Inside TOGAF™ 9
On February 2, The Open Group and members of its Architecture Forum launched a new version of The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF). The long-awaited TOGAF™ 9 offers several significant improvements over the previous edition. It has been restructured to provide a more modular structure, and it has undergone intensive editing to ensure consistent and appropriate use of terminology throughout. Several existing techniques have been clarified and expanded, and several new features have been added. Many of the techniques that were previously kept in a separate appendix called the “Resource Library” are now integrated into the part of the framework where they are actually used.
For some, the size of TOGAF 9 may appear daunting. The print version weighs in at 744 pages. However, it is important to remember that TOGAF is intended to be a reference, not a novel. The content has been reorganized to make it easier to navigate. The authoritative version of TOGAF is the HTML version that is freely accessible from the Open Group Web site (www.opengroup.org/togaf/). In addition to being freely accessible from that site, TOGAF 9 can be downloaded at no charge, subject to the terms of a license agreement. It is available in both HTML and Portable Document Format (PDF). Each format has various hyperlinking and search capabilities to help readers locate content more easily. However, for those who just want an essential summary of the major features of TOGAF 9, a pocket guide is available.
TOGAF 9 is a better TOGAF. It approaches the conceptual level of enterprise architecture but still remains unabashedly focused on the alignment of information technology to the needs of the business.
In many respects, TOGAF 9 is an evolutionary rather than revolutionary change. Early in the development process, a draft version had been proposed that radically expanded the Architecture Development Method (ADM), as shown in fig-ure 1, and restructured many of the features of TOGAF. The Architecture Forum rejected those changes in favor of a framework that would enable organizations that already employed TOGAF to preserve their investment. TOGAF 9 succeeds in expanding the core framework while retaining its conceptual structure.
The ADM appears identical to the previous version. However, under the covers, a new section provides guidance on different approaches to tailoring and utilizing the ADM depending on what type of architecture work is being conducted. For example, where previously TOGAF always required the baseline architecture to be completed before the target architecture, TOGAF 9 recognizes two process styles: baseline-first and target-first. TOGAF 9 also introduces the concept of iteration cycles where the ADM is executed in consecutive deepening cycles that move from high-level contextual scoping to detailed implementation orientations.
Another significant clarification is the explanation of how the TOGAF ADM can be applied to different classes of en-gagement to support varying levels of architecture within the organization. At a strategic level, the ADM can be employed to identify the changes that are required to achieve high-level business capabilities. The ADM can then be used to define the nature and extent of the change as a set of capability increments. Finally, the ADM can be used to provide the context for the implementation process in a set of transitional architectures that can be used to move from the baseline to the target architecture state. Then, the transitional architectures can be implemented using a set of work packages.
The ADM has been deepened in its coverage of the architecture realization processes. The Opportunities and Solutions phase, where the organization-specific solutions architecture is defined, has far greater attention placed on change management. A consolidated gap analysis looks across all four of the domain architectures: business, data, application, and technology. A Business Transformation Readiness Assessment is completed to ensure that the organization has all of the resources needed to succeed in the change effort. The migration planning phase now has more specific recommendations on the artifacts needed to analyze the costs, benefits, and risks of the proposed migration.
In the past, the TOGAF ADM was considered its most useful asset. In TOGAF 9, the process described by the ADM has been fortified with the addition of the Architecture Content Framework (ACF). The TOGAF ACF defines the artifacts and deliverables needed to create architecture descriptions. One of the chief concerns of many TOGAF users has been the lack of examples. TOGAF 9 addresses this by providing much more explicit definition of each and every artifact and deliverable.
Both architectural and nonarchitectural artifacts are used to create deliverables that describe the building blocks. Those building blocks are stored in an architecture repository. Some of those building blocks will be classified as reusable building blocks that are available for subsequent architecture definitions. TOGAF artifacts can be classified into various catalogs, matrices, and diagrams.
The ACF is based on a newly defined Content Metamodel (as illustrated in figure 2) that specifies the relationships be-tween the entities in the ACF. The Core Content Metamodel identifies a set of core architecture artifacts that are present in all architecture activities, as well as a Full Content Metamodel that defines a set of extensions that can be used in certain situations.
As an open standard, TOGAF endeavors to provide a framework that can be extended to support the needs of a broad user community. The Content Metamodel provides for the use of optional extensions that can be used to support activities such as governance, operations, service management, and process modeling.
TOGAF 9 provides a recommended structure for an architecture repository where all of the content that is utilized in the enterprise architecture activities should be stored and managed. The Enterprise Continuum has been revised and now represents a view of the architecture repository that provides a view of the artifacts that enables them to be classified in terms of their generality vs. specificity. This improves the ability to reuse building blocks in different settings across the organization.
Finally, TOGAF 9 offers substantial guidance on the establishment of an enterprise architecture capability. This includes recommendations on the staffing of the architecture group using the TOGAF Skills Framework and recommendations on how to position architecture governance in the organization. It provides a summary of several methods that are available to assess and measure the architecture maturity of the organization using well-known techniques.
The Open Group is enhancing its certification programs for TOGAF 9. The certification of people who are trained to use TOGAF will be changing significantly. The current TOGAF 8 certification can be achieved either by attending an accredited course of a certain duration or by taking an examination. In TOGAF 9, all certification is conducted by examination. There are two levels of certification.
The TOGAF 9 Foundation level certification is intended for people who need to understand TOGAF and how it will be used to develop architectures for their organization. The TOGAF 9 Certified level is intended for enterprise architects who will be leading and managing the execution of enterprise architecture work.
The certification examination for the Foundation level is a 40-question, closed-book, multiple-choice test. The certification examination for the Certified level is an eight-question, open-book, scenario-based examination. For current certified TOGAF 8 practitioners, there is an upgrade examination that is a subset of the Foundation and Certified examinations. It is an open-book examination that contains 20 multiple-choice and eight scenario-based questions. All of these examinations are administered using an Internet-based testing system operated by Prometric. The Open Group certification authority is also reviewing its certification programs for architecture tools and professional services. These programs are still under development at this time.
All in all, TOGAF 9 represents a significant achievement. It provides solid, practical advice that organizations can use to establish and operate an architecture activity. It is based on the accumulation of best practices contributed by members of the Open Group’s Architecture Forum. It is an open standard that anyone can use. Using TOGAF, an organization can define and control its own architecture. The TOGAF Architecture Development Method has been substantially enhanced to enable adaptations and customizations based on the nature of the work being conducted. The Architecture Content Framework and its Content Metamodel provide precise descriptions of the content that should be used to conduct architecture modeling to define architecture descriptions that satisfy the concerns of the stakeholders of the architecture.
by Dr. Bill Estrem, the president of Metaplexity Associates LLC, a firm that specializes in enterprise architecture education and consulting. He has been an active member of The Open Group since it was founded in 1995. He is also a senior member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and teaches in the Masters of Business Administration at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. He can be reached at waestrem@metaplexity.com.
