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Capability Map

What can you actually do — and where are the gaps?

CAPABILITY MAP
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CAPABILITY MATURITY GAP?
────────────────────────── ──────── ────
[capability-1] ████░ (4)
[capability-2] ███░░ (3)
[capability-3] ░░░░░ (0) CRITICAL
[capability-4] █░░░░ (1) GAP
[capability-5] ██░░░ (2)

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The Capability Map is the fourth flow engineering map. It answers the question the other three maps depend on: can you actually execute?

Maturity Levels

LevelNameDescriptionEvidence
0Not BuiltCapability doesn't existN/A
1Ad-hocDepends on individualsIndividual doing it
2RepeatableBasic processes existProcess exists
3DefinedDocumented, standardisedDocumentation
4ManagedMeasured, data-drivenMetrics tracked
5OptimisedContinuous improvementImprovement data

Capability Categories

CategoryDescriptionInvestment Strategy
CoreDifferentiates from competitorsBuild internally, invest heavily
SupportingEnables core, not differentiatingMake efficient, consider buying
GenericCommodity, everyone needs itBuy, don't build

Build core capabilities. Buy generic ones. The investment mistake is building what you should buy and buying what you should build.

Integration

MapConnection
Outcome MapObstacles often reveal capability gaps
Value StreamBottlenecks correlate with capability gaps
Dependency MapCritical path requires capability timeline

The full sequence: Outcome -- Value Stream -- Dependencies -- Capabilities -- A&ID

Gate

Before executing:

  • All capabilities assessed with evidence-based maturity
  • Capabilities categorised (Core / Supporting / Generic)
  • Gaps identified and prioritised (P1 / P2 / P3)
  • Investment strategy matches category
  • Action plan has owners
  • Critical gaps have escalation paths

If core capabilities have P1 gaps, address before project execution.

Context