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For some time now I have been promoting the idea that the practice of business architecture is not about creating blueprints and models but applying a set of tools and techniques to form broader perspectives, create deeper insight, and solve business problems. If business architecture is a practice then what is its portfolio of services? I have created my take on the business architect’s service portfolio and broken it down into four categories: strategy development and articulation services, organizational performance services, organizational change services, and project support services. This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list that completely describes the business architecture practice but a starting place to spur your imagination of what can be done.Do you have other ideas? Please comment!
Organizational Performance Services
Capability modeling and assessment – Capability management is rapidly becoming the core element of most business architecture practices. Help organizations identify the complete set of capabilities necessary to execute their business model or mission. Capability models can be created at any level of the organization and to varying degrees of detail based on the goal of the assessment. Create heat-map-type assessments that identify which capabilities contribute most to organizational success as well as which capabilities are performing as needed.
Capability based performance models – Help organizations design and implement a capability based approach to measuring performance. Create performance metrics and targets for each capability based on its contribution to the organization’s mission. Design capability enhancement roadmaps that demonstrate how capabilities need to evolve over time.
Capability resource analysis – Help organizations identify and understand the resources they are expending to execute their capabilities. This can be done through a variety of lenses including financial, people, technology, etc. Project resource expenditures back onto both the capability contribution and performance views to develop a clear picture of where investment is needed – and where it is not.
Capability sourcing analysis – Leverage the capability performance models, and resource analysis to identify opportunities for alternative sourcing. Identify alternative sourcing options, benefits, challenges, and risks.
Resource portfolio analysis – Provide insight into an organization’s resources through a portfolio lens. Create a portfolio model that helps managers target the desired structure of the portfolio and provide the analysis to demonstrate where the portfolio stands today. This technique can be applied to projects, applications, technology, knowledge, people skills, and other assets.
SWOT analysis – Apply this relatively simple technique to help teams and mid-sized organizations quickly self-assess their opportunities and ability to seize them. The model looks at four dimensions: strengths – capabilities of the organization that give it an advantage, weaknesses – limitations in capabilities that create a disadvantage, opportunities – chances to advance the organization, and threats – external challenges to the organization’s performance.
In the next post, I will look at organizational change services.
Tagged: Business Architecture, Business Architecture Practice, Consulting 
