Creating a business capability map might sound complex, but it’s really about stepping back and taking a thoughtful look at what your business needs to be able to do — not how it does it or who does it. The goal is to create a big-picture view of your organization’s abilities so you can plan better, make smarter decisions, and stay aligned. Let’s see how to create a business capability map.
Step 1. Start with your business goals
Before jumping into listing capabilities, take a moment to understand the bigger picture. What is your organization trying to achieve? Are you focusing on growth, improving efficiency, launching new products, or transforming digitally?
Your business goals will guide what capabilities you need to include and highlight later. The map should support your strategy — not just mirror your org chart.
2. Identify the major capability areas
Next, outline the top-level capability domains — the broad areas that represent what your business does. These might include:
- Sales
- Marketing
- Operations
- Customer service
- Product development
- Finance
- HR
- IT
These are your Level 1 capabilities — the biggest buckets of your business activities.
Step 3. Break them down into sub-capabilities
Now take each top-level area and break it down into more specific capabilities. For example:
Under “Marketing,” you might have:
- Campaign Management
- Content Creation
- Market Research
Under “HR,” you might include:
- Employee Onboarding
- Benefits Administration
- Performance Management
These are Level 2 capabilities — still high-level, but more specific.
If needed, you can go one level deeper with Level 3 capabilities, especially if you’re using the map for deeper analysis or planning.
Step 4. Define each capability clearly
Each capability should be described in simple, action-focused terms like “Manage Inventory” or “Track Customer Feedback.” Avoid job titles, team names, or tech jargon.
Make sure everyone agrees on what each capability means — otherwise, people may interpret them differently. Even a short one-line description can help maintain clarity.
Step 5. Organize and structure your map
Once you’ve listed your capabilities, lay them out in a structured, visual way. Most maps use a top-down hierarchy:
- Start with Level 1 capabilities at the top
- Add Level 2 (and optional Level 3) capabilities underneath each
- Group related capabilities into business domains
You can use Creately or even sticky notes and a whiteboard to draft it. A visual tool is better for collaboration and ongoing updates.
Step 6. Add useful visual cues
To make your capability map more practical, you can add:
- Color coding to show strengths, weaknesses, or priority areas
- Tags or icons to flag strategic or high-risk capabilities
- Heatmaps to highlight capabilities that need investment or transformation
These extras turn your map into a strategic decision-making tool, not just a diagram.
Step 7. Review and validate with stakeholders
Before finalizing the map, share it with people across the business — especially leaders, analysts, and team heads. Get their input to make sure nothing important is missing and that the capabilities are described clearly and accurately.
This collaboration also helps build alignment and buy-in across teams.
Step 8. Keep it updated
A capability map is most useful when it evolves with your business. As strategies shift or new technologies are introduced, revisit the map to adjust capabilities, add new ones, or mark ones that are no longer relevant.
Think of it as a living blueprint for how your business delivers value — not a one-time task.
Bonus step: Create your capability map faster with Creately AI
Instead of starting from scratch, use Creately’s business capability map templates or let Creately AI do the work for you. Just open the AI template, describe your business or goal (e.g., “retail focused on e-commerce”), and Creately AI will instantly generate a structured draft map with grouped capabilities and a clear layout.
From there, you can:
- Edit or expand capabilities based on your needs
- Add notes, data, or links to each capability
- Use colors, tags, or icons to show strategic priorities
- Collaborate in real time with your team
- Present the map using Creately’s built-in presentation mode
- Share or export it to integrate with tools like Google Workspace or Confluence
Now that you are familiar with business capability mapping steps, here are some free templates to get started
AI Business Capability Map Template
Blank Business Capability Map
Business Capability Map Template
IT Capability Map
Capability Map Template
7 Business Capability Mapping Best Practices
Start with strategy: Build your map around your business goals — like growth, efficiency, or transformation — so it supports real priorities, not just structure.
Focus on the “what,” not the “how”: Capabilities describe what the business must do — not processes, teams, or tools. Keep statements clear and outcome-based.
Use simple, consistent language: Name capabilities in plain, action-oriented terms. Be consistent across levels to avoid confusion.
Organize in levels: Start with broad domains (like Sales or Operations) and break them into smaller sub-capabilities for better structure and clarity.
Don’t overdo the detail early on: Begin high-level. Add more depth only when needed — especially for areas tied to transformation or investment.
Collaborate across teams: Involve different departments to get accurate input, build buy-in, and avoid working in silos.
Make it visual and clear: Use color, grouping, and layout to keep your map easy to read. A clean visual makes it more useful — and easier to share.
Business Capability Mapping Challenges
Mixing up capabilities with processes or teams: People often confuse a capability (what the business needs to do) with how it’s done, who does it, or what tools are used. It takes some explanation to get everyone thinking the same way.
Hard to name capabilities clearly: If the names are too vague, no one understands them. If they’re too detailed, the map gets messy. Finding the right wording takes teamwork and clarity.
No single right way to build a map: Unlike org charts, there’s no universal template for capability maps. Each business needs its own structure — which is flexible, but can also cause confusion if there’s no clear approach.
Feels abstract for some teams: Since capability maps focus on the “what,” not the “how,” some people may find it too high-level. Unless it’s tied to real goals or problems, it can feel disconnected.
Getting teams aligned isn’t easy: Capabilities often cross departments, so different teams may see things differently. Aligning everyone takes time, conversations, and good facilitation.
Doesn’t always lead to action: If the map just sits on a slide and isn’t used in planning or decision-making, its value is lost. The goal is to connect it to real action — like investments, improvements, or transformation.
References
Pouya Aleatrati Khosroshahi, Hauder, M., Volkert, S., Matthes, F. and Gernegroß, M. (2018). Business Capability Maps: Current Practices and Use Cases for Enterprise Architecture Management. Proceedings of the … Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. doi:https://doi.org/10.24251/hicss.2018.581.
Bondel, G., Faber, A. and Matthes, F. (2018). Reporting from the Implementation of a Business Capability Map as Business-IT Alignment Tool. doi:https://doi.org/10.1109/edocw.2018.00027.
Schneider, K., Richter, S. and Heumüller, E. (2024). A Business Capability Map for Digital Platforms. pp.1–9. doi:https://doi.org/10.1109/ice/itmc61926.2024.10794330.
Effective business capabilities are clearly defined, action-oriented, and stable over time. They focus on what the business needs to do, not how or who does it. Good capabilities are:FAQs About Business Capability Mapping
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