TOGAF

TOGAF is the most widely adopted framework for enterprise architecture. It is published by The Open Group, a vendor-neutral industry consortium, and gives organizations a structured way to develop architectures that connect business strategy to information, application and technology decisions. At its center is the Architecture Development Method, or ADM, a cycle of phases that takes an architecture from initial vision through design, planning, implementation and ongoing change.

Organizations use TOGAF because it supplies a common language and process that architects, business leaders and delivery teams can share. Rather than inventing their own approach, they can start from a well-tested method and adapt it. TOGAF is also the basis for the most widely held enterprise architecture certifications. For IT strategy and finance, it provides a disciplined route from business goals to a funded, sequenced plan for changing the organization's technology.

Definition of TOGAF

TOGAF is an enterprise architecture framework that describes how to develop, govern and maintain an organization's architecture. The first version appeared in 1995, building on earlier work for the US Department of Defense, and the framework has been revised many times since.

The current TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition, released in 2022, separates fundamental content from series guides that cover specific topics such as business architecture, security and agile methods. This structure lets organizations adopt the core method and add guidance as they need it.

The Architecture Development Method

The ADM is a repeating cycle. It begins with a preliminary phase that sets up the architecture practice, followed by Phase A, Architecture Vision, which defines scope and goals for a particular piece of work.

Phases B, C and D develop the business, information systems and technology architectures. Each describes a baseline state, a target state and the gaps between them.

Phases E and F identify the projects that will close those gaps and plan their sequence. Phase G governs implementation, and Phase H manages changes to the architecture over time. Requirements management sits at the center of the cycle and informs every phase.

Other Core Content

TOGAF defines a content framework that lists the deliverables, artifacts and building blocks architects produce, such as catalogs, matrices and diagrams.

It describes an enterprise continuum, a way of classifying architectures from generic reference models to organization-specific designs, and an architecture repository for storing them.

It also covers architecture governance, including the role of an architecture review board, and capability frameworks for building the architecture function itself. Together these elements help an organization run architecture as a lasting practice rather than a one-time project.

Importance of TOGAF in Enterprise Architecture

TOGAF gives organizations a proven starting point. Building an architecture method from scratch takes time and often misses important steps, while TOGAF captures decades of practitioner experience.

It also provides a shared vocabulary. When architects, consultants and vendors all understand terms such as baseline, target, gap and building block, work moves faster and handovers are easier. New architects joining from other organizations can contribute quickly when both use the same terms and methods.

TOGAF certification gives employers a common benchmark for hiring and developing architects, and many consulting firms and tool vendors align their offerings with it.

Adapting the Framework

TOGAF is intended to be tailored. Applying every phase and deliverable to every project produces heavy documentation and slows decisions.

Most successful organizations select the parts that answer their own questions, such as using the ADM for major programs while relying on lighter methods for smaller changes.

Many combine TOGAF with other approaches, such as the ArchiMate modeling language for diagrams, agile delivery methods for implementation and financial practices for costing options. The framework's own guidance encourages this kind of combination.

Common Criticisms

Critics argue that TOGAF can encourage documentation for its own sake, especially when teams treat the deliverables list as a checklist.

Its sequential presentation can also seem at odds with agile delivery, although the latest edition includes guidance on applying the ADM iteratively and at different levels of detail.

The framework says relatively little about costs, so organizations often add their own methods for pricing baseline and target architectures. Linking TOGAF work to total cost of ownership data fills much of this gap. With costs attached, each gap identified in the ADM can be compared on value as well as on technical merit.