Capability

A capability is the ability to perform or achieve certain actions or outcomes through a set of controllable and measurable faculties, features, functions, processes, or services.

As it applies to human capital, capability represents the intersection of capacity and ability.

Capability may also refer to:

See also

Capability-based security

Capability-based security is a concept in the design of secure computing systems, one of the existing security models. A capability (known in some systems as a key) is a communicable, unforgeable token of authority. It refers to a value that references an object along with an associated set of access rights. A user program on a capability-based operating system must use a capability to access an object. Capability-based security refers to the principle of designing user programs such that they directly share capabilities with each other according to the principle of least privilege, and to the operating system infrastructure necessary to make such transactions efficient and secure. Capability-based security is to be contrasted with an approach that uses hierarchical protection domains.

Although most operating systems implement a facility which resembles capabilities, they typically do not provide enough support to allow for the exchange of capabilities among possibly mutually untrusting entities to be the primary means of granting and distributing access rights throughout the system. A capability-based system, in contrast, is designed with that goal in mind.

Capability (systems engineering)

A Capability, in the systems engineering sense, is defined as the ability to execute a specified course of action. A capability may or may not be accompanied by an intention. The term is used in the defense industry but also in private industry (e.g. Gap analysis).

Capability Gap Analysis

The Joint Capabilities Integration Development System is an important part of DoD military planning. The "Operation of the JCIDS" introduces a Capability Based Analysis (CBA) process that includes identification of capability gaps. In essence, a Capability Gap Analysis is the determination of needed capabilities that do not yet exist. The Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) suggests the use of the Operational Activity Model (OV-5) in conducting a CGA.

See also

References