Value Streams Inventory and Attributes

The relationship between Value Streams and Capabilities is the most important cross-inventory relationship the Value Streams Inventory carries. A value stream is composed of an ordered sequence of stages, and is enabled by the set of Capabilities those stages draw upon. The Capabilities Inventory and Attributes is authoritative for Capability definitions; the Value Streams Inventory references Capabilities through its Enabling Capabilities attribute.

The relationship is the reciprocal of the Parent Value Streams attribute carried by the Capabilities Inventory. The same relationship is therefore visible from both sides: from a value stream, the Capabilities it draws upon; from a Capability, the value streams that depend on it. This bidirectional connection is what allows an enterprise to trace value delivery to the abilities that produce it, and to assess how a weakness in a Capability propagates into the flows of value that depend on it.

When this relationship is well-governed, Enterprise Architecture can answer questions neither inventory can answer alone: which value streams depend on a Capability that is assessed as immature or high-risk; which Capabilities, if improved, would benefit the most strategically important value streams; and where a capability investment connects, through the value streams it enables, to a measurable stakeholder outcome.