COPS Business Reference Architecture
Business capability maps, value streams, and strategy maps for community-oriented policing services (COPS).
- Policing services organizational leadership requires a unified and validated view of organizational capabilities that help CIOs and leadership accelerate the strategy design process and that align initiatives, investments, and strategy.
- The organization and IT often focus on an issue or project, ignoring the holistic impact and value of an overarching value stream and business capability view.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
Using an industry-specific reference architecture is central to organizational priorities and has many benefits. It’s critical not only to understanding, modeling, and communicating the operating environment and the direction of the organization but also, more significantly, to enabling measurable top-line organizational outcomes and the unlocking of direct value.
Impact and Result
- Demonstrate the value of IT’s role in supporting your organizational capabilities for community-oriented policing services while highlighting the importance of proper alignment between organizational and IT strategies.
- Apply Level 2 business reference architecture techniques such as strategy maps, value streams, and capability maps to design usable and accurate blueprints of your organization’s business operations.
- Assess your initiatives and priorities to determine if you are investing in the right capabilities. Conduct capability assessments to identify opportunities and to prioritize projects.
COPS Business Reference Architecture Guide
Business capability maps, value streams, and strategy maps for community-oriented policing services (COPS).
Analyst Perspective
In the age of disruption, IT must end misalignment and enable value realization.
An organizational business reference architecture can be used for a variety of strategic planning initiatives. It connects strategy to execution in a manner that is accurate and accountable, and it promotes the efficient use of organizational resources.
An organizational business reference architecture helps accelerate the strategy design process and enhances IT's ability to align people, processes, and technology with key organizational goals, outcomes, and initiatives.
Using an industry-specific business reference architecture is central to, and has many benefits for, organizational priorities. It is critical for understanding, modeling, and communicating the operating environment and the direction of the organization and, more significantly, for enabling measurable top-line organizational outcomes and unlocking direct value.
A COPS organizational business reference architecture is a powerful tool to enable communication with key community stakeholders and will provide the context in which to align strategically for a scalable, safer future.
Neal Rosenblatt
Principal Research Director
Public Health Industry
Info-Tech Research Group
Executive Summary
| Your Challenge | Common Obstacles | Info-Tech's Approach |
| You need to improve your organization's understanding of business capabilities and how IT can support the delivery of essential services.
Your organization wants to sharpen its alignment and focus on organizational outcomes and value by using architecture to better inform innovation, stakeholder management, and IT strategy capabilities. Before executing any strategic initiatives, use this blueprint to understand the ways that your organization creates value and the underlying capabilities and processes of your organization. |
You don't have a clear path for capturing the right information, modeling the organization, engaging the right people, linking with the needs of the business, and aligning with IT.
The business and IT often speak in their own languages, without a holistic and integrated view of mission, strategy, goals, objectives, business processes, projects, and measures of success. The business and IT often focus their attention within silos and miss the holistic value of an overarching value stream and capability view. |
Build your organization's capability map by defining your organization's value stream and validating the industry reference architecture.
Use COPS capabilities to define strategic focus by defining your organization's key capabilities and developing a prioritized strategy map Assess key capabilities for planning priorities through a review of policing services processes, information, application, and technology support of key capabilities. Adopt capability-based strategy planning by ongoing identification and roadmapping of capability gaps. |
Info-Tech Insight
Using an industry-specific reference architecture is central to, and has many benefits for, organizational priorities. It is critical for understanding, modeling, and communicating the operating environment and the direction of the organization and, more significantly, for enabling measurable top-line organizational outcomes and unlocking direct value.
Police organizations do not take advantage of capability reference models
58% of police organizations are not or only somewhat familiar with the concept of business reference architecture.
86% of police organizations do not use a business reference architecture in their operations.
Yet, here's what a business reference architecture can do for you:
- A business reference architecture asks what, who, where, and how. It describes:
- The business' structure, strategies, and tactics.
- How the business delivers value to stakeholders through products or services.
- What the business does, in general, using high-level terms.
- A business reference architecture also supports the creation of strategic plans and facilitates decision making.
Source: Police Services' Capability Reference Modeling Survey, Info-Tech Research Group, 2023
Industry Overview: Community-Oriented Policing Services
Community-oriented policing is a policing approach that emphasizes the establishment of working partnerships between police departments and the communities they serve. This approach seeks to address the causes of crime and social disorder through problem-solving strategies and community engagement.
Community-oriented policing services (COPS) focuses on building trust and mutual respect between police and community members. COPS is not just about law enforcement; it's about collaborating with the community to improve safety and quality of life.
One of the main challenges is overcoming mistrust between police and the communities, especially in areas with a history of strained relations. Additionally, implementing this approach requires significant training and a shift in traditional policing methods.
Budget constraints can limit the resources available for community policing initiatives. Resistance to change within police departments can hinder the adoption of this approach, as well. Ensuring consistent engagement with the community and maintaining long-term relationships are other critical obstacles.
Technological advancements are likely to play a significant role in the future of COPS. Social media and other digital platforms can facilitate better communication and engagement with the community. Additionally, there is a growing emphasis on using data and analytics to inform community policing strategies. As societal attitudes toward policing evolve, COPS will likely continue to adapt, focusing on transparency, accountability, and community partnership.
Sources: Tech UK, 2022; Morgan, 2021; Deloitte Insights, 2019; RCMP, n.d.
Value Chain for Community-Oriented Policing Services Organizations
Organizational value realized must be the primary success factor
Organizational value in community-oriented policing defines the success criteria of an organization as manifested through organizational goals and outcomes. It can be interpreted from at least ten perspectives.
Note: Illustrative example; not exhaustive
| Perspective | Description | Metrics |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Community Impact and Satisfaction | Impact on the community, including safety and trust | Reduced crime rates, public feedback, trust levels |
| 2 Expanded Use of Community Resources | Leveraging of community resources and partnerships | Extent of community engagement, partnership impacts |
| 3 Efficiency and Effectiveness of Operations | Use of resources and implementation of strategies | Response times, case resolution rates, use of resources |
| 4 Financial Benefits | Cost-effectiveness and budget management | Budget performance, return on investment, cost savings |
| 5 Legal and Regulatory Compliance | Adherence to legal standards and regulatory requirements | Number of legal complaints, external audit outcomes |
| 6 Risk Management and Crisis Response | Preparedness and response to crises and major incidents | Response speed and effectiveness, public order maintenance |
| 7 Technology Innovation, Adaptation, and Use | Use of technology in operations and crime solving; adaptation to changing circumstances and new methods | Level of technology adoption, impact on efficiency, adoption of new policing methods, responsiveness to changes |
| 8 Employee Satisfaction and Development | Workforce satisfaction, growth opportunities, morale, and wellness | Employee satisfaction surveys, retention rates |
| 9 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) | Promotion of workforce diversity and equitable community treatment | Diversity metrics, community perception of fairness |
| 10 Collaboration With Other Agencies | Effectiveness in working with other law enforcement and government agencies | Outcomes of joint operations, resource sharing |
Note: For more details, go to Appendix 2: Organizational Value Matrix.
Values, goals, and outcomes cannot be achieved without organizational capabilities
Break down organizational goals into strategic, achievable initiatives focused on specific value streams and organizational capabilities.
Business capability map defined …
In business architecture, the primary view of an organization is known as its business capability map.
A business capability defines what a business does to enable value creation, rather than how. Business capabilities:
- Represent stable business functions.
- Are unique and independent of each other.
- Typically have a defined business outcome.
A business capability map provides details that help a business architecture practitioner direct attention to a specific area of the business for further assessment.
Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
Business Reference Architecture
Level 1 Capabilities
Glossary of Key Concepts
An organizational business reference architecture consists of a set of models that provide clarity and actionable insight and value. Typical concepts that are used to develop these models are defined below.
| Concept | Definition |
|---|---|
| Capability | An ability that an organization, person, or system possesses; capabilities are typically expressed in general and high-level terms and typically require a combination of organization, people, processes, and technology to achieve |
| Capability assessments | A heat-mapping effort that analyzes the strength of each key capability based on people, processes, information, and technology |
| Industry strategy map | A visualization of the alignment between an organization's strategic direction and its key capabilities |
| Industry value chain | A high-level analysis of how an industry creates value for the consumer as an overall end-to-end process |
| Industry value streams | The specific set of activities that an industry player undertakes to create and capture value for and from the end consumer |
| Organizational capability map | The primary visual representation of an organization's key capabilities; this representation forms the basis of strategic planning discussions |
| Strategic objectives | A set of standard strategic objectives that most industry players feature in their corporate plans |
Source: The Open Group, 2018
Tools and templates to compile and communicate your reference architecture work
The COPS Business Reference Architecture Template is a place for you to collect activity outputs and outcomes for use in the next steps.
Download the COPS Business Reference Architecture Template.
The COPS Business Reference Architecture Library Tool is a place for you to review definitions, Level 1 and Level 2 capabilities, use cases, and business reference architecture capability maps.
Download the COPS Business Reference Architecture Library Tool.
Info-Tech's methodology for business reference architecture
| Phase 1: Build Your Organization's Capability Map | Phase 2: Use Business Capabilities to Define Your Strategic Focus | Phase 3: Assess Key Capabilities for Planning Priorities | Phase 4: Adopt Capability-Based Strategy Planning | |
| Steps | 1.1 Define your organization's value streams.
1.2 Develop an organizational business capability map. |
2.1 Define your organization's key capabilities.
2.2 Develop a strategy map. |
3.1 Review organizational business processes.
3.2 Conduct an information assessment. 3.3 Identify technology opportunities. |
4.1 Consolidate and prioritize capability gaps. |
| Outcomes |
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Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs
| DIY Toolkit | Guided Implementation | Workshop | Consulting |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful." | "Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track." | "We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place." | "Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project." |
| Diagnostics and consistent frameworks are used throughout all four options. | |||
Guided Implementation
What does a typical GI on this topic look like?
| Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | Phase 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Call #1: Introduce Info-Tech's industry reference architecture methodology. | Call #2: Define and create value streams.
Call #3: Model Level 1 business capability maps. |
Call #4: Map value streams to business capabilities.
Call #5: Model Level 2 business capability maps. |
Call #6: Create a strategy map.
Call #7: Introduce Info-Tech's capability assessment framework. |
Call #8: Review capability assessment map(s).
Call #9: Discuss and review prioritization of key capability gaps and plan next steps. |
A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.
A typical GI is six to nine calls over the course of one to four months.
Phase 1
Build Your Organization's Capability Map
Phase 1
1.1 Define your organization's value streams.
1.2 Develop an organizational business capability map.
Phase 2
2.1 Define your organization's key capabilities.
2.2 Develop a strategy map.
Phase 3
3.1 Review organizational business processes.
3.2 Conduct an information assessment.
3.3 Identify technology opportunities.
Phase 4
4.1 Consolidate and prioritize capability gaps.
This phase will walk you through the following activities:
- Identify and assemble key stakeholders.
- Determine how your organization creates value.
- Define and validate your value streams.
- Determine which organizational business capabilities support your value streams.
- Accelerate the process with an industry reference architecture.
- Validate the organizational business capability map.
- Establish Level 2 capability decomposition priorities.
- Decompose Level 1 capabilities.
- Validate the Level 2 organizational business capability map.
This phase involves the following participants:
- Enterprise/Business Architect
- Business Analysts
- Business Unit Leads
- CIO
- Department Executive and Senior Managers
Step 1.1
Define Your Organization's Value Streams
Activities
1.1.1 Identify and assemble key stakeholders.
1.1.2 Determine how your organization creates value.
1.1.3 Define and validate your value streams.
This step involves the following participants:
- Enterprise/Business Architect
- Business Analysts
- Business Unit Leads
- CIO
- Department Executive and Senior Managers
Outcomes of this step:
- Defined and validated value streams specific to your organization
Step 1.1 > Step 1.2
1.1.1 Identify and assemble key stakeholders
1-3 hours
Build an accurate depiction of your organization.
- It is important to make sure that the right stakeholders participate in this work. Identifying capabilities for an organization is very introspective and requires deep analysis.
- Consider:
- Who are the decision makers and key influencers?
- Who will impact the business capability work? Who has a vested interest in the success or failure of the outcome?
- Who has the skills and competencies necessary to help you be successful?
- Remember:
- Do not focus on the organizational structure and hierarchy. Often stakeholder groups do not fit the traditional structure.
- Do not ignore subject matter experts on either the business or IT side. You will need to consider both.
Download the COPS Business Reference Architecture Template.
| Input | Output |
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Define your organization's value streams
Value streams connect business goals to an organization's value realization activities. They enable an organization to create and capture value in the marketplace by engaging in a set of interconnected activities. Those activities are dependent on the specific industry segment within which an organization operates. Value streams can extend beyond the organization into the supporting ecosystem, whereas business processes are contained within the organization, and the organization has complete control over them.
There are two types of value streams:
- Core value streams
- Support value streams
Support value streams are internally facing and provide the foundational support for an organization to operate.
To ensure that all value streams have been considered, keep in mind that there can be different end-value receivers. Info-Tech recommends identifying and organizing the value streams with community stakeholders and partners as end-value receivers.
Value streams for COPS organizations
Note: To edit and customize this illustrative example, please download the corresponding COPS Business Reference Architecture Template.
Determine how your organization creates value
Begin the process by identifying and locating your organization's mission and vision statements.
Organizational Websites
Organizational Strategy Documents
Executives
What is organizational context?
"The business context encompasses an understanding of the factors impacting the business from various perspectives, including how decisions are made and what the business is ultimately trying to achieve. The business context is used by IT to identify key implications for the execution of its strategic initiatives."
Source: Business Wire, 2018
About Info-Tech
Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.
We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst
Get the help you need in this 4-phase advisory process. You'll receive 9 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
Guided Implementation 1: Build your organization's capability map.
- Call 1: Introduce Info-Tech’s industry reference architecture methodology.
Guided Implementation 2: Use business capabilities to define your strategic focus.
- Call 1: Define and create value streams
- Call 2: Model Level 1 business capability maps.
- Call 3: Map value streams to business capabilities.
- Call 4: Model Level 2 business capability maps.
Guided Implementation 3: Assess key capabilities for planning priorities.
- Call 1: Create a strategy map.
- Call 2: Introduce Info-Tech's capability assessment framework.
Guided Implementation 4: Adopt capability-based strategy planning.
- Call 1: Review capability assessment map(s).
- Call 2: Discuss and review prioritization of key capability gaps and plan next steps.
Contributors
- Blayne Eliuk, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT)
- Scott Gagnon, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT)
- Brent Dyer, Calgary Police Service
- Sam Fessehatsion, Calgary Police Service
- Joyce Dufresne, Edmonton Police Service
- Paul Fahey, Edmonton Police Service
- Erran Milligan, Edmonton Police Service
- Norman Mendoza, Edmonton Police Service
- Jonathan Green, Guelph Police Service
- Akram Askoul, Niagara Regional Police
- Joe Couto, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP)
- Anna Beatty, Ottawa Police Service
- Elizabeth Izaguirre, Ottawa Police Service
- Cameron Hopgood, Ottawa Police Service
- Tony Ventura, Peel Regional Police (PRP)
- Alpha Chan, Toronto Police Service (TPS)
- Billy Zhou, Toronto Police Service (TPS)
- Raymond Lai, Vancouver Police Department
- Micheline Manseau, York Regional Police (YRP)
- Benny Zeng, York Regional Police (YRP)