TOGAF, an Open Group Standard, is a proven enterprise architecture methodology and framework used by the world’s leading organizations to improve business efficiency. It is the most prominent and reliable enterprise architecture standard, ensuring consistent standards, methods, and communication among enterprise architecture professionals. Enterprise architecture professionals fluent in TOGAF standards enjoy greater industry credibility, job effectiveness, and career opportunities. TOGAF helps practitioners avoid being locked into proprietary methods, utilize resources more efficiently and effectively, and realize a greater return on investment.

 

What is Architecture in the context of TOGAF?

 

ISO/IEC 42010:20071 defines “architecture” as:

 

“The fundamental organization of a system, embodied in its components, their relationships to each other and the environment, and the principles governing its design and evolution”

 

TOGAF embraces and extends this definition. In TOGAF, “architecture” has two meanings depending upon the context:

 

1. A formal description of a system, or a detailed plan of the system at a component level to guide its implementation

2. The structure of components, their inter-relationships, and the principles and guidelines governing their design and evolution over time

 

What kinds of Architecture does TOGAF deal with?

 

TOGAF covers the development of four related types of architecture. These four types of architecture are commonly accepted as subsets of an overall enterprise architecture, all of which TOGAF is designed to support. They are shown as follows: