This document discusses the concept of capability and proposes using a capability-driven approach to software development. It defines capability as the ability and capacity to continuously deliver business value in changing circumstances. It suggests taking a goals-process-context approach by (1) defining organizational goals, (2) modeling the processes to achieve those goals, and (3) adding context to plan for different situations. This capability-based framework would integrate goals, processes and dynamic contexts using a capability metamodel. It argues that many software systems fail because these elements are not properly integrated.

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Capability: What is it about?
Prof. Dr. Oscar Pastor
Department of Information Systems and Computation
Valencia University of Technology, Spain

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Table of Contents
• Vagueness of the concept
• What is a Capability?
• How to use the notion for improving
Software Process?
• Some answers as conclusion…

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Does the Capability term exist
in your language?
• Yes, in english
• capability /ˌkeɪpəˈbɪlɪtɪ/ n ( pl -ties) the quality of
being capable; ability
• the quality of being susceptible to the use or
treatment indicated: the capability of a metal to be
fused
• (usually plural) a characteristic that may be
developed; potential aptitude

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Does the Capability term exist
in your language?
1. capacity /kəˈpæsɪtɪ/ n ( pl -ties) the ability or power
to contain, absorb, or hold
2. the amount that can be contained; volume: a
capacity of six gallons
3. the ability to understand or learn; aptitude; capability:
he has a great capacity for Greek
4. the ability to do or produce (often in the phrase at
capacity): the factory's output was not at capacity
5. a specified position or function
6. a measure of the electrical output of a piece of
apparatus such as a motor, generator, or
accumulator
7. a former name for capacitance
8. the number of words or characters that can be stored
in a particular storage device
9. legal competence: the capacity to make a will

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Does the Capability term exist
in your language?
• ability /əˈbɪlɪtɪ/ n ( pl -ties) possession of
the qualities required to do something;
necessary skill, competence, or power
• considerable proficiency; natural
capability: a man of ability
• (plural) special talents

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Does the Capability term exist
in your language?
• Not, in spanish
• capacidad
• Talento o inteligencia:
quedó patente su capacidad para los idiomas.
• habilidad
• f. Capacidad, inteligencia y disposición para realizar
algo: tiene una habilidad endiablada para liarte.
• Lo que se realiza con gracia y destreza:
nos mostró sus habilidades al volante.

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Some “uses” of the notion in
practice
• The IKEA metaphor
• An Enterprise Modeling-oriented /
Organizational perspective
• A Military projection
• Some “personal”, delicate decisions… 
• Even an ISO standardization use…
Quality Definition of ISO 25000: The capability of a
software product to satisfy stated and implied needs
when used under specified condition.

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Why should we use Capability-
driven methods?

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The strong need of reaching an
“Ontological Commitment”
• What does exactly mean to have both the
“capacity” and the “ability” to do
something?
• The CaaS offer is a precise answer:
Capability is an ability to continuously deliver
business value in dynamically changing
circumstances
Capability is the ability and capacity that enable an
enterprise to achieve a goal in a certain context.

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A question
• Is this definition acceptable for the
Capability community? (provided that this
community exists!)

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A practical projection
• The adequate link of goal, process and
context gives a precise direction.
• Context set and context situation
(example).pdf

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Methodologically speaking…
1. Let’s fix your organization goals (Goal Model)
2. Let’s complement it with the process model
that operationalizes goals (BPM-like Model)
3. Let’s add the context perspective to plan the
right answer for a modified context (Context
Model)
IT Development offering

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Tool support
• Such a Capability-based working framework makes
sense, including:
1. A Goal-modeling component
2. A Process-modeling component
3. A Context-modeling component
• All the three properly integrated through the Capability
Metamodel, the “conceptual glue” of the method.

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Going back to our initial
“application examples”…
• The IKEA metaphor
• An Enterprise Modeling-oriented /
Organizational perspective
• A Military projection
• Some “personal”, delicate decisions… 
• Even an ISO standardization use…
• So then?

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• Probably because Goals, Process and dynamic
Contexts are not properly and efficiently integrated?
• Assembler, Third Generation Languages, Relational Databases,
Declarative Programming, Methodologies and CASE tools
(Structured Analysis and Design, Object-Oriented Modeling, UML-
based), Component-based Programming, Aspect-based, Agent-
Oriented, Extreme Programming, Agile Methods, Requirements
Engineering, Organizational Modeling… -- CAPABILITIES AS A
SERVICE!!!
• Sounds good!!! We are just trying to go ahead with this ASDENCA
initiaitive…
• Adoption requires Tools!!!!
Why do many Software Systems and
Applications fail to meet the needs?

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CaaS/CDD in a Nutshell
“To develop an information system is
necessary and sufficient to define the
capabilities that it must fulfil”

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Thank You!