Capture IT capability data
An IT capability is a basic capability such as an infrastructure service that is offered in the context of data center operations. Mainframe Operations, Database Management, or Backup & Recovery are examples of typical IT capabilities. IT capabilities can be associated with components that potentially provides support to the IT capability. An IT capability can have an unlimited number of subordinate IT capabilities as well as an unlimited number of subordinate levels in the tree structure. However, an IT capability can be subordinate to only one IT capability at a given time.
IT capabilities are structured in an IT capability hierarchy. Before you begin, you should consider which IT capabilities are your main IT capabilities and which are their subordinate IT capabilities. It is recommended that you conceptualize your IT capabilities in a hierarchy with at least two levels. The top two levels of IT capabilities are analyzed in the context of various business questions in Alfabet FastLane.
Start with the main IT capabilities in your company and assign each of these IT capabilities a number such as 1, 2, and so on. Next consider the subordinate IT capabilities below each top-level IT capability and assign a logical numerical system: 1.1, 1.2., 1.3, etc. For example, Servers, Database, and Programming Languages would be typical high level IT capabilities with Level ID attributes set to 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The IT capability Servers ( Level ID = 2) might have the subordinate IT capabilities Application Servers ( Level ID = 2.1), Web Servers ( Level ID = 2.2), and Messaging Systems ( Level ID = 2.3).
In the navigation panel, click Technical Architecture > IT Capabilities to open the explorer and data workbench for IT capabilities. Per default, the data workbench displays only a set of basic attributes. You can add more columns to capture other attributes directly in the data workbench or you can navigate to an IT capability's content area and define it in more detail there. Click to learn about how to use data workbenches.
Add a new root-level IT capability. Click the root node of the explorer and click the New button. The edit panel opens on the right where you can define basic data.
Add a subordinate IT capability. Click the parent IT capability in the explorer, go to the Overview page and open the Sub-Domains view. Click New > Create New IT Capability. The edit panel opens on the right where you can define basic data.
Change the parent of a IT capability. In the Sub-Domains view, click New > Move Existing IT Capability Here to open a selector where you can chose the IT capability to move to the new parent IT capability.
Edit an existing IT capability. Edit the IT capability directly in the data table. Or select the checkbox 
for the IT capability you want to edit and click the Edit 
button to open the edit panel.
Define the IT capability's basic data. All mandatory fields must be defined to create the IT capability and save it.
- Level ID: (Recommended) Enter a level ID for the IT capability in the IT capability hierarchy. Each IT capability should be assigned a number in the Level ID attribute. The IT capabilities will be displayed in alphabetical and numerical order. You can leave this attribute empty at first and assign the level ID to your IT capabilities after they have been created.
- Name: (Mandatory) The name of the IT capability. The name should capture an abstract description of what is done to meet it the company's technological objectives.
- Description: Provide an explanation about the IT capability.
Components must already be in the repository in order to define the components that provide the IT capability. Some business questions in Alfabet FastLane can only be answered if the relationships between components and IT capabilities are defined. Click to find out how to capture component data.
Component support the company to realize its IT capabilities. For each IT capability, specify the components that support the IT capability in order to understand how the IT infrastructure may be at risk due to IT failure.
- Click the navigate
button of the IT capability to open the content area. - Go to the Technology Portfolio page and scroll to the Components view to create a new component.
- Click New > Add Existing Component to IT Capability. Select the components that provide support to the IT capability and click OK.