A Capability Case is the �Case for a Capability�
- By Capability we mean the potential to deliver business functionality. Case is different from the Use Case meaning of the word case. It is borrowed from two places.
1. In the Case-Based Reasoning world the word �case�
- has a long established meaning of defining a �Problem-Solution� pair for reuse and adaptation in new problem contexts.
- Capability Cases are reusable solution concepts.
2. In the Business world �case� has a well-established meaning of making a business justification for spending effort or money.
Why Capability Cases
The communications gap between business and technical people accounts for some of the biggest failures that can occur in realizing IT solutions for business. This gap arises because of the different languages and vocabularies spoken by business strategists, solution users, IT and technology evangelists. To bridge this gap, we introduce �Capability Cases�. By using the languages of business, as well as technical communities, a Capability Case provides a way to connect solution concepts to the business situation using a �Business Problem �Technology Solution� pattern.
- Even for the established, well adopted technologies it is difficult for decision makers to determine the business value of a technology in a particular situation simply through an explanation of the technology.
- It is necessary to see it in a context where it is providing business value. This need becomes even stronger with the emerging technology that introduces new capabilities and new paradigms. Because Capability Cases convey business value of technology in a real work setting, they provide an excellent tool to satisfy this need. Each Capability Case demonstrates the value of Semantic Technology through one or more stories.
'The Language of Capability Cases
A Capability Case expresses an IT solution pattern in a business context with stories of successful use, applicable technologies and leading practices - all connected to business forces and results.
- A force is a business driver, internal or external to the business that requires a response. By force we mean a new or existing condition that is affecting the business. A force can be an issue, where the business is failing in some way, or an opportunity to realize new benefits. Forces can arise from a number of different sources that we categorize as: Regulatory, Customers, Enterprise, Marketplace and Technology. Forces can be constant or dynamic. For example, existing government regulation can be considered a stable force. On the other hand, �increasing availability of wireless infrastructure� represents a dynamic force that is on the increase. Such dynamic forces can be thought of as trends.
- A challenge is a predicament that the business is experiencing. Challenges are often revealed by the pains that users and stake-holders are experiencing. we state a corresponding challenge in the form of a �How to� statement, for example, �How can we speed up order processing?�. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between a challenge and a force. Often forces could be expressed as challenges. The main difference between forces and challenges is that forces originate outside of a business system and challenges are their effects - what is inflicted upon the business system. A test to consider when distinguishing a challenge from a force is whether it prevents people from doing their day to day work. If the answer is �yes�, it probably is a challenge rather then a force.
- A result is a statement of a desired outcome - something the business wants to accomplish. A result is a change in state of some aspect of the business or in the impact of the business in its environment. Capability Cases use Kaplan and Norton�s Balance Scorecard framework for distinguishing four categories of results: Financial, Customer, Internal, Learning and Growth. Like Balanced Scorecard it places a strong emphasis on measurable results. In our work, however, we also adopt Neely, Adams and Kennerley�s �Performance Prism � support for multiple stakeholder groups: end-users, employees, suppliers, regulators, pressure groups, and local communities.
A Capability Case contextualizes technology enabled capabilities by identifying forces challenges and business results associated with each capability.
What is the relation between Capability Cases and Use Cases
Simply stated, a Capability Case is the �Case for a Capability�. �Case� in the sense of making a business case through the stories and business contexts they embody. A UseCase is a �Case of Use�.
In software development
- Use Cases have become the standard way of expressing requirements for how a system should work. They explore the behavior of a system from the user�s goal � what the user is intending to accomplish. Use Cases express the user�s intent and the flow of interactions at a system boundary for both the successful (happy) cases of use and the failure cases.
In the early stages of the lifecycle,
- use cases are simply listed with their intents. It is not until later in the lifecycle, when the nature of the system is known, that more detailed elaboration of a use case, explaining how things work, can be described. What the �system should be� in order response to business forces and challenges and to deliver desired results is not a question that use cases are designed to answer. This question needs a concept-driven approach. Capability Cases address the need to present solution ideas earlier in the lifecycle so that the concepts of the solution can be explored from a large space of possibilities. As such they serve as �educators� and �catalysts� for sparking ideas.
The term "
UseCase"
- also been adopted (co-opted) by the technology vendor community to mean something different from its use in the software requirements, design and development.
- It is used to describe exemplar application areas for a technology. For example, a vendor may identify e-commerce as a "use case" for their technology. Sometimes, this is also called "usage scenario", which, in our opinion is a more appropriate and less confusing name.
- Unlike "traditional" use cases that use structured templates specifying actors and normal and abnormal flows of events, usage scenarios are written in an unstructured narrative format
Capability Cases have a similar intent with usage scenarios in that they convey the essential ideas of a system.
- Unlike free form usage scenarios they position the system in the business context by connecting the story to business drivers, challenges and results.
- They also serve as a standard way to identify and describe capabilities or common building blocks for the solution. In this way, stories serve as a way to further explain and illustrate capabilities.
-- Ralph Hodgson, extracted from Jeff Pollock and Ralph Hodgson, "Adaptive Information", John Wiley, 2004
Capability Case