method ofFIG. 2also includes identifying (210), by the capability advisor module (204), capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200). In the example method ofFIG. 2the capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200) represent the various resources and skillsets that are possessed by the business enterprise (200). Examples of capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200) can include, for example, physically resources owned by the business enterprise (200), financial resources held by the business enterprise (200), labor resources that are at the disposal of the business enterprise (200), and others as will occur to those of skill in the art.

In the example method ofFIG. 2, identifying (210) the capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200) may be carried out, for example, by taking an inventory of assets available to the business enterprise (200). The capability advisor module (200) can learn of the inventory of assets available to the business enterprise (200), for example, through the use of a graphical user interface that allows a user to identify all assets available to the business enterprise (200). Each asset available to the business enterprise (200) can be categorized into one or more common asset category such that the capabilities provided by each asset can be understood.

The example method ofFIG. 2also includes determining (214), by the capability advisor module (204), lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200) that are required to carry out the business initiative (202). Determining (214) the lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200) that are required to carry out the business initiative (202) is carried out in dependence upon the capabilities (208) required to carry out the business initiative (202) and the capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200). In the example method ofFIG. 2, determining (214) the lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200) that are required to carry out the business initiative (202) may be carried out by identifying those capabilities (208) that required to carry out the business initiative (202) which are not included in the set of capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200).

Consider the example described above in which the business enterprise (200) desires to undertake a business initiative (202) of manufacturing a particular device. Assume that the capabilities (208) required to carry out such a business initiative (202) include a manufacturing plant, manufacturing equipment, personnel to operate the manufacturing equipment, materials to be used in manufacturing the device, engineers to design the device, and legal representatives to ensure that the device adheres to governmental regulations. In such example, assume that the capability advisor module (204) has determined that the business enterprise (200) includes the capabilities of a manufacturing plant, manufacturing equipment, personnel to operate the manufacturing equipment, materials to be used in manufacturing the device, and legal representatives to ensure that the device adheres to governmental regulations. In such an example, however, engineers to design the device are not part of the set of capabilities of the business enterprise (200). As such, engineers to design the device would be identified as a lacking capability (216) of the business enterprise (200). In such an example, the lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200) can be reported to operatives of the business enterprise (200) for consideration when determining whether to move forward with the business initiative (202).

For further explanation,FIG. 3sets forth a flow chart illustrating a further example method for analyzing the capabilities of a business enterprise (200) according to embodiments of the present invention. The example method ofFIG. 3is similar to the example method ofFIG. 2as it also includes identifying (206) capabilities (208) required to carry out a business initiative (202), identifying (210) capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200), and determining (214) lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200).

The example method ofFIG. 3also includes forecasting (302), by the capability advisor module (204), an outcome (304) for the business initiative (202) in dependence upon the capabilities (208) required to carry out the business initiative (202) and the capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200). In the example method ofFIG. 3, the outcome (304) for the business initiative (202) can include information describing the result of attempting to carry out the business initiative (202) given the current set of capabilities (212) possessed by the business enterprise (200). In the example method ofFIG. 3, the outcome (304) for the business initiative (202) can include information such as, for example, the amount of time required to carry out the business initiative (202), the amount of expenses that will be encountered to carry out the business initiative (202), the cost associated with developing capabilities that are needed to carry out the business initiative (200), a predicted likelihood of success in actually carrying out the business initiative (200), and others as will occur to those of skill in the art.

In the example method ofFIG. 3, forecasting (302) the outcome (304) for the business initiative (202) may be carried out, for example, by identifying the lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200) in dependence upon the capabilities (208) required to carry out the business initiative (202) and the capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200) and determining the costs associated with acquiring the lacking capabilities (216). The costs associated with a particular lacking capability (216) may be determined, for example, through the use of a central data repository that includes information describing the cost of common capabilities. The central data repository may specify the cost of common capabilities in terms of time, man hours, dollars, and so on.

The example method ofFIG. 3also includes recommending (306), by the capability advisor module (204), a capability development roadmap (308) in dependence upon the lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200). In the example method ofFIG. 3, the capability development roadmap (308) represents information describing various aspects of acquiring one or more capabilities. The capability development roadmap (308) can include, for example, information identifying the cost associated with acquiring one or more capabilities, the amount of time required to develop one or more capabilities, a prioritization of the order in which the one or more capabilities should be developed, information identifying interdependencies between various capabilities, and so on.

For further explanation,FIG. 4sets forth a flow chart illustrating a further example method for analyzing the capabilities of a business enterprise (200) according to embodiments of the present invention. The example method ofFIG. 4is similar to the example method ofFIG. 2as it also includes identifying (206) capabilities (208) required to carry out a business initiative (202), identifying (210) capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200), and determining (214) lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200).

The example method ofFIG. 4also includes identifying (410), by the capability advisor module (204), unnecessary capabilities (412) of the business enterprise (200) in dependence upon the capabilities (208) required to carry out one or more business initiatives (202) and the capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200). In the example method ofFIG. 4, the unnecessary capabilities (412) of the business enterprise (200) represent capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200) that are not used to carry out any business initiative (202) of the business enterprise (200). In the example method ofFIG. 4, identifying (410) unnecessary capabilities (412) may be carried out by identifying the capabilities (212) of the business enterprise (200) that are not included in the set of capabilities (208) required to carry all of the business initiatives (202) that the business enterprise (200) is engaged in. By identifying (410) unnecessary capabilities (412), the business enterprise (200) may rededicate resources that are associated with the unnecessary capabilities (412) to develop lacking capabilities (216) that are required to carry out one or more business initiatives (202).

The example method ofFIG. 4also includes ranking (402), by the capability advisor module (204), the lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200) that are required to carry out the business initiative (202). In the example method ofFIG. 4, the lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200) that are required to carry out the business initiative (202) may be ranked (402) such that the most important lacking capabilities (216) are developed first. The lacking capabilities (216) may be ranked, for example, by virtue of the cost associated to develop the lacking capabilities (216), the amount of time required to develop the lacking capabilities (216), and so on. The ranked lacking capabilities (404) may be provided to operatives within the business enterprise (200) for consideration when developing the lacking capabilities (216).

The example method ofFIG. 4also includes assessing (406), by the capability advisor module (204), the business initiative (200) in dependence upon the lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200). In the example method of FIG.4, assessing (406) the business initiative (200) in dependence upon the lacking capabilities (216) of the business enterprise (200) may be carried out by calculating the total amount of expense and time that will be required to carry out the business initiative (200), including the amount of expense and time that will be required to develop lacking capabilities (216), and comparing the result of such a calculation to the expected benefit of carrying out the business initiative (200) to ensure that undertaking to perform the business initiative (200) is worthwhile. In the example method ofFIG. 4, the assessment (408) of the business initiative (200) may identify expected expenses associated with carrying out the business initiative (202), expected profits associated with carrying out the business initiative (202), the impact on other business initiatives that will result from dedicating resources to carrying out the business initiative (202), a general determination as to whether carrying out the business initiative (202) is worthwhile, and so on.

For further explanation,FIG. 5sets for a block diagram illustrating the relationships between object definitions is a system for analyzing the capabilities of a business enterprise. Each object represents a data structure in such a system, and may be related to other objects as illustrated inFIG. 5. The definition of each object may be described in a table such as Table 1:

TABLE 1Object Definition TableObject NameDefinitionDriver Types (501)Type of motivating influencersDrivers (502)Motivating influencer that triggerstrategic planningIndustry Drivers (503)Industry influencersIndustries (504)Business domainDriver Objectives (505)Objective derived from motivatinginfluencersOrganization Industries (506)Firms line of businessOrganization (507)A FirmStrategic Objectives (508)Objects required to be achieved inorder to execute planned strategyStrategic Objectives MeasurableAchievements related to a particularGoals (509)strategic objective that aremeasurableCapability (510)The ability to perform actions oractivitiesProblem Domain (511)Area of expertiseProblem Domain Capabilities (512)Known capabilities with a certainproblem domainsProblem Domain ResolutionRepeatable set of solution activitiesPatterns (513)within a problem domainExperience Problem DomainLength of successful problemResolution (514)domain resolutionCompetency (515)The ability to handle certainsituations properlyResolution Patterns (516)Known remediesExperience (517)Time of exposureComplexity (518)Is the relative level of difficultyComplexity Roles (519)Are the required Roles with theassociated Skill Set to execute theuse case properlyCapability Activities (520)Activities associated to a capabilityUse Case Complexity (521)The level of effort to perform theUse CaseUse Case ComplexityThe length of time the Use Case isDuration (522)complexActivities (523)Consist on one or more processesActivities Processes (524)Processes defined within an activityProcess (525)Contain one of more tasksProcess Tasks (526)Tasks within a processTasks (527)Single unit of work within a processUse Case Scenario (528)The realization of process by a userDuration (529)The length of timeRate (530)Charge factorRoles (531)Defined position of responsibilitiesSkill Set (532)Trained abilitiesMethodology Type (533)Type of approach adoptedMethodology (534)Approach adoptedSDLC Phase (535)Phases within a system developmentlifecycleSDLC Roles (536)Roles defined within a systemdevelopment lifecycleCapability Measurable Goals (537)Measurable goal achieved throughcapabilityMeasurable Goals (538)Achievements that are measurableCritical Success Factor (CSF)Measurable goals associated toMeasurable Goals (539)critical success factorsMeasurable Goal KPI (540)Performance indicator how closeyou are to attaining a measurablegoalCritical Success Factors (541)Significant factor required for thesuccess achievement of strategicobjectivesKPI (542)Key Performance IndicatorResolution (543)Resolved remedy of known problem

For further explanation,FIG. 6sets forth a block diagram of an example decision tree for analyzing the capabilities of a business enterprise. In the decision tree ofFIG. 6includes the question of “is there a capability?” (602) In response to determining that there is a capability, another question may be “is the capability associated with the problem domain?” (604) In response to determining that the capability is associated with the relevant problem domain, another question may be “is there expertise in the problem domain?” (606) In response to determining that there is expertise in the problem domain, another question may “are there repeatable patterns of problem domain resolution?” (608) In further response to determining that there is expertise in the problem domain, another question may be “is there experience of resolution in the problem domain?” (610)

In further response to determining that there is a capability, another question may be “does the capability have measurable goals?” (612) In response to determining that the capability has measurable goals, another question may be “are there relevant measurable goals?” (614) In response to determining that the measurable goals are relevant, another question may be “do the strategic objectives associated with the defined capabilities have measurable goals?” (616) In response to determining that the strategic objectives associated with the defined capabilities have measurable goals, another question may be “are there strategic objectives defined and associated with the desired strategy?” (618) In response to determining that there are strategic objectives defined and associated with the desired strategy, another question may be “are there strategic objectives aligned with the desired strategy?” (620) In response to determining that the strategic objectives are aligned with the desired strategy, another question may be “are there drivers?” (622) In response to determining that there are drivers, another question may be “are these drivers within the relevant industry?” (624) In response to determining that the drivers are within the relevant industry, another question may be “are they part of a defined industry?” (626). In the example ofFIG. 6, by answering each question in the example decision tree, a business entity may be better equipped to determine whether there current capabilities will allow that business entity to accomplish various objectives.