The Beginner’s Guide to TOGAF Certification and Enterprise Architecture

The Beginner’s Guide to TOGAF Certification and Enterprise Architecture

TOGAF stands for The Open Group Architecture Framework. The most recent version is TOGAF 9.2, published in December 2011. First developed in 1995, TOGAF was based on the US Department of Defense Technical Architecture Framework for Information Management (TAFIM)

It is a model used in the field of Enterprise Architecture, and as such it provides guidelines, templates, models, framework, tools, methods, processes and much else.

The elements of TOGAF cover the entire lifecycle for Enterprise Architecture (EA), right from setting up EA as an idea within an organization, to creating and maintaining established Enterprise Architectures.

So What is Enterprise Architecture?

An enterprise architecture (EA) is a conceptual blueprint that defines the structure and operation of an organization. The intent of an enterprise architecture is to determine how an organization can most effectively achieve its current and future objectives.

TOGAF  Standard 9.2 can also be for developing, or working in conjunction with, other more specific frameworks, for example Government, Telecommunications, Manufacturing, Defence, and Finance.

There are four major parts to Enterprise Architecture; TOGAF assists in creating all of them:

• Business Architecture
• Data or Information Architecture
• Application Architecture
• Technology Architecture

The standard is divided into six parts:

• Part I – Introduction: This part provides a high-level introduction to the key concepts of Enterprise Architecture and in particular the TOGAF approach. It contains the definitions of terms used throughout the standard.

• Part II – Architecture Development Method: This is the core of the TOGAF framework. It describes the TOGAF Architecture Development Method (ADM) – a step-by-step approach to developing an Enterprise Architecture.

• Part III – ADM Guidelines & Techniques: This part contains a collection of guidelines and techniques available for use in applying the TOGAF standard and the TOGAF ADM. Additional guidelines and techniques are also in the TOGAF Library (available online from The Open Group).

• Part IV – Architecture Content Framework: This part describes the TOGAF content framework, including a structured metamodel for architectural artifacts, the use of re-usable architecture building blocks, and an overview of typical architecture deliverables.

• Part V – Enterprise Continuum & Tools: This part discusses appropriate taxonomies and tools to categorize and store the outputs of architecture activity within an enterprise.

• Part VI – Architecture Capability Framework: This part discusses the organization, processes, skills, roles, and responsibilities required to establish and operate an architecture practice within an enterprise.