This page is part of the ForgeSDLC knowledge base — an AI-assisted, human-directed methodology for taking product work from concept to production. For the core operating model and vocabulary, see Forge SDLC overview and What is ForgeSDLC?.
Business Architecture perspective
How business analysis adapts when the initiative is enterprise-scale — spanning multiple products, business units, or organizational capabilities. Business Architecture provides the strategic lens that connects individual product/project BA work to the broader organizational context.
BABOK alignment: BABOK v3 Business Architecture perspective.
Capability-level traceability to business strategy
Solution evaluation for one product
Cross-portfolio value assessment
2. Knowledge area shifts
Knowledge Area
Business Architecture Adaptation
BA Planning & Monitoring
Plan BA at the enterprise level — who owns which capability domain, what governance structure coordinates cross-product requirements.
Strategy Analysis
Current state is the enterprise capability map. Future state is the target operating model. Change strategy is the transformation roadmap.
Elicitation & Collaboration
Stakeholders include executive leadership, business unit heads, enterprise architects. Elicitation focuses on strategic intent and organizational constraints.
Requirements Life Cycle Management
Requirements are managed across a portfolio — traceability links capabilities to strategic objectives, multiple products, and organizational KPIs.
Requirements Analysis & Design Definition
Models include capability maps, value stream maps, organizational models, and information architecture — not just system-level models.
Solution Evaluation
Evaluation at the capability level — does the portfolio of solutions collectively deliver strategic objectives?
3. Business Architecture concepts
3.1 Capability mapping
A capability is something the organization does (or needs to do) to achieve its objectives — independent of how it is implemented.
Level
Example
BA Activity
Level 0
The enterprise itself
Strategic context
Level 1
Major business capabilities (e.g., "Customer Management", "Product Delivery", "Financial Reporting")
Requirements analysis — what solutions must these capabilities provide?
Usage: Capability maps provide the structure for organizing strategy analysis across the enterprise. They connect business strategy (why) to solution requirements (what) to delivery (how).
3.2 Value stream mapping
A value stream traces the flow of value from a triggering event to the delivery of value to a stakeholder.
Element
Description
Trigger
Event that starts the value stream (customer request, market signal, regulatory change)
Stages
Sequential steps that add value (intake, processing, delivery, support)
Participants
Business units, roles, systems involved at each stage
Value delivered
The outcome the stakeholder receives
Pain points
Bottlenecks, waste, quality issues at each stage
BA usage: Value stream analysis identifies where BA effort should focus — stages with the most pain points or the greatest gap between current and desired performance.