Operations & Sourcing method guide
Activity Inventory
Activity Inventory decomposes work until sourcing and capability choices become meaningful.
Beginner-friendly guide · 4 min read
What Activity Inventory does
Activity Inventory decomposes work until sourcing and capability choices become meaningful.
An activity inventory lists the work required to deliver success in a product-market group. It creates the bridge between external requirements and practical sourcing or capability decisions.
Activities should be expressed at a comparable, decision-ready level. A list mixing whole functions, tiny tasks and desired outcomes will be difficult to assess or assign.
Strategic make-or-buy analysis needs activities at a level where internal and external options can be compared. A top-level function is often too broad, while individual tasks may be too narrow.[1][2]
Activities translate success factors into work, ownership and sourcing choices.
InnovationFlow explanatory schematic, synthesised from the method sources[1][2].
Understand the method
The parts in plain language
When to use it
- Before make-or-buy or value-chain decisions.
- When capability conversations mix departments, processes and tasks.
A practical workflow
- 1
Start from success factors, capabilities or value-chain areas.
- 2
Decompose activities into a clear hierarchy.
- 3
Mark leaf activities that are decision-ready.
- 4
Promote selected activities into sourcing or maturity analysis.
Fictional worked example
Example: activities behind verified savings
This example is illustrative rather than a reported case. An energy-service team identifies the work needed to deliver a credible outcome.
Observation:Connect and validate meter and machine data.
Implication:Integration capability and site access are prerequisites.
Observation:Identify controllable causes of excess consumption.
Implication:Domain models and expert review may be distinctive.
Observation:Compare results with an agreed baseline.
Implication:Evidence design affects contracts and customer trust.
From analysis to decision
How to interpret the result
- 1Merge duplicate activities and separate outcomes from work.
- 2Trace every important activity to a success factor.
- 3Use the inventory as the subject set for maturity and sourcing analysis.
The interpretation guidance is an InnovationFlow synthesis of[1][2].
What a useful output looks like
Common pitfalls
- Do not decompose further than the decision requires.
- Keep the link to strategic success visible.
References and method basis
- [1]Probert, D. (1997). Developing a Make or Buy Strategy for Manufacturing Business. Institution of Electrical Engineers. Source ↗Original method source
- [2]Harvard Business School Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness (n.d.). The Value Chain. Harvard Business School. Source ↗Originating institution
This guide synthesises the named sources into practical questions for strategy and innovation work. It does not claim that using a tool by itself produces a successful decision.