TOGAF ADM guidelines and techniques

This page is published under the terms of the licence summarized in the footnote.

All free-to-read materials on the Avancier web site are paid for out of income from Avancier’s training courses and methods licences.

If you find the web site helpful, please spread the word and link to avancier.co.uk in whichever social media you use.

 

TOGAF is the most popular public domain enterprise architecture framework.

Since it is voluminous, multi-authored and not an easy read; the Avancier web site hosts papers to help you understand it.

Beware that most TOGAF authors take it for granted you know architecture description techniques already.

TOGAF is a specific transformation management framework

If you want to understand enterprise architecture in general and specific architecting practices, then go to avancier.website.

 

Abstract

The largest part of TOGAF contains 4 guidelines for adapting the ADM, and 10 techniques for use at various points during the ADM.

 

Chapter

Part III: ADM Guidelines and Techniques

TOGAF Status

Avancier Methods equivalent

18

Introduction

TOGAF Supporting

 

19

Applying Iteration to the ADM

TOGAF Core

Define architecture processes

20

Applying the ADM at Different Enterprise Levels

TOGAF Recommended

Define architecture processes

21

Security Architecture and the ADM

TOGAF Recommended

 

22

Using TOGAF to Define & Govern SOAs

TOGAF Supporting

AM licence holders only

23

Architecture Principles

TOGAF Recommended (in part)

AM licence holders only

24

Stakeholder Management

TOGAF Mandated (in part)

Manage stakeholders

25

Architecture Patterns

TOGAF Supporting

AM licence holders only

26

Business Scenarios

TOGAF Recommended

Design business solution

27

Gap Analysis

TOGAF Recommended

 

28

Migration Planning Techniques

TOGAF Recommended

Plan phase overview

29

Interoperability Requirements

TOGAF Recommended

 

30

Business Transformation Readiness Assessment

TOGAF Recommended

Manage readiness and risks

31

Risk Management

TOGAF Recommended

Manage readiness and risks

32

Capability-Based Planning

TOGAF Recommended

Capability based planning

 

Contents

Chapter 19: Applying Iteration to the ADM... 1

Chapter 20 Applying the ADM at Different Enterprise Levels. 1

Chapter 21 Security Architecture and the ADM... 2

Chapter 22 Using TOGAF to Define & Govern SOAs. 2

Chapter 23 Architecture Principles. 2

Chapter 24 Stakeholder Management 2

Chapter 25 Architecture Patterns. 2

Chapter 26: Business scenarios. 2

Chapter 27 Gap Analysis. 2

Chapter 28 Migration Planning Techniques. 2

Chapter 29 Interoperability Requirements. 2

Chapter 30 Business Transformation Readiness Assessment 3

Chapter 31 Risk Management 3

Chapter 32: Capability-Based Planning. 3

 

Chapter 19: Applying Iteration to the ADM

The apparently sequential ADM cycle is shown to be a highly iterative process.

This chapter says it is expected that project teams will

  • iterate around the entire ADM cycle, commencing new vision activity as a result of Architecture Change Management.
  • cycle between ADM phases, in planned cycles covering multiple phases.
  • return to previous phases in order to update work products with new information and proceed forwards again.
  • operate ADM cycles concurrently (and one architecture team may trigger a request for work for another architecture team).

OK. You can find something similar in Avancier Methods (Define architecture processes) and elsewhere.

Chapter 20 Applying the ADM at Different Enterprise Levels

Mapping the ADM to different levels of organisation/management, and to different levels of detail.

There are two mental models for applying ADM-mind-set to the work that is required to address a broadly-scoped and reasonably-divisible request for work.

The first suggests a probably-unrealistic top-down command and control management. In practice, it surely requires you to *radically* tailor ADM at the top and bottom levels.

The second is probably more like what most people do in practice.

·         Phase A – Strategic architecture – divide into segments

·         Phases B, C, D Segment level architectures pursued in parallel

·         Phase E – divide each Segment in Transition states or Capability increments

·         Phase F and G – Progress each Transition state or Capability increment

 

You can find something similar in Avancier Methods (Define architecture processes) and elsewhere.

Chapter 21 Security Architecture and the ADM

ADM rewritten for a Security specialist, with many different inputs, steps and outputs. Unteachable in a TOGAF course.

Chapter 22 Using TOGAF to Define & Govern SOAs

ADM rewritten for an SOA specialist, with many different inputs, steps and outputs. Unteachable in a TOGAF course.

Poorly integrated into the rest of TOGAF. Somebody should to rewrite the III-RM chapter from an SOA perspective.

Chapter 23 Architecture Principles

OK. You can find more in Avancier Methods and elsewhere.

Chapter 24 Stakeholder Management

OK. You can find something similar in Avancier Methods (Manage stakeholders) and elsewhere.

Chapter 25 Architecture Patterns

Slight. You can find more in Avancier Methods and elsewhere.

Chapter 26: Business scenarios

OK. You can find something similar in Avancier Methods (Design business solution) and elsewhere.

 

A business scenario maps a business process to the actors, applications and technologies it involves.

Scenarios are like use cases, or instances of use cases.

Conventional systems analysis and design guidance are used in phase A and B to describe the behaviour of a system.

This is refreshing, since in other parts, TOGAF mostly addresses the structure of a system.

 

Q) Why doesn’t TOGAF include other analysis and design techniques?

A) TOGAF authors seems to have assumed that readers already know structured analysis and design techniques of the kind used in Information Engineering.

E.g. Use of hierarchical structures and tables, cluster or affinity analysis, top-down decomposition of business functions, business-wide data models

Also mapping of business functions to data entities, business processes and to organisation units.

Chapter 27 Gap Analysis

A simple technique, used to compare a baseline and a target and so reveal work to be done.

Chapter 28 Migration Planning Techniques

OK. You can find something similar in Avancier Methods (Plan phase overview) and elsewhere.

Chapter 29 Interoperability Requirements

Slight. Taxonomies for thinking about interoperability.

Chapter 30 Business Transformation Readiness Assessment

Useful, necessary and worthy, though presented in a bureaucratic way.

You can find something similar in Avancier Methods (Manage readiness and risks) and elsewhere.

Chapter 31 Risk Management

OK. You can find something similar in Avancier Methods (Manage readiness and risks) and elsewhere.

Chapter 32: Capability-Based Planning

Slight. You can find more in Avancier Methods (Capability based planning) and elsewhere.

 

A capability is an ability of a business - a combination of people, processes and technologies that a business has or wants to develop.

A capability can be presented as a view of the architecture, probably centred on a high-level function

The capability is advanced through the capability increments.

 

There are two good reasons for including capability-based planning in TOGAF 9:

  • It introduces more business planning level activity into TOGAF
  • By focusing attention on cross-organisational management, it suits the nature of Enterprise Architecture.

 

TOGAF says of EA and capability-based planning that both are ‘‘horizontal - against the grain of normal vertical corporate governance.”

I am not sure “governance” is the best term here, the author probably means line management.

 

The chapter makes many statements about the cross-organisational nature of capability-based planning

  • “copes with co-ordinating projects across corporate functional domains” (perhaps more accurately “lines of business” or “organization units”)
  • “planning, engineering, and delivery of strategic business capabilities to the enterprise”
  • “combines the requisite efforts of all lines of business to achieve the desired capability.”
  • “horizontal interoperability and shared services”
  • “supply chain management and SOA increasingly forcing planners/managers to govern horizontally as well as vertically.”
  • “co-ordination and alignment across business verticals.”
  • “benefits are often reaped at the enterprise not the line of business level.”

 

There is one reference to vertical capabilities (presumably meaning within an organisation unit), but even that refers to the challenges of:

  • “services rationalized at the enterprise level and
  • “lines of business receive shared services that they do not directly control.”

 

The chapter doesn’t say a great deal else, which is OK. The capability-based planning technique is not well integrated into the rest of TOGAF.

The authors of the meta model conspicuously avoid relating capability to any other entity in the meta model.

The term capability is used throughout TOGAF with various other meanings.

 

 

Footnote: Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works Licence 2.0

Attribution: You may copy, distribute and display this copyrighted work only if you clearly credit “Avancier Limited: http://avancier.co.uk” before the start and include this footnote at the end.

No Derivative Works: You may copy, distribute, display only complete and verbatim copies of this page, not derivative works based upon it.

For more information about the licence, see  http://creativecommons.org