A **Business Capability** is an entity within the [[Design & Planning (CSDM domain)|Design & Planning domain]] of the [[Common Service Data Model|Common Service Data Model]] (CSDM), a reference architecture developed by [[ServiceNow|ServiceNow]] that provides prescriptive guidance on service-related definitions and data modeling within the ServiceNow AI Platform. A Business Capability represents a high-level capability that an organization requires to execute its business model or fulfill its mission, describing what the organization does rather than how work is performed, typically in the context of performing specific tasks to achieve one or more business outcomes. Business Capabilities are recorded in the cmdb_ci_business_capability table and are represented in a hierarchical model with a parent capability that may be underpinned by lower-level "leaf node" capabilities, typically using numeric values such as 1.0 for the parent and 2.0-6.0 for children, with no more than six levels recommended. Business Capabilities are often represented as verbs, such as "managing financials" or "providing IT support services." ServiceNow recommends establishing [[CMDB relationship|CMDB relationships]] between Business Capabilities and [[Business Application (CSDM)|Business Applications]] using "Provided by::Provides," and between Business Applications and [[Application Service (CSDM)|Application Services]], to enable [[Enterprise Architecture (ServiceNow)|Enterprise Architecture]] capabilities such as Technology Portfolio Management risk assessment. Business Capabilities can be mapped to [[Value Stream Stage (CSDM)|Value Stream Stages]] through [[Value Stream to Capability (CSDM)|Value Stream to Capability (CSDM)]] for strategic alignment. The Enterprise Architecture product provides a capability map with edit mode for robust management of the hierarchy, supporting rationalization and prioritization of spend in the Fly stage of [[CSDM Adoption Stages|CSDM adoption]].