# Capability Pattern

A Capability pattern is a special process that describes a reusable cluster of activities in common process areas. Capability patterns express and communicate process knowledge for a key area of interest such as a discipline and can be directly used by a process practitioner to guide his work. Capability patterns are also used as building blocks to assemble Delivery processes or larger capability patterns ensuring optimal reuse and application of the key practices they express.

Examples of a capability pattern could be "use case-based requirements management", "use case analysis", or "unit testing". Typically, but not necessarily, capability patterns have the scope of one discipline providing a breakdown of reusable complex activities, relationships to the roles which perform tasks within these activities, as well as to the work products that are used and produced. A capability pattern does not relate to any specific phase or iteration of a development lifecycle, and should not imply any. In other words, a pattern should be designed in a way that it is applicable anywhere in a delivery process. thereby enabling its activities to be flexibly assigned to whatever phases there are in the delivery process to which it is being applied.

Related concepts
Activity
Discipline
Delivery Process
Related tasks
Apply a Capability Pattern