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TOGAF® Fundamental Content

Extended Guidance

General How-To

Establishing an EA Team

Domains
Agile Methods
Business Architecture
Data/Information Architecture
Sustainability
Security Architecture

Reference Models & Method

2. The TOGAF Documentation Set

2.1 Structure of the TOGAF Documentation Set

The TOGAF documentation set consists of a portfolio of documents illustrated in Figure 2-1 .

Figure 2-1: The TOGAF Documentation Set
The TOGAF Standard

The TOGAF Standard describes the generally applicable approach to Enterprise and IT Architecture. It is presented as a series of free-standing, but closely linked documents, as shown in Figure 2-1 .

The TOGAF Standard is a standard of The Open Group. The Open Group works with customers and suppliers of technology products and services, and with consortia and other standards organizations to capture, clarify, and integrate current and emerging requirements, establish standards and policies, and share best practices. Standards ensure openness, interoperability, and consensus.

The TOGAF Library

The TOGAF Library is a portfolio of additional guidance material, which supports the practical application of the TOGAF approach.

2.2 The TOGAF Standard

The TOGAF Standard is an open, industry consensus framework for Enterprise Architecture.

It is a foundational framework, which means that it is applicable to the development of any kind of architecture in any context. This foundational framework is supplemented by The Open Group TOGAF Library, an extensive and growing portfolio of guidance material, providing practical guidance in the application of the TOGAF framework in specific contexts.

The structure of the TOGAF Standard reflects the structure and content of an Architecture Capability within an enterprise, as shown in Figure 2-2 .

Figure 2-2: Structure of the TOGAF Standard

The TOGAF Standard Fundamental Content is presented as six free-standing documents:

The intention of dividing the TOGAF Standard into these independent documents is to allow for different areas of specialization to be considered in detail and potentially addressed in isolation. Although all the constituent documents work together as a whole, it is also feasible to select particular documents for adoption while excluding others. For example, an organization may wish to adopt the ADM process, but elect not to use any of the materials relating to Architecture Capability. As an open framework, such use is encouraged, particularly in the following situations:

The TOGAF Standard comprises the TOGAF Fundamental Content and a collection of TOGAF Series Guides, which provide the practical guidance in the application of the TOGAF Standard.

Figure 2-3 depicts the structure and scope of the TOGAF Standard.

Figure 2-3: The TOGAF Standard

Besides the core framework content covered by the six documents explained above, the standard provides guidance to address specific concerns and use-cases through the TOGAF Series Guides.

The TOGAF Series Guides are designed to support more specific needs from practitioners who need further explanation or more detail than that provided in the core content.

Not all the TOGAF Series Guides will be relevant in every situation. However, Enterprise Architects who are planning the deployment of the TOGAF Standard should be aware of the guidance available.

This content will evolve more rapidly than the core content to cover new needs as they emerge from market trends and the needs of the industry. There is a set of activities running continuously in The Open Group Architecture Forum to deliver this content following a continuous and incremental delivery pipeline.

Examples of the areas covered by this guidance material are:

The complete set of TOGAF Series Guides can be found at www.opengroup.org/library/guides/togaf/togaf-series-guides.

2.3 The TOGAF Library

Accompanying the TOGAF Standard is a broad portfolio of guidance material, known as the TOGAF Library,1 to support the practical application of the TOGAF approach. The TOGAF Library is a reference library containing guidelines, templates, patterns, and other forms of reference material to accelerate the creation of new architectures for the enterprise.

The TOGAF Library is maintained under the governance of The Open Group Architecture Forum.

The TOGAF Library supports one of the classes of information in the TOGAF Enterprise Architecture Repository, the Reference Library.

The Reference Library provides guidelines, templates, patterns, and other forms of reference material that can be leveraged in order to accelerate the creation of new architectures for the enterprise.

The TOGAF Library is a Reference Library of potentially useful resources. The TOGAF Library follows a categorization model based on capabilities and features that can be delivered into the market through different sets of documents and resources, as depicted in Figure 2-4 .

Figure 2-4: The TOGAF Library Continuum

Footnotes

1. The TOGAF Library is a publicly accessible resource located at www.opengroup.org/togaf-library.

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