User Guide

The platform produces three coordinated artifacts for any company you specify:

• Business Capability Model — a three-level hierarchy of what the company can do, classified by strategic significance
• Business Reference Model (BRM) — a structured view of the users, channels, and information that interact with those capabilities
• IT Strategy — a complete strategy document tracing IT mission, goals, and objectives back to the capability model

All three are derived from publicly available data — SEC filings, earnings transcripts, investor relations pages, and other public sources. Generation takes minutes, not months. The output is a structured baseline ready for review, refinement, and downstream use — not a blank page.

The platform is an upstream content pipeline — not an EA tool itself. Its outputs are designed to feed:

• EA tools (LeanIX, Ardoq, MEGA, and others) via JSON or CSV import
• Stakeholder presentations — the Business Model Report provides a print-ready consolidated view
• IT planning and investment decisions — the strategy output provides goal-to-capability traceability

The platform does not replace your EA tool. It gives your EA tool structured, validated content to start from — eliminating the blank-page phase of EA model development.

Each stage feeds the next. The Capability Builder is the foundation — the BRM and Strategy Builder both read from it. Running the full pipeline in sequence produces the most complete and connected result. Each builder can also be used independently if you only need one artifact.

The platform is not a consulting replacement and is not a final deliverable. AI-generated content is a structured starting point derived from public data — it is not professional business, legal, or technology advice.

You are responsible for reviewing, validating, and refining all outputs before using them in investment decisions, business planning, or stakeholder presentations.

Your license key is delivered by email immediately after purchase. It is tied to the email address you used at checkout — that same email and key pair are required every time you open a builder.

Each tool has its own key: one for the Capability Builder, one for the BRM Builder, one for the Strategy Builder. The bundle purchase delivers all three keys in a single email.

Go to intelligent-ea.com and select the builder you want to open. The entry dialog appears automatically. Enter your email address, then your license key. The system verifies that the key matches the email on record and opens the builder.

Returning users see their company list immediately after authentication — no need to re-enter company details.

Use the Forgot Keys? link on the home page. Enter the email address used at purchase — the system resends all active keys to that address immediately.

Check that you are entering the email used at checkout (not a different address). If the issue persists after retrieving your keys, use the Contact Us page.

After authenticating, the company selector appears. Click + Add Company, enter the company name and industry, and click Add. The company is now available across all three builders.

The company name is used by the AI to retrieve public data — use the official name as it appears in SEC filings or public records for the most accurate results.

The header is consistent across all three builders:

• Builder name and version badge (left) — identifies which tool you are in
• Pipeline status pills: CAP / BRM / STRAT (center) — green means a model exists for the current company; gray means that stage has not been run yet. These are read-only indicators.
• Load Company — switch to a different company in your account
• Action buttons — Import, Export, Report (Business Model Report), Print, and Start Over

The left panel has three zones:

• Business Context — company name and industry, as entered at setup
• Sources & References — the public sources the AI used during generation, plus any sources you add manually. Click any source to open it. Use + Add Source to add additional sources before regenerating.
• Business Motivation — mission, vision, and strategic context retrieved from public data

In the Capability Builder, the lower half of the left panel shows the capability list. Drag the handle between the two sections to resize.

The canvas is the central work area. Its layout varies by builder:

• Capability Builder — list or tree view of the capability hierarchy
• BRM Builder — four-column reference model (Users, Channels, Capabilities, Information)
• Strategy Builder — operating model quadrant at the top, strategy content (Mission through Performance Targets) below

Click any node or element on the canvas to open its detail drawer on the right.

Clicking any node opens the detail drawer on the right. The drawer shows all editable fields for that item. What fields appear depends on the builder:

• Capability Builder — name, description, BRM classification, differentiating flag, KPIs, discrepancy findings, provenance
• BRM Builder — name, sub-label, description, group assignment, provenance
• Strategy Builder — performance target value, due date, linked capabilities, linked channels, linked users

Click Save Changes to save. The drawer stays open after saving. Close it with the × button.

The Sources panel shows what the AI retrieved when it generated the model — SEC filings, earnings transcripts, investor relations pages, and other public sources. Each source shows a role pill (Regulatory, Public, or Reference) and a clickable link to the original document.

Use + Add Source to add a URL manually. Sources you add are passed to the AI on the next generation — useful for supplementing thin-data companies with additional public data.

The builders auto-save most changes to your account automatically. The one exception is the detail drawer — you must click Save Changes after editing a node.

Your data persists across sessions, browsers, and devices. Closing the browser or hard-refreshing does not lose your work. When you reopen a builder and select your company, the model reloads exactly as you left it.

A three-level capability hierarchy:

• L1 — Domains (8–10 top-level business areas)
• L2 — Capabilities (the primary capabilities within each domain)
• L3 — Sub-capabilities (the operational-level capabilities that underpin each L2)

Each capability carries a name, description, BRM classification, optional KPIs, and provenance history. The model is company-specific — derived from that company's actual public filings and data, not from a generic industry template.

Click Start Over in the header. A confirmation dialog tells you what will be replaced (AI-generated content) and what will be preserved (user-authored edits). Click Generate.

The builder retrieves public data and constructs the capability model. Generation typically takes 60–90 seconds. A progress overlay shows status. When complete, the model loads automatically.

The capability model can be viewed in two modes — toggle with the view icon in the toolbar:

• List view — L1 domains as section headers, L2 and L3 capabilities nested beneath each
• Tree view — hierarchical node layout, useful for seeing the full structure at once

Use the Show filter buttons to focus on a subset: All, Differentiating, Discrepancy, No KPIs, Gaps, Missing L2s, or Missing L3s. Use the Level filter (L1 / L2 / L3) to control which levels are visible.

Each capability shows a colored dot indicating its highest-severity finding:

• Red — Violation (must address)
• Orange — Advisory (should review)
• Gray — Informational (awareness only)
• Blue — Differentiating (no finding; strategically significant)

In tree view, a dot on an L1 node reflects the worst finding anywhere in its full subtree. A red dot on an L1 means at least one child below it has a violation.

Click any capability name to open its drawer. Editable fields:

• Capability Name and Description
• Differentiating checkbox — marks this capability as strategically differentiating
• BRM Classification — Differentiating, Industry Specific, or Common
• KPIs — add or remove key performance indicators

The drawer also shows read-only context: Parent Capability, Child Capabilities, Discrepancy findings, and Provenance history. Edit any field and click Save Changes.

A Differentiating capability provides measurable competitive advantage that peers cannot easily replicate. Apply the four-criterion test — the capability must pass all four:

1. Is it a source of measurable competitive advantage?
2. Is it difficult for competitors to replicate?
3. Is it directly tied to the company's business model or market position?
4. Would losing it meaningfully harm the company's competitive standing?

Checking the Differentiating checkbox in the drawer marks it across the BRM and Strategy Builder automatically.

Every L1 capability is classified as one of three values — set in the BRM Classification dropdown in the capability drawer:

• Differentiating — delivers competitive advantage unique to this company
• Industry Specific — table stakes for the industry; required to compete but not a source of advantage
• Common — universal enabling capabilities every business needs

This classification determines which band the capability appears in on the BRM. The classification is set at L1 and applies to all L2/L3 children beneath it.

Click Compliance Audit in the header to open the audit panel. The scorecard shows all findings grouped by category — Technology Reference, Vendor Name, Missing Description, Duplication/Overlap, and others — each with a severity level (Violation, Advisory, or Informational) and a count of affected capabilities.

Click any finding row to open the affected capability's drawer directly. Re-run the audit after making edits by clicking Compliance Audit again.

Discrepancy cards appear in the capability drawer when the node validator detects an issue — for example, a technology or vendor name embedded in a capability name or description.

If a finding does not apply — for example, the technology reference is intentional — enter a rationale and click Ignore. The card dims and a Restore button appears. Ignored findings persist across sessions. A capability's dot clears once all findings are dismissed or ignored.

Every capability carries a provenance history — a log of how it was created and changed. Open a capability drawer and expand the Provenance section. The confidence pill shows the current state:

• AI Derived (amber) — generated by AI, not yet reviewed by a user
• User Reviewed (blue) — AI-generated and subsequently edited by a user
• User Authored (green) — created manually by a user

The event log below the pill shows the full history, newest first.

Click Export in the header. Two formats are available:

• JSON — the full capability model in the platform's canonical schema, including all fields, classifications, KPIs, and provenance. Use this for EA tool import or archiving.
• CSV — a flat file for spreadsheet review or bulk import into an EA tool. Does not include provenance or source data.

A four-column business reference model:

• Users — who interacts with the company (customers, employees, partners, regulators)
• Channels — how they interact (web, mobile, branch, API, call center)
• Capabilities — what the company does (read-only; pulled from the Capability Builder)
• Information — the data domains that support the business

The BRM gives stakeholders a single-page view of the business's operational structure. It is the bridge between business capabilities and IT strategy.

The BRM Builder reads the capability model to populate the Capabilities column. Build the capability model in the Capability Builder first, then open the BRM Builder. The CAP pipeline pill in the header confirms whether a capability model exists for the current company.

Click Start Over. The AI generates Users, Channels, and Information nodes derived from the company's capability model and public data. Generation typically takes 30–60 seconds. When complete, all four columns populate.

The Capabilities column is read-only in the BRM Builder. Edit capabilities in the Capability Builder only.

The canvas shows four vertical columns. Each column uses color coding:

• Users — blue
• Channels — teal
• Capabilities — gold (Differentiating), orange (Industry Specific), gray (Common)
• Information — yellow

Within each column, nodes are grouped (for example, Users might have groups: Customers, Employees, Partners). Use the Depth controls (L1 / L2 / L3) to toggle the level of detail shown in the Capabilities column.

Click any User, Channel, or Information node to open its drawer. Editable fields: Name, Sub-label (a detail line shown beneath the name, e.g. "Loyalty Program Members" under "Customers"), Description, and Group. Edit any field and click Save.

The Capabilities column is read-only — clicking a capability node opens a read-only view.

Use the + Add Node panel in the left panel. Select the tier (Users, Channels, or Information), enter the node name, sub-label, and description, select or create a group, and click + Add. The new node appears in the canvas immediately. It is marked as user-created in provenance.

A structured IT strategy following the NASA IT Strategic Plan model. Seven components, in order:

1. Mission — why IT exists
2. Vision — what IT will become
3. Values — the principles IT operates by
4. Guiding Principles — non-negotiable rules for IT investment and decision-making
5. Goals — strategic outcomes IT is working toward, organized by BSC category (Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, Learning & Growth)
6. Objectives — specific measurable steps under each goal
7. Performance Targets — quantified metrics that confirm each objective is being met

The Strategy Builder produces its best output when both a capability model and a BRM model already exist for the company. It uses capability classifications to weight the Enterprise Operating Model determination, and BRM Users and Channels to populate the linking options in Performance Targets.

Confirm both stages are complete by checking the CAP and BRM pipeline pills in the header before generating.

The platform determines the company's operating model quadrant using the Ross/Weill framework (Enterprise Architecture as Strategy, Harvard Business Press, 2006). The four quadrants:

• Diversification — low standardization, low integration
• Coordination — high integration, low standardization
• Replication — high standardization, low integration
• Unification — high standardization, high integration

The determination is weighted across six inputs: capabilities (30%), information domains (30%), users (15%), channels (10%), mission (7.5%), vision (7.5%). The quadrant result drives the Architecture Implication — what this operating model means for IT investment priorities.

Click Start Over. The AI constructs the full strategy from the company's capability model, BRM, and public data. This takes 30–60 seconds.

When complete, the canvas populates: the operating model quadrant at the top, followed by Mission, Vision, Values, Guiding Principles, and the full Goals → Objectives → Performance Targets hierarchy.

Three view tabs at the top of the strategy canvas:

• Goals — all goals with their BSC category, objective count, and target count
• Objectives — the full Goal → Objective hierarchy
• Performance Targets — the full hierarchy with all linked targets

Use the BSC category filter buttons (Financial / Customer / Internal Processes / Learning & Growth) to focus on one dimension at a time.

Click the edit icon (✎) next to any Performance Target to open the Edit dialog. Fields:

• Target — the quantified value (e.g., "95% uptime by Q4 2026")
• Due date
• Linked Capabilities — select from the full L1/L2/L3 capability hierarchy
• Linked Channels — from the BRM
• Linked Users — from the BRM

These links create the traceability chain from strategy to operational capability to the users and channels that deliver it. Click Save Target when done.

The recommended sequence is Capability Builder → BRM Builder → Strategy Builder. Each stage uses the output of the prior stage to produce richer, more connected results.

You can run any builder independently — but skipping stages reduces output quality. Notably: the BRM's Capabilities column requires the capability model, and the Strategy Builder's traceability links require both.

Each builder header has navigation buttons to adjacent pipeline stages:

• BRM Builder — ← Load CAPS opens the Capability Builder for the same company
• Strategy Builder — ← Load BRM opens the BRM Builder

These buttons pass the current company context — you do not need to re-authenticate. The pipeline status pills (CAP / BRM / STRAT) confirm which stages have been completed for the current company.

• Capability Builder → BRM Builder — the full L1/L2/L3 capability model (with classifications) populates the BRM Capabilities column
• BRM Builder → Strategy Builder — Users and Channels become the available linking options in Performance Target drawers
• Capability Builder → Strategy Builder — capability classifications weight the operating model determination; the full hierarchy is available in the Performance Target capability picker

Regenerating one builder does not automatically update the others. If you regenerate the Capability Builder, the BRM and Strategy models continue to reflect the prior capability model until you also regenerate them.

If you regenerate the Capability Builder and then the BRM, capability links in existing Performance Targets may reference IDs that have changed. Regenerating the Strategy Builder resolves this.

All models are stored in your account, associated with your email address and company. Data persists across sessions, browsers, and devices — your model is always available wherever you authenticate.

Nothing is stored in the browser. Your data is not shared with other users.

Each company is stored independently under your account. Use Load Company in the header to switch — the company selector shows all companies associated with your email. Switching companies does not affect the model you were working on.

Every node in every builder carries a provenance record — a log of when it was created, by what means (AI generation or manual entry), and how it has changed. This gives you defensible traceability when presenting models to stakeholders.

Provenance states: AI Derived (generated, not yet reviewed), User Reviewed (AI-generated and subsequently edited), User Authored (created manually). The event log shows the full history.

Click Export in any builder header. Two formats:

• JSON — the full model in the platform's canonical schema, including all fields, classifications, KPIs, provenance, and sources. This is the authoritative format for EA tool import or archiving.
• CSV — a flat file for spreadsheet review or EA tool bulk import. Does not include provenance or source data.

Start Over regenerates AI-authored content for the current builder. It replaces AI-generated nodes with new AI-generated ones, but preserves nodes you created or manually edited.

The confirmation dialog before generation tells you exactly what will be replaced. Sources, business context, and user-edited content are not affected.

Use the Forgot Keys? link on the home page. Enter the email used at purchase — all active keys for that address are resent immediately.

Confirm you are entering the exact email used at checkout. If the issue persists after retrieving your keys, use the Contact Us page.

Click the capability or node to open its drawer. Edit the field directly and click Save Changes. The node's provenance updates to User Reviewed, confirming a human has reviewed and corrected the AI output. You do not need to regenerate the entire model to fix individual items.

The AI derives capabilities from publicly available data. Companies with limited public filings may have gaps. Two options:

• Add the missing capability manually using the capability entry form in the left panel. It is marked as user-created in provenance.
• Add additional sources using + Add Source in the left panel, then click Start Over to regenerate with the supplemented data.

Yes. Use Import in the builder header. The expected format is the platform's JSON schema (exported from another company or a prior model). Imported content is marked as "imported" in provenance.

The recommended flow is always to generate first, then edit. Import is available for migration scenarios or for teams bringing in a model built outside the platform.

The AI retrieves public data at the time you generate. For companies with frequent public filings (quarterly earnings, annual 10-Ks), regenerating periodically keeps the model current. The Sources panel shows what was retrieved and when.

The AI makes an initial determination based on the company's public positioning and competitive differentiation signals. Review each AI-marked differentiating capability against the four-criterion test (see Section 4.6). Use the Differentiating filter in the Show controls to see all differentiating capabilities in one view.

The AI's classification is a starting point — the final determination is always yours.

The Enterprise Operating Model quadrant used in the Strategy Builder is based on the framework developed by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David C. Robertson in Enterprise Architecture as Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution (Harvard Business Press, 2006). The four-quadrant model (Diversification, Coordination, Replication, Unification) is their original work.

AI-generated content is a structured starting point derived from publicly available data. It is not professional business, legal, or technology advice.

You are responsible for reviewing, validating, and refining all outputs before using them in investment decisions, business planning, or stakeholder presentations.

The capability models, business reference models, and IT strategy documents you generate using the platform belong to you. You may use them internally, share them with stakeholders, import them into other tools, or publish them — without restriction.

The complete Terms of Use — covering your license, data and privacy, payment and refunds, intellectual property, liability, and governing law — are available at intelligent-ea.com/terms.html.