TOGAF® Standard, 10th Edition Explained
At a Glance
- TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition Overview
- What is the TOGAF Standard?
- What Changed with "TOGAF 10"?
- TOGAF Standard - TOGAF Series Guides
- TOGAF Standard - Fundamental Content
- TOGAF Library
- TOGAF Certification
- What to do next with TOGAF 10
- Final Thoughts
TOGAF® Standard, 10th Edition Overview
We use action imagery for Enterprise Architecture. Good enterprise architects help their organizations change. Change dramatically in a digital transformation. Change rapidly with enterprise agility. Or change a bit to take improve efficiency, reduce technical debt, or any other common enterprise architecture use case.
A key part of the TOGAF Standard is the ability to extend the standard into emerging practice, specialist use-cases, and experimentation. While TOGAF 10 was developed several new areas rose, like digital transformation, and others rose and fell, like Service-Oriented-Architecture. All of these new ideas are readily included within the essential scaffolding of the TOGAF Framework. The Open Group maintains a TOGAF Library to curate a collection of useful materials.
For the complete story, download the Introduction to the TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition.
What is the TOGAF Standard?
The TOGAF Standard is an industry standard for developing, maintaining, and using enterprise architecture. Over 300 member companies of The Open Group's Architecture Forum develop it the TOGAF Framework.
The TOGAF Standard is developed through a consensus process. The result is proven successful practice, that address the three primary challenges every enterprise architecture team faces:
- developing an enterprise architecture team,
- developing an enterprise architecture, and
- describe an enterprise architecture.
What Changed with "TOGAF 10"
Download the Introduction to TOGAF 10
The largest change was to draw out the inherent modularity of the TOGAF Standard. The Standard includes a hierarchy from the universal concepts in the TOGAF Fundamental Content, to the stable best practice in the TOGAF Series Guides, to emerging ideas in the TOGAF Library.
The change delivers what most architects want—more, better, and topical guidance on how to deliver the best Enterprise Architecture. People who fund enterprise architecture teams get what they want - quicker access to useful Enterprise Architecture guidance to their decisions and help to govern execution.
There is a lot of new material in the TOGAF Series Guides. The next section has a summary of them.
The outcome of this change is making it easier to adopt the best practices in the TOGAF Standard. During your configuration specialist guidance that supports your specific needs adopted. Specialist guidance that is not relevant to you can be skipped. Your organization is unique; your customization of the TOGAF Standard will be unique.
See the Introduction to the TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition for complete coverage of what changed.
TOGAF Standard - TOGAF Series Guides
With the desire for more and better guidance on how to develop more useful Enterprise Architecture, the TOGAF Series Guides are presented first.
Every TOGAF Series Guide is part of the TOGAF Standard.
General How-to Guidance
TOGAF Series Guide: A Practitioners’ Approach to Developing Enterprise Architecture Following the TOGAF ADM
The foundation guidance on using the TOGAF framework to develop, maintain, and use an Enterprise Architecture. It is a companion to the TOGAF Fundamental Content and brings the concepts and generic constructs to life.
TOGAF Series Guide: Using the TOGAF Standard in the Digital Enterprise
Describes how and when Enterprise Architecture should be used to enable a digital enterprise. It provides insight on how to integrate the DPBoK™ Standard concepts and contexts.
TOGAF Series Guide: Digital Technology Adoption: A Guide to Readiness Assessment and Roadmap Development
Addresses the critical tenets of digital technology adoption readiness and the roadmap of change. It provides a digital technology readiness assessment and roadmap development.
Establishing an EA Team
TOGAF Series Guide: The TOGAF Leader’s Guide to Establishing and Evolving an EA Capability
Describes how to establish and enhance an Enterprise Architecture capability that aligns to your enterprise and what they expect your Enterprise Architecture team to support.
Domains Guidance
TOGAF Series Guide: Integrating Risk and Security within a TOGAF Enterprise Architecture
Describes how to integrate security and risk into an Enterprise Architecture. It provides guidance for both security practitioners and Enterprise Architects working with the TOGAF Standard.
TOGAF Series Guide: Business Models
Provides a basis for understanding and using business models. It covers the concept and purpose of business models and highlights the Business Model Canvas™ technique.
TOGAF Series Guide: Business Capabilities
Answers important questions about what a business capability is and how it is being used to enhance business analysis and planning.
TOGAF Series Guide: Value Streams
Value streams are one of the core elements of a Business Architecture. This document provides an architected approach to developing a business value model.
TOGAF Series Guide: Information Mapping
Describes how to develop an Information Map that articulates, characterizes, and visually represents critical information.
TOGAF Series Guide: Organization Mapping
Shows how organization mapping provides the organizational context to an Enterprise Architecture. It is based on Mintzeberg's Organigraph technique.
TOGAF Series Guide: Business Scenarios
Shows how Business Scenarios can develop resonating business requirements and how they support and enable the enterprise to achieve its business objectives.
TOGAF Series Guide: Information Architecture: Customer Master Data Management (C-MDM)
Describes an approach for implementing Customer Master Data Management (C-MDM) in an organization. It includes people, process, organizations, and systems to manage customer master data as an asset.
TOGAF Series Guide: Enabling Enterprise Agility
Describes how to apply the TOGAF ADM in an agile delivery environment by dividing an architecture development project into small time-boxed increments and applying common agile techniques.
TOGAF Series Guide: Applying the TOGAF ADM using Agile Sprints
Describes how to deliver Enterprise Architecture with the TOGAF ADM in agile sprints.
TOGAF Series Guide: TOGAF Digital Business Reference Model (DBRM)
Provides an industry-independent reference model of common core components that are essential building blocks.
See the Business Architecture Capability Assessment Guide for methods to put this Reference Model to use.
TOGAF Series Guide: Government Reference Model
Provides a national government capability reference model.
See the Business Architecture Capability Assessment Guide for methods to put this Reference Model to use.
TOGAF Series Guide: Architecture Maturity Models
Introduces the concept of Architecture Capability Maturity Models, techniques for evaluating and quantifying an organization’s maturity in Enterprise Architecture.
TOGAF Series Guide: Architecture Project Management
Provides guidance on using project management techniques to manage the development of Enterprise Architecture.
TOGAF Series Guide: Architecture Skills Framework
Provides a set of role, skill, and experience norms for staff undertaking Enterprise Architecture work.
TOGAF Standard - Fundamental Content
The TOGAF Standard Fundamental Content provides the essential scaffolding. While this Fundamental Content will be most familiar to people used to reading TOGAF Standard version 9.2, we do not recommend starting here. Reading the fundamental content is similar to reading the Bluetooth Standard to figure out how to pair a headset.
The TOGAF Fundamental content is presented as six free-standing documents.
The TOGAF Standard: Introduction and Core Concepts
Introduces the TOGAF Standard and outlines core concepts.
The TOGAF Standard: Architecture Development Method
Describes the TOGAF ADM, which is an iterative approach to developing an Enterprise Architecture.
The TOGAF Standard: ADM Techniques
Contains a collection of techniques available for applying the TOGAF approach and the TOGAF ADM.
The TOGAF Standard: Applying the ADM
Contains guidelines for adapting the TOGAF ADM to address the specific style of architecture required in a practical context.
The TOGAF Standard: Architecture Content
Describes the TOGAF Content Framework and a structured metamodel for architectural artifacts, and an overview of typical architecture deliverables.
The TOGAF Standard: Enterprise Architecture Capability and Governance
Discusses the organization, processes, skills, roles, and responsibilities applicable to an Enterprise Architecture team.
TOGAF Library
All good enterprise architects continually refresh their method and approaches. The TOGAF Library is a place to find leading-edge ideas, methods, approaches, and techniques. Often documents in the TOGAF Library are developed elsewhere—three examples are The Open Group IT4IT™ Reference Architecture, The Open Group Commercial Aviation Reference Architecture, and the O-PAS™ Standard. These are reference architectures developed by experts in their industry. They can be adopted or used as an example.
TOGAF Library Examples
Business Architecture Reference Architectures:
- The Open Group IT4IT Reference Architecture
This is a reference architecture for Information Technology outlining value chains and information flows necessary to support digital products from strategy through to operational support. Available at: . - The Open Group Commercial Aviation Reference Architecture
This is an industry vertical reference Business Architecture developed by a consortium of aviation firms.
Information Systems Reference Architecture:
- The O-PAS Standard describes a standard architecture and interfaces for industrial process control equipment.
Emerging ideas:
- Starting an Enterprise Architecture Capability in the Government Sector
This is a specialist guide for developing an Enterprise Architecture capability in the face of a significant public sector initiative.
TOGAF 10 Certification
At this time, the TOGAF Certification program has not changed. We believe The Open Group released the new material as soon as possible. We expect updates to the TOGAF Certification Program and The Open Group's Open Badges Program.
We expect the updated and improved TOGAF Certification Program will be all about effectively delivering useful Enterprise Architecture, either by application of the essential scaffolding, or by education on problems and domains.
The exercises in our TOGAF 9 Training Course use the action-oriented guidance in the TOGAF Series Guide: A Practitioners’ Approach to Developing Enterprise Architecture.
What to do Next
What to do next depends on whether you are an Enterprise Architect, lead an Enterprise Architecture Team, Sponsor enterprise architecture, or use enterprise architecture.
Next Steps: Enterprise Architect Practitioner
A good first step is to read the TOGAF Series Guide: A Practitioners’ Approach to Developing Enterprise Architecture Following the TOGAF ADM. Chapter 3 and Chapter 6 set the stage for applying everything in the TOGAF Standard, other TOGAF Series Guides, and the TOGAF Library.
Next read the TOGAF Series Guide: Integrating Risk and Security within a TOGAF Enterprise Architecture. Risk and security are central to every Enterprise Architecture practitioner. Every enterprise architect is accountable for reducing the uncertainty of the organization, reaching its objectives and improving its security.
Then get a copy of each guide that applies to your work. The guides apply because of the problem or domain they are designed to address.
Look for updates on the TOGAF Certification Program and The Open Group Open Badges Program. The updated and improved TOGAF Certification Program will be about effectively delivering useful Enterprise Architecture.
Next Steps: Leader of an Enterprise Architecture Team
Start with a copy of the TOGAF Series Guide: The TOGAF Leader’s Guide to Establishing and Evolving an EA Capability. Ensure that you have clarity on the purpose of your Enterprise Architecture Team (Section 3.3), and the boundary of your enterprise (Sections 4.1 and 4.2).
Identify any gaps in your ability to deliver the Enterprise Architecture your organization wants to consume. Start filling them. You will likely find the f TOGAF Series Guide: Integrating Risk and Security within a TOGAF® Enterprise Architecture and Using the TOGAF Standard in the Digital Enterprise. Enterprise Architecture teams always reduce the uncertainty of the organization reaching its objectives and improving its security. If your organization is not on a Digital Transformation journey, then you should expect it to start soon.
Third, get a copy of each guide that applies to your team. Become familiar and distribute them to your team. Require them to leverage applicable best practice. If your Enterprise Architecture team is re-inventing readily available practices, then they are spending time in the wrong place. Your organization wants useful Enterprise Architecture.
Monitor the TOGAF Certification Program and other professional development. Updates on the TOGAF Certification Program and the credentials, programs, and specialized training apply to your Enterprise Architecture team. You are responsible for your Enterprise Architecture team’s professional development. Leverage established training and accreditation programs.
Next Steps: Sponsor of an Enterprise Architecture Team
Sponsors know they can improve their organization’s ability to make better change decisions and execute the changes with Enterprise Architecture. Most want the outcome without understanding the detail of how the work is done.
We suggest you start with the TOGAF Series Guide: The TOGAF Leader’s Guide to Establishing and Evolving an EA Capability. You should provide clarity on the purpose of your Enterprise Architecture team (Sections 3.3 and 8.2), the boundary of your enterprise (Sections 4.1 and 4.2), and how success will be measured (Section 5.4). Further, you need to assist with the improvement of your governance structure (Chapter 6).
Work with the leader of your Enterprise Architecture team to identify gaps in delivery of the Enterprise Architecture your organization wants to consume, and how to improve the team.
Look for updates on the TOGAF Certification Program, the TOGAF Certification Credentials Program, and specialized training. You are accountable for your Enterprise Architecture team’s professional development. Leverage established training and accreditation programs.
Next Steps: Everyone who Consumes Enterprise Architecture
Stakeholders, implementers, and other consumers of Enterprise Architecture have a different next step. You should look at the Enterprise Architecture you are receiving and compare it with the architecture you should be receiving. We believe you should raise your expectations. Best practice Enterprise Architecture is transformative. For stakeholders, the exercise of developing a good Enterprise Architecture will provide you with confidence that you know the best path for your organization> The path that addresses all your opportunities and concerns.