The Logic Behind a Togaf Repository
After reading a lot of pages of books and the Togaf 9.2 standard you will realize that a straightforward logic could help you understand more easily Enterprise Architecture repository and its content. Togaf 9.2 standard approach is segmented because it needs to present specific knowledge according each phase. Visual learners, like me, tend to pay more attention to images to create a relationship between the elements during the learning. I will show, through my personal understanding, the interrelationship of repositories images of Togaf 9.2 Standard of Open Group progressing from a generic to the more specific elements.
Enterprise continuum includes the concept of how a generic a solution can be in terms of Architecture. It ranges from Foundation to Organization-Specific Architectures or from Foundation to Organization-Specific Solutions and will impact the Enterprise Repository until reachs the Architecture Repository.
Architecture Repository can be used to store different classes of architectural output at different levels of abstraction. The architecture continuum described previously can be used as a classification scheme in the Reference Library.
Architecture landscape is the representation of assets deployed within the operating enterprise at particular point in time and a baseline of it can be created in the Preliminary phase. A deeper view of which information will be into the architecture landscape can be viewed in the summary classification model picture below.
Architecture Landscape is divided into three levels of granularity:
- Strategic Architectures show a long-term summary view of the entire enterprise, provide an organizing framework for operational and change activity and allow for direction setting at an executive level.
- Segment Architectures provide more detailed operating models for areas within an enterprise, can be used at the program or portfolio level to organize and operationally align more detailed change activity.
- Capability Architectures show in a more detailed fashion how the enterprise can support a particular unit of capability, are used to provide an overview of current capability, target capability, and capability increments and allow for individual work packages and projects to be grouped within managed portfolios and programs.
In simple terms, at least for me, Strategic Architecture maps to executive area, Segment Architecture to the PMO and Capability Architectures to the operational area.
It is not detailed in the picture, but you can assume that the Strategic Architecture contains at least the 4 domains of Togaf (Business, Data, Application and Technology). I say at least because Togaf can be customized to add a Security domain, for instance. Although the arrow is represented as Subject Matter, a synonym to this name is Architecture Domains.
Usually a good approach to elaborate a plan to encompass an Architecture is to define the scope based on time, breadth (architecture domains) and level (depth)as identified in the picture above. These are the elements for scoping an architecture. Time is the period you need to articulate for an Architecture Vision implementation. Breadth determines what part of extent of the enterprise should be accomplished encompassing all domains that will be used. Level worries with what level of detail should the architecting effort go.
Of course, there are much more images and content to discuss about Togaf but I hope you like this little drop of knowledge. Have a nice week! :)