Business Capability Map Examples

10 worked examples of a business capability map, covering 47 Level 1 domains and 206 Level 2 capabilities across Financial Services, Retail, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Logistics & Transport, Technology / SaaS, Education, Energy & Utilities, Insurance, Telecommunications. Every capability carries a definition, because a capability map without definitions is a list of nouns people read differently.

How to Read These

A capability describes what a business must be able to do, stated so it stays true whether the organization reorganizes or replaces its systems. Level 1 is the domain — a handful of groupings that cover the whole business. Level 2 decomposes each domain into the capabilities it contains. Each capability below is tagged by the part it plays:

Strategic — differentiates the organization and is where advantage is won or lost.
Core — essential to running the business, where reliability matters more than distinctiveness.
Supporting — necessary but rarely a source of advantage; a common candidate for shared services.

The tag matters more than it looks: it is what turns a map into an investment argument. Treating a supporting capability as strategic is how architecture budgets get spent in the wrong place.

What These Examples Are, and Are Not

These are orientation structures: enough to see the shape of a map, argue about the top two levels with colleagues, and start one of your own. They stop at Level 2. A capability model an organization can actually run a program against goes one level further — Level 3, where a domain like Claims Management becomes forty or seventy distinct capabilities, each with a definition precise enough that two teams reading it reach the same conclusion, and with KPIs attached at Level 2 so maturity can be scored rather than asserted. That is the difference between the examples on this page and the models in the Store, which decompose to Level 3 with definitions and KPIs and arrive as editable Excel, PowerPoint, and Word files.

Financial Services Capability Map Example

6 Level 1 domains, 28 Level 2 capabilities.

Customer & Distribution

Customer Acquisition (strategic) — The ability to attract, evaluate, and onboard new customers across all channels.
Customer Relationship Management (core) — The ability to manage and grow long-term customer relationships and lifetime value.
Channel Management (core) — The ability to manage and optimize distribution channels including branch, digital, and third-party.
Customer Experience Management (strategic) — The ability to design, deliver, and continuously improve the end-to-end customer experience.
Customer Analytics (core) — The ability to analyze customer data to understand behavior, preferences, and risk profiles.

Product & Services

Product Design & Development (strategic) — The ability to design, develop, and launch financial products and services.
Product Management (core) — The ability to manage the lifecycle of financial products from launch to retirement.
Pricing Management (core) — The ability to set, manage, and optimize pricing across products and customer segments.
Product Portfolio Management (strategic) — The ability to manage the overall product portfolio for strategic fit and profitability.

Risk & Compliance

Credit Risk Management (core) — The ability to assess, monitor, and manage credit risk across the lending portfolio.
Market Risk Management (core) — The ability to identify, measure, and mitigate market risk exposures.
Operational Risk Management (core) — The ability to identify and manage risks arising from internal processes, people, and systems.
Regulatory Compliance (core) — The ability to ensure adherence to applicable laws, regulations, and supervisory requirements.
Financial Crime Prevention (core) — The ability to detect, prevent, and report financial crime including fraud and money laundering.

Finance & Treasury

Financial Planning & Analysis (core) — The ability to plan, forecast, and analyze financial performance.
Treasury Management (core) — The ability to manage liquidity, funding, and capital allocation.
Financial Reporting (supporting) — The ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements and regulatory reports.
Capital Management (strategic) — The ability to optimize the organization's capital structure and allocation.

Technology & Data

Core Banking Platform Management (core) — The ability to operate and evolve the core banking system.
Data Management (core) — The ability to collect, store, govern, and distribute data across the enterprise.
Cybersecurity (core) — The ability to protect the organization's information assets from cyber threats.
Digital Platform Management (strategic) — The ability to build and manage digital channels and platforms.
IT Infrastructure Management (supporting) — The ability to manage the technology infrastructure that supports business operations.

Operations & Support

Transaction Processing (core) — The ability to process financial transactions accurately and efficiently.
Payments Management (core) — The ability to manage domestic and international payment flows.
Human Resources Management (supporting) — The ability to attract, develop, and retain talent.
Procurement Management (supporting) — The ability to source and manage supplier relationships.
Facilities Management (supporting) — The ability to manage physical premises and workplace environments.

The Level 3 model for this sector is the Retail Banking Business Capability Map — $999.

Retail Capability Map Example

5 Level 1 domains, 21 Level 2 capabilities.

Customer & Marketing

Customer Acquisition & Retention (strategic) — The ability to attract new customers and retain existing ones across all channels.
Brand Management (strategic) — The ability to build, protect, and evolve the retail brand.
Marketing Campaign Management (core) — The ability to plan, execute, and measure marketing campaigns.
Customer Loyalty Management (core) — The ability to design and manage loyalty programs that drive repeat purchase.
Customer Analytics (core) — The ability to analyze customer data to understand shopping behavior and preferences.

Merchandising & Buying

Assortment Planning (strategic) — The ability to plan and manage the product range to meet customer demand.
Buying & Sourcing (core) — The ability to select, negotiate, and source products from suppliers.
Pricing & Promotions Management (core) — The ability to set prices and manage promotional activity to optimize revenue.
Category Management (core) — The ability to manage product categories as strategic business units.

Supply Chain & Logistics

Demand Forecasting (core) — The ability to predict customer demand to optimize inventory and supply.
Inventory Management (core) — The ability to manage stock levels across the supply chain.
Supplier Management (core) — The ability to manage supplier relationships, performance, and risk.
Logistics & Distribution (core) — The ability to move products from suppliers to stores and customers.
Returns Management (supporting) — The ability to manage product returns efficiently and sustainably.

Store & Channel Operations

Store Operations Management (core) — The ability to manage the day-to-day operations of physical retail stores.
Digital Commerce Management (strategic) — The ability to operate and optimize digital sales channels.
Omnichannel Experience Management (strategic) — The ability to deliver a seamless experience across physical and digital channels.
Point of Sale Management (core) — The ability to manage transaction processing at the point of sale.

Technology & Data

Retail Technology Platform Management (core) — The ability to manage the technology platforms that support retail operations.
Data & Analytics (core) — The ability to collect, manage, and analyze retail data for decision-making.
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy (supporting) — The ability to protect customer and business data.

The Level 3 model for this sector is the Consumer Retail Business Capabilities Map — $999.

Healthcare Capability Map Example

5 Level 1 domains, 19 Level 2 capabilities.

Patient Care & Clinical

Patient Assessment & Diagnosis (core) — The ability to assess patient conditions and arrive at accurate diagnoses.
Care Planning & Coordination (core) — The ability to develop and coordinate personalized care plans across providers.
Clinical Treatment Delivery (core) — The ability to deliver safe and effective clinical treatments and interventions.
Patient Safety Management (core) — The ability to identify, prevent, and respond to patient safety risks.
Chronic Disease Management (strategic) — The ability to manage patients with chronic conditions over the long term.

Patient Access & Experience

Patient Engagement & Education (strategic) — The ability to engage patients in their own care and provide health education.
Appointment & Scheduling Management (core) — The ability to manage patient appointments and provider schedules.
Patient Experience Management (strategic) — The ability to measure and improve the patient experience.
Referral Management (core) — The ability to manage referrals between care providers.

Clinical Operations

Pharmacy Management (core) — The ability to manage medication dispensing, safety, and supply.
Laboratory & Diagnostics Management (core) — The ability to manage diagnostic testing and laboratory operations.
Medical Equipment Management (supporting) — The ability to manage the lifecycle of medical equipment and devices.
Infection Prevention & Control (core) — The ability to prevent and control healthcare-associated infections.

Finance & Revenue Cycle

Revenue Cycle Management (core) — The ability to manage the financial processes from patient registration to payment collection.
Healthcare Billing & Coding (core) — The ability to accurately code clinical services and submit claims.
Financial Planning & Budgeting (supporting) — The ability to plan and manage the organization's financial resources.

Regulatory & Quality

Regulatory Compliance Management (core) — The ability to comply with healthcare regulations, accreditation, and licensing requirements.
Clinical Quality Management (core) — The ability to measure, monitor, and improve clinical quality outcomes.
Risk Management (core) — The ability to identify and manage clinical and operational risks.

The Level 3 model for this sector is the Hospital Business Capabilities Map — $999.

Manufacturing Capability Map Example

5 Level 1 domains, 21 Level 2 capabilities.

Product Development

Product Design & Engineering (strategic) — The ability to design and engineer products that meet customer and regulatory requirements.
Research & Development (strategic) — The ability to conduct research and develop new technologies and products.
Product Lifecycle Management (core) — The ability to manage products from concept through to end-of-life.
Regulatory Affairs (core) — The ability to manage product regulatory approvals and compliance.

Manufacturing & Operations

Production Planning & Scheduling (core) — The ability to plan and schedule manufacturing operations to meet demand.
Manufacturing Execution (core) — The ability to execute manufacturing processes to quality and efficiency standards.
Quality Management (core) — The ability to ensure products meet quality standards throughout production.
Maintenance Management (supporting) — The ability to maintain manufacturing equipment and facilities.
Lean & Continuous Improvement (strategic) — The ability to continuously improve manufacturing processes and eliminate waste.

Supply Chain

Demand Planning (core) — The ability to forecast demand and align supply chain capacity.
Procurement & Sourcing (core) — The ability to source raw materials and components at the right quality, cost, and time.
Supplier Relationship Management (core) — The ability to manage strategic supplier relationships and performance.
Inventory & Warehouse Management (core) — The ability to manage raw material, WIP, and finished goods inventory.
Logistics & Distribution (core) — The ability to manage the physical movement of goods to customers.

Sales & Customer

Sales Management (core) — The ability to manage the sales process and customer relationships.
Customer Service Management (core) — The ability to manage post-sale customer service and support.
Order Management (core) — The ability to manage customer orders from receipt to fulfillment.

Technology & Innovation

Industrial IoT & Automation (strategic) — The ability to leverage IoT and automation technologies in manufacturing operations.
Digital Twin Management (strategic) — The ability to create and manage digital representations of physical assets and processes.
Data & Analytics (core) — The ability to collect and analyze operational data for decision-making.
IT/OT Integration (core) — The ability to integrate information technology with operational technology systems.

The Level 3 model for this sector is the Manufacturing Business Capabilities Map — $699.

Logistics & Transport Capability Map Example

4 Level 1 domains, 17 Level 2 capabilities.

Network & Capacity

Network Design & Optimization (strategic) — The ability to design and continuously optimize the logistics network.
Capacity Planning & Management (core) — The ability to plan and manage transport and warehousing capacity.
Fleet Management (core) — The ability to manage the vehicle fleet including acquisition, maintenance, and utilization.
Route Optimization (core) — The ability to optimize delivery routes for cost, time, and sustainability.

Operations

Freight & Cargo Management (core) — The ability to manage the movement of freight across modes and borders.
Warehouse & Fulfillment Management (core) — The ability to manage warehousing, picking, packing, and fulfillment operations.
Last Mile Delivery Management (strategic) — The ability to manage the final leg of delivery to end customers.
Customs & Trade Compliance (core) — The ability to manage customs documentation and international trade compliance.
Reverse Logistics Management (supporting) — The ability to manage returns, repairs, and end-of-life logistics.

Customer & Commercial

Customer Relationship Management (core) — The ability to manage shipper and consignee relationships.
Pricing & Yield Management (strategic) — The ability to set and optimize freight pricing and yield.
Track & Trace (core) — The ability to provide real-time visibility of shipment status to customers.
Claims Management (supporting) — The ability to manage freight damage and loss claims.

Technology & Data

Transport Management System (core) — The ability to manage and optimize transport operations through technology.
Visibility & Tracking Platform (core) — The ability to provide end-to-end shipment visibility.
Data Analytics & Intelligence (core) — The ability to analyze logistics data to improve performance.
Autonomous & Emerging Technology (strategic) — The ability to evaluate and adopt autonomous vehicles, drones, and other emerging logistics technologies.

The Level 3 model for this sector is the Transportation Business Capabilities Map — $999.

Technology / SaaS Capability Map Example

4 Level 1 domains, 19 Level 2 capabilities.

Product

Product Strategy & Vision (strategic) — The ability to define and communicate the product strategy and roadmap.
Product Development & Engineering (core) — The ability to design, build, and ship software products.
Product Management (core) — The ability to manage the product lifecycle from discovery to retirement.
UX & Design (core) — The ability to design intuitive and compelling user experiences.
Quality Assurance (core) — The ability to ensure software quality through testing and quality processes.

Go-to-Market

Demand Generation (strategic) — The ability to generate qualified pipeline through marketing programs.
Sales Management (core) — The ability to manage the sales process from lead to close.
Customer Success Management (strategic) — The ability to drive customer adoption, retention, and expansion.
Partner & Channel Management (core) — The ability to manage reseller, referral, and technology partner relationships.
Pricing & Packaging (strategic) — The ability to design and manage pricing models and product packaging.

Platform & Infrastructure

Cloud Infrastructure Management (core) — The ability to manage cloud infrastructure for reliability, scalability, and cost.
Security & Compliance (core) — The ability to protect the platform and customer data from security threats.
Platform Reliability Engineering (core) — The ability to ensure platform availability and performance at scale.
DevOps & Deployment (core) — The ability to manage the software delivery pipeline.
Data Platform Management (core) — The ability to manage the data infrastructure that supports the product and business.

Corporate & Finance

Financial Planning & Analysis (supporting) — The ability to plan, forecast, and analyze financial performance.
Legal & Intellectual Property (supporting) — The ability to manage legal matters and protect intellectual property.
People & Talent Management (core) — The ability to attract, develop, and retain top talent.
Corporate Governance (supporting) — The ability to govern the organization in compliance with regulatory and stakeholder requirements.

The Level 3 model for this sector is the Software Business Capabilities Map — $999.

Education Capability Map Example

4 Level 1 domains, 16 Level 2 capabilities.

Learning & Teaching

Curriculum Design & Development (strategic) — The ability to design and develop effective curricula and learning programs.
Instructional Delivery (core) — The ability to deliver high-quality instruction across modalities.
Student Assessment & Evaluation (core) — The ability to assess student learning and provide meaningful feedback.
Learning Experience Design (strategic) — The ability to design engaging and effective learning experiences.
Academic Advising (core) — The ability to guide students in their academic and career pathways.

Student Services

Student Recruitment & Enrollment (strategic) — The ability to attract, recruit, and enroll students.
Student Wellbeing & Support (core) — The ability to support the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of students.
Career Services Management (core) — The ability to prepare students for employment and career success.
Alumni Engagement (supporting) — The ability to maintain and leverage relationships with alumni.

Research & Innovation

Research Management (strategic) — The ability to manage the research lifecycle from grant application to publication.
Industry Partnership Management (strategic) — The ability to develop and manage partnerships with industry for research and employment.
Knowledge Transfer & Commercialization (strategic) — The ability to transfer research knowledge into commercial applications.

Operations & Administration

Financial Management (supporting) — The ability to manage the institution's financial resources.
Facilities & Campus Management (supporting) — The ability to manage physical campus facilities and infrastructure.
Human Resources Management (supporting) — The ability to attract, develop, and retain academic and professional staff.
Regulatory & Accreditation Compliance (core) — The ability to maintain compliance with educational regulations and accreditation standards.

Energy & Utilities Capability Map Example

4 Level 1 domains, 15 Level 2 capabilities.

Generation & Production

Energy Generation Management (core) — The ability to manage energy generation assets across fuel types.
Renewable Energy Management (strategic) — The ability to develop, operate, and optimize renewable energy assets.
Asset Performance Management (core) — The ability to maximize the performance and reliability of generation assets.
Energy Trading & Optimization (strategic) — The ability to trade energy and optimize the generation portfolio.

Network & Infrastructure

Grid & Network Management (core) — The ability to manage the transmission and distribution network.
Network Planning & Investment (strategic) — The ability to plan and invest in network capacity and resilience.
Smart Grid Management (strategic) — The ability to leverage smart grid technologies for network optimization.
Field Operations Management (core) — The ability to manage field crews for network maintenance and construction.

Customer & Retail

Customer Acquisition & Retention (strategic) — The ability to acquire and retain energy customers.
Metering & Billing Management (core) — The ability to manage metering, billing, and revenue collection.
Customer Service Management (core) — The ability to manage customer inquiries, complaints, and service requests.
Energy Efficiency Services (strategic) — The ability to provide customers with energy efficiency advice and solutions.

Regulation & Sustainability

Regulatory Compliance Management (core) — The ability to comply with energy sector regulations and license conditions.
Environmental & Sustainability Management (strategic) — The ability to manage environmental impact and meet sustainability commitments.
Government & Stakeholder Relations (core) — The ability to manage relationships with government, regulators, and community stakeholders.

The Level 3 model for this sector is the Energy Industry Business Capabilities Map — $999.

Insurance Capability Map Example

5 Level 1 domains, 25 Level 2 capabilities.

Product & Underwriting

Product Development & Filing (strategic) — The ability to design insurance products and file rates, rules, and forms with regulators.
Risk Selection & Underwriting (core) — The ability to evaluate a risk and decide whether, and on what terms, to accept it.
Pricing & Rating (core) — The ability to set and apply premium rates that reflect expected loss and expense.
Actuarial Analysis & Reserving (core) — The ability to estimate future liabilities and hold reserves against them.
Reinsurance Management (strategic) — The ability to cede risk to reinsurers and manage treaty and facultative arrangements.

Distribution & Customer

Agent & Broker Management (strategic) — The ability to appoint, support, and compensate intermediaries who sell on the carrier's behalf.
Quote & Bind Management (core) — The ability to produce a quotation and convert it into a bound policy.
Policyholder Servicing (core) — The ability to handle endorsements, renewals, cancellations, and policyholder inquiries.
Customer Experience Management (strategic) — The ability to design and improve the policyholder's experience across every channel.
Marketing & Brand Management (supporting) — The ability to build demand and brand preference in a low-purchase-frequency market.

Claims

Claims Intake & Triage (core) — The ability to receive a notice of loss and route it by complexity, severity, and coverage.
Claims Adjudication (core) — The ability to investigate a claim, determine coverage and liability, and decide the outcome.
Loss Assessment & Settlement (core) — The ability to value a loss and settle it with the claimant.
Fraud Detection & Investigation (core) — The ability to identify and investigate claims that are not what they appear to be.
Subrogation & Recovery (supporting) — The ability to recover paid losses from responsible third parties.

Risk, Finance & Compliance

Capital & Solvency Management (strategic) — The ability to hold and allocate capital sufficient to meet regulatory solvency requirements.
Investment Portfolio Management (strategic) — The ability to invest premium float against the duration and risk of the liabilities it backs.
Financial Management & Reporting (core) — The ability to produce statutory, management, and regulatory financial reporting.
Regulatory Compliance Management (core) — The ability to comply with insurance regulation across every jurisdiction the carrier writes in.
Enterprise Risk Management (core) — The ability to identify, measure, and govern risk across the whole enterprise.

Data & Technology

Policy Administration Platform Management (core) — The ability to operate and evolve the system of record for policies.
Data Management & Governance (core) — The ability to govern, integrate, and distribute data across underwriting, claims, and finance.
Analytics & Predictive Modeling (strategic) — The ability to build and deploy models for pricing, retention, and claims outcomes.
Digital Channel Management (strategic) — The ability to run self-service and digital distribution channels.
Cybersecurity & Information Protection (core) — The ability to protect policyholder data and the systems that hold it.

The Level 3 model for this sector is the Property and Casualty Insurance Business Capability Map — $999.

Telecommunications Capability Map Example

5 Level 1 domains, 25 Level 2 capabilities.

Network & Infrastructure

Network Strategy & Planning (strategic) — The ability to plan network capacity, coverage, and technology generation against demand.
Network Design & Engineering (core) — The ability to design and engineer access, transport, and core network elements.
Network Build & Deployment (core) — The ability to construct, install, and commission network infrastructure.
Network Operations & Assurance (core) — The ability to monitor, maintain, and restore network performance against service targets.
Spectrum & Site Management (strategic) — The ability to acquire and manage spectrum licenses and physical sites.

Product & Service Management

Service Portfolio Management (strategic) — The ability to manage the portfolio of consumer, business, and wholesale services.
Product Development & Launch (strategic) — The ability to design, build, and launch new connectivity and digital services.
Pricing & Tariff Management (core) — The ability to set and manage tariffs, bundles, and promotional pricing.
Content & Partner Management (strategic) — The ability to source and manage content and partner services carried over the network.
Device & Handset Management (supporting) — The ability to source, subsidize, and manage the device portfolio.

Customer & Channel

Customer Acquisition (strategic) — The ability to attract and convert subscribers across retail, digital, and partner channels.
Order Management & Service Fulfillment (core) — The ability to take an order and activate the service the customer bought.
Customer Service & Support (core) — The ability to resolve customer issues across assisted and self-service channels.
Retention & Churn Management (strategic) — The ability to predict, prevent, and recover subscriber churn.
Channel & Dealer Management (core) — The ability to manage owned retail, franchise, and third-party distribution.

Revenue & Finance

Rating, Charging & Billing (core) — The ability to rate usage, apply charges, and produce accurate bills.
Revenue Assurance & Fraud Management (core) — The ability to detect revenue leakage and fraudulent use of the network.
Interconnect & Wholesale Settlement (core) — The ability to settle traffic and roaming charges with other operators.
Credit & Collections Management (supporting) — The ability to assess subscriber credit and collect what is owed.
Financial Planning & Analysis (supporting) — The ability to plan, forecast, and analyze financial performance.

Technology, Data & Regulation

OSS/BSS Platform Management (core) — The ability to operate and evolve the operational and business support systems.
Data Management & Analytics (strategic) — The ability to govern network and customer data and turn it into decisions.
Cybersecurity Management (core) — The ability to protect the network, its systems, and subscriber data from attack.
Regulatory & License Compliance (core) — The ability to meet license conditions and telecommunications regulation.
Partner & Vendor Management (supporting) — The ability to manage network equipment vendors and managed-service partners.

The Level 3 model for this sector is the Telecommunications Business Capabilities Map — $999.

Building Your Own

Three things separate a map that gets used from one that gets filed. Name capabilities as abilities, not as departments or systems — "Claims Adjudication", not "Claims Department" and not "Guidewire". Keep siblings mutually exclusive, so a reader never has to decide which of two boxes something belongs in. And decompose only as far as a decision requires: a Level 3 that nobody scores or invests against is work nobody reads.

The Capability Map Visualizer renders these same eight maps interactively, and the Capability Naming Convention Checker reviews your own names against the conventions above. Both are free and neither asks for an email address. For the method behind them, see the business capability model guide.