BA Value Streams Skill

Purpose

Produce a rigorous Value Stream Map — a staged decomposition of how an organisation delivers value to a recipient — from any input. The Value Stream is the third layer of the PlausibleBA business architecture stack:

Capability Map    — what the organisation can do (stable abilities)
    ↓
Concept Model     — what the organisation manages (business objects)
    ↓
Value Stream      — how the organisation delivers value (staged flow)

A Value Stream orchestrates capabilities into stages. Each stage advances the primary business object (the Value Object) from an initial state toward a completed outcome. The Value Stream cross-validates both the Capability Map (surfacing unused or missing capabilities) and the Concept Model (confirming objects flow correctly through stages).

What a Value Stream Is (and Isn't)

Naming rule: Value streams are named from the recipient's perspective, not the organisation's.

• ✅ "Short-Stay Guest Experience" (recipient = Guest)
• ✅ "Owner Portfolio Onboarding" (recipient = Owner)
• ❌ "Booking Management Process" (organisation-centric)
• ❌ "Operations Workflow" (internal, no recipient)

Value Stream Anatomy

Every Value Stream has:

Value Stream name — recipient-centric, describes the outcome delivered

Value Object — the primary business object that flows through the stream and changes state at each stage. Drawn from the Concept Model.

Recipient — who receives the value at the end (a Party from the Concept Model)

Trigger — what initiates the stream (an Event from the Concept Model, or an external signal)

Outcome — the completed state of the Value Object at stream end

Stages — 4–8 sequential stages, each with:

• A name (Verb–Noun, from the recipient's perspective where possible)
• Entry criteria (what must be true to enter this stage)
• Exit criteria (what must be true to leave this stage — the value created)
• Participating capabilities (L3 capability numbers from the Capability Map)
• Business objects in play (object names from the Concept Model)
• Enabling systems (optional — technology that supports this stage)

Stage Naming Convention

Stage names follow Verb–Noun at the business activity level — but unlike capabilities, the verb is active and describes what happens to the Value Object:

• ✅ "Booking Confirmed", "Property Prepared", "Guest Supported", "Stay Completed"
• ✅ "Enquiry Received", "Owner Onboarded", "Payment Settled"
• ❌ "Manage Booking" (capability language — too generic)
• ❌ "Send Confirmation Email" (process step — too granular)

Stage names describe the state the Value Object reaches, not the activities performed.

Elicitation Process

⚠️ Always run this skill in a fresh Cowork task. Prior conversation context will cause Claude to reference previous outputs rather than eliciting from the current input. Open a new task, paste the business description, then type the slash command.

Step 1 — Establish Scope

Identify from input or by asking:

• What value stream are we mapping? (What outcome is being delivered, to whom?)
• Is there an existing Capability Map and Concept Model to cross-validate?
• What is the trigger that starts this stream?
• What is the end state — what does "done" look like for the recipient?

If multiple value streams are identified, list them and ask which to map first. Suggest starting with the primary revenue-generating stream.

Step 2 — Identify the Value Object and Recipient

From the Concept Model (or by inference):

• What is the primary object flowing through this stream? (e.g. Booking, Property, Tenancy)
• Who is the recipient? (e.g. Guest, Owner, Tenant)
• What states does the Value Object pass through? (initial → ... → final)

Step 3 — Draft Stages

Decompose the stream into 4–8 stages. Each stage should:

• Represent a meaningful increment of value (not just an activity)
• Have clear entry and exit criteria
• Be recognisable to a business stakeholder

Step 4 — Map Capabilities to Stages

For each stage, identify which L3 capabilities from the Capability Map participate.

• Each stage should have 2–5 participating capabilities
• Flag capabilities that participate in no stage (unused capabilities)
• Flag stages that have no corresponding capability (capability gaps)

Step 5 — Map Objects to Stages

For each stage, identify which business objects are created, updated, or consumed.

• The Value Object must appear in every stage
• Supporting objects (e.g. Contractor, Maintenance Request) appear in relevant stages only

Step 6 — Checkpoint: pause for validation

Present the stage list inline and ask:

"Here is a draft Value Stream for [name]. Does this reflect how your business delivers value to [recipient]? Any stages missing, or any that feel like they could be combined?"

Do not generate the XLSX until confirmed or adjusted.

Step 7 — Render the interactive stage view (PRIMARY deliverable)

Immediately after the stage list is validated, render an interactive value stream as a self-contained HTML artifact. Do NOT wait for the user to ask. Do NOT generate the XLSX first. The stage view IS the deliverable — XLSX is a download option offered beneath it.

Visual design — match VCC exactly using this palette:

background:  #0f172a   (page background — darker than before)
navyLight:   #1e293b   (card header background)
navyMid:     #111827   (card body / capability list background)
border:      #1e293b   (all borders)
borderCard:  #1e3a5f   (card outer border)
blue:        #3b82f6   (active/accent)
textDim:     #94a3b8   (labels, secondary)
textMed:     #94a3b8   (body text)
white:       #f1f5f9   (headings)

Stage card structure (dark navy, scrolls horizontally): Each card has:

1. Card header (background:navyLight, border-bottom:1px solid border):

• Stage N of N label (font-size:8px, color:textDim, uppercase)
• Stage name (font-size:13px, font-weight:700, color:white)
• Entry/Exit state boxes side by side (dark boxes, background:rgba(255,255,255,0.09), with labels ENTRY STATE / EXIT STATE)
• Participating stakeholders section with coloured pills (blue tint for managers, teal for guests/customers, amber for others)
• Metrics badges if present

1. Capability list panel (background:rgba(255,255,255,0.06), below header, flex:1):

• Each capability as a row with name + ⓘ icon
• + Add Capability dashed button at bottom

1. PPIT dot row at card bottom (border-top:1px solid border):

• People=#4a9eda, Process=#1D9E75, Information=#D4537E, Technology=#f59e0b
• Inactive dots: rgba(255,255,255,0.1)

Arrow connectors between cards: SVG chevron arrows (stroke:#2e3f5c)

Value object state flow above cards: pill row showing state transitions, terminal state highlighted (background:rgba(74,158,218,0.15), color:#4a9eda, border-color:#4a9eda)

Inspector panel (click-to-reveal, navy bordered):

• background:#243352, border:1.5px solid #4a9eda, border-radius:8px
• Stage number circle (background:#4a9eda) + stage name heading
• 2-column grid: Entry criteria (left-border #2e3f5c) | Exit criteria (left-border #4a9eda)
• Participating capabilities list | Accountable stakeholders + metrics
• PPIT legend row at bottom
• Auto-opens on Stage 1

Header block above everything:

• Eyebrow: "VALUE STREAM" in small caps, color:textDim
• Stream name in white, bold
• Description line in textDim
• Meta row: VALUE OBJECT · RECIPIENT · STAGES · ZONE in uppercase labels with blue values
• ACCOUNTABLE STAKEHOLDER pill
• Trigger → Outcome line in textDim

Build all data from the value stream confirmed in this session — exact stage names, entry/exit outcomes, capabilities, stakeholders, metrics, PPIT assignments. Do NOT use PortfolioProp example data.

Footer (required on every rendered artifact): Include a footer row at the bottom of the artifact, styled font-size:10px; color:#94a3b8; padding:10px 0 2px; border-top:1px solid #2e3f5c; margin-top:12px:

Generated by the PlausibleBA Skills Library | www.plausibleba.com
Turn this into an interactive workshopping canvas → plausibleba.com/canvas

First line in color:#94a3b8, second line in color:#4a9eda with the URL as a link.

After rendering the stage view, immediately generate both export files without waiting for the user to ask:

1. XLSX — the full 4-tab workbook (Value Stream Summary, Stage Register, Validation Summary, Legend) following the XLSX Output Structure below. Save to the workspace folder as <organisation>_value_stream_<stream_name>.xlsx.
2. JSON — the VCC pipeline format following the JSON Schema below. Save to the workspace folder as <organisation>_value_stream_<stream_name>.json.

Use the present_files MCP tool (if available) to surface the files to the user after saving.

Then present the deliverables and next steps with clickable links:

"Here is your value stream. Click any stage card to open the inspector.

>

Downloads: - [View Value Stream XLSX](computer:///<workspace_path>/<organisation>_value_stream_<stream_name>.xlsx) — Stage Register workbook (4 tabs) - [View Value Stream JSON](computer:///<workspace_path>/<organisation>_value_stream_<stream_name>.json) — VCC pipeline format

>

Build the full business architecture stack: - Type `/capability-map` to produce or refine the Capability Map — cross-validates that every stage has grounding capabilities - Type `/concept-model` to derive the Concept Model — identifies the business objects that flow through these stages (Party / Record / Resource) - Type `/value-stream` again to map additional Value Streams — identify shared capabilities across streams - [Open in PlausibleBA Canvas](https://www.plausibleba.com/canvas) — upload the JSON for full interactive visualisation"

Replace <workspace_path> with the actual workspace output path, <organisation> with the client/organisation name, and <stream_name> with the value stream name (all snake_case for filenames).

Inline Preview Format

Checkpoint — Stage preview:

XLSX Output Structure

Four worksheets, following the PlausibleBA taxonomy standard tab order.

Sheet 1: Value Stream Summary

• Title block, subtitle, branding line
• Value Stream name, Value Object, Recipient, Trigger, Outcome
• Stage count, capability count, object count
• Cross-validation summary: capabilities used / unused / gaps
• Notes on key design decisions
• Next Steps

Sheet 2: Stage Register

Branding line above header. Pre-sorted by Stage Number.

Sheet 3: Validation Summary

Sheet 4: Legend Stage naming conventions, value stream anatomy, relationship to Capability Map and Concept Model, PlausibleBA standard version, website link.

XLSX Colour Coding

Cross-validation Output

After mapping capabilities to stages, produce a cross-reference matrix:

Unused capabilities are not necessarily wrong — they may belong to a different value stream, or may represent background governance activities. Note rather than flag as failures.

JSON Schema (for VCC pipeline integration)

{
  "vs_<snake_case_name>": {
    "id": "vs_<snake_case_name>",
    "elementType": "ValueStream",
    "name": "<Value Stream Name>",
    "valueObject": "obj_<snake_case>",
    "recipient": "obj_<party_snake_case>",
    "trigger": "Event or condition that initiates the stream",
    "outcome": "Final state of the Value Object",
    "stages": [
      {
        "id": "stg_<snake_case_name>",
        "number": 1,
        "name": "<Stage Name>",
        "entryCriteria": "...",
        "exitCriteria": "...",
        "valueObjectState": "...",
        "capabilities": ["cap_id_1", "cap_id_2"],
        "objects": ["obj_id_1", "obj_id_2"],
        "systems": ["System Name"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Quality Bars

A good Value Stream:

• 4–8 stages — fewer suggests conflation, more suggests process-level mapping
• Every stage has named entry and exit criteria
• The Value Object appears in every stage with a defined state transition
• At least 80% of L3 capabilities from the relevant domain are used across stages
• No stage is an orphan (zero capabilities)
• Recipient and outcome are explicitly named
• Stage names describe states, not activities

Common Failure Modes

Multiple Value Streams

Most organisations have 3–8 primary value streams. For PortfolioProp, these include:

• Short-Stay Guest Experience (Value Object: Booking → Guest → Review)
• Owner Portfolio Onboarding (Value Object: Property → Portfolio)
• Long-Term Tenancy Lifecycle (Value Object: Tenancy)
• Property Maintenance Delivery (Value Object: Maintenance Request)

Map the primary revenue-generating stream first, then use the cross-validation to identify which capabilities serve multiple streams (high-reuse capabilities are strategic assets).

Next Steps

Next steps are now presented inline with the downloads after the stage view is rendered (see Step 7). The /capability-map, /concept-model, and /value-stream commands are offered as clickable follow-on actions, and the XLSX/JSON exports are generated automatically — there is no separate export gate.