Definition
A Capability is a governed description of an ability possessed or provided by an Object. Capabilities represent potential functionality rather than specific executions. A Capability may be provided by one or more Objects and may support one or more business objectives.
Purpose
This document defines Capability within the OCOM Specification.
Capability represents the ability of an Object to perform, provide, enable, or support one or more organizational functions.
Capabilities provide a technology-independent mechanism for describing what an Object can do without prescribing how it is implemented.
Business meaning
Capabilities allow organizations to model operational abilities independently of organizational structure, implementation technologies, or execution mechanisms.
They provide a stable representation of organizational functionality while implementations evolve over time.
Design principles
A Capability shall:
- describe an ability
- remain implementation independent
- support governance
- support reuse
- support interoperability
- remain technology independent
Core characteristics
Every Capability shall define:
- Identifier
- Name
- Purpose
A Capability may additionally define:
- Description
- Provider
- Consumer
- Constraints
- Policies
- Dependencies
- Maturity Level
- Availability
Relationship to other specifications
Capability interacts with:
ocom:Objectocom:Relationshipocom:Contractocom:Policyocom:Constraintocom:Workflowocom:Agentocom:Toolocom:Evaluation
Capabilities describe potential abilities rather than operational execution.
Compared with
Read as: OCOM term, the nearest concept in the other model, and how close they are. Similar means the two carry the same intent; Partial means they overlap but differ in scope or obligation; None means the other model has no counterpart. The verdicts are site-published editorial judgments, not normative.
- OCOM vs BPMN: Partial (Task / Activity)
- OCOM vs ArchiMate: Similar (Capability (Strategy layer))
Independence
The Capability specification does not prescribe:
- organizational structures
- software architectures
- service models
- implementation technologies
Organizations remain free to implement Capabilities using any compatible approach.
Capability Providers
Capabilities may be provided by:
- Organizations
- Business Units
- Departments
- Teams
- Employees
- AI Agents
- Tools
- Platforms
- Services
- External Providers
Organizations may define additional Capability Providers.
Capability Consumers
Capabilities may be consumed by:
- Objects
- Workflows
- AI Agents
- Business Processes
- Departments
- External Systems
Organizations may define additional Capability Consumers.
Capability Composition
Capabilities may be:
- Atomic
- Composite
Composite Capabilities consist of multiple subordinate Capabilities.
Organizations shall define composition rules appropriate to their operational model.
Capability Dependencies
Capabilities may depend upon other Capabilities.
Dependency relationships shall remain explicit and traceable.
Dependency management is organization-specific.
Capability Lifecycle
Capabilities may evolve throughout their lifecycle.
Typical lifecycle activities include:
- Definition
- Approval
- Deployment
- Modification
- Retirement
Capability history should be preserved.
Governance
Organizations shall define governance for:
- Capability definition
- approval
- ownership
- modification
- retirement
Capability governance shall preserve consistency and traceability.
Evaluation
Capabilities may be evaluated according to:
- availability
- effectiveness
- reliability
- business value
- organizational impact
Evaluation methods are organization-specific.
Conformance
A compliant implementation shall:
- define Capabilities explicitly
- preserve Capability traceability
- support governance
- support evaluation
- remain technology independent
Provenance
Governance records: —
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 20 July 2026 | Initial draft |