Value Streams Inventory and Attributes - Relationship Attributes for the Value Streams Inventory
Value Streams Inventory and Attributes
Chapter 29. Relationship Attributes for the Value Streams Inventory
Executive Summary: Chapter Overview
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Core Concepts
| Concept | Definition & Strategic Role |
|---|---|
| Enabling Capabilities | The primary relationship that connects a value stream to the Capabilities its stages draw upon. |
| Derived Relationships | Supporting Applications, Realizing Processes, Owning Organizational Units, Related Vendors, and Related Regulatory Obligations are generally derived from authoritative inventories. |
| Enterprise Model Graph | Relationship attributes form the edges that allow value-stream-anchored traversal across the Enterprise Model. |
Quick Q&A
Question: Why are relationship attributes the most important cross-inventory mechanism for Value Streams?
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Relationship attributes connect each Value Stream to related Noun Instances in other inventories, forming the edges of the Enterprise Model graph for the Value Stream Noun Type.
With the exception of Enabling Capabilities and Related Value Streams, every attribute in this category is Derived from records in other inventories. Derived attributes require no manual data entry — do not create data entry fields for them.
| Attribute Name | Maturity | Description and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Enabling Capabilities [Multi-Value] | Walk | Description — The Capabilities that the Value Stream draws upon to do its work, across all of its stages. Benefit(s) — The primary cross-inventory relationship for the Value Stream Noun Type. It connects the value delivery view of the enterprise to the capability view, and is the reciprocal of the Parent Value Streams attribute in the Capabilities Inventory. Source — Manual Examples — Order Management; Credit Assessment; Identity Verification; Payment Processing Notes — References Capabilities by Semantic ID from the Capabilities Inventory. In this version of the inventory, Enabling Capabilities relates Capabilities to the Value Stream as a whole. Enterprises that need to know which Capabilities enable which individual stage may promote stages to a separate Value Stream Stages Inventory, where Capabilities are related directly to individual stages and the value-stream-level relationship becomes derived. Separate multiple values with semicolons. |
| Supporting Applications [Multi-Value] | Run | Description — The Applications that support the stages of the Value Stream, referenced by Semantic ID from the Applications Inventory. Benefit(s) — Connects the value delivery view to the application portfolio, enabling analysis of which applications underpin which end-to-end flows. Source — Derived Notes — Derived from the Applications Inventory and from the Capabilities the value stream draws upon. |
| Realizing Processes [Multi-Value] | Run | Description — The Processes that operationalize the Value Stream — the sequenced activities that carry out the work of its stages. Benefit(s) — Connects the value delivery view to the process view, distinguishing what value is delivered from how the work is carried out. Source — Derived Notes — Derived from the Processes Inventory when published. Refer to the IF4IT Enterprise Inventory Management Best Practices document. |
| Owning Organizational Units [Multi-Value] | Run | Description — The Organizational Units that own and operate the stages of the Value Stream. Benefit(s) — Maps organizational accountability to the value delivery view and reveals where a single value stream crosses organizational boundaries. Source — Derived Notes — Derived from the Organizational Units Inventory when published. Refer to the IF4IT Enterprise Inventory Management Best Practices document. |
| Related Vendors [Multi-Value] | Run | Description — The Vendors that participate in delivering the Value Stream, referenced by Semantic ID from the Vendors Inventory. Benefit(s) — Surfaces vendor dependency at the value stream level for concentration and continuity analysis. Source — Derived Notes — Derived from the Vendors Inventory. Complements the Participating Vendors attribute in the Vendor and Supplier Attributes category. |
| Related Regulatory Obligations [Multi-Value] | Run | Description — The Regulatory Obligations to which the Value Stream is subject, referenced by Semantic ID from the Regulatory Obligations Inventory. Benefit(s) — Connects the value delivery view to the structured regulatory obligation register, complementing the descriptive Regulatory Obligations attribute in the Compliance and Regulatory Attributes category. Source — Derived Notes — Derived from the Regulatory Obligations Inventory when published. Refer to the IF4IT Enterprise Inventory Management Best Practices document. |
| Related Value Streams [Multi-Value] | Walk | Description — Other Value Streams that this Value Stream feeds, consumes from, or runs in parallel with. Benefit(s) — Reveals the network of value streams across the enterprise — where the output of one flow triggers another, and where flows depend on one another. Source — Manual Examples — Idea to Deployed Software; Procure to Pay; Hire to Retire Notes — References other Value Streams by Semantic ID from this inventory. Separate multiple values with semicolons. |
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