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TOGAF

TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework) is a structured approach for designing, governing, and evolving complex organisations and their IT landscapes. Think of it as a playbook for turning business intent into coherent, well-governed systems over time.

It does not prescribe what architecture you must build. Instead, it focuses on how to design, align, and manage architecture in a disciplined way.

The core idea

TOGAF is built around one central question:

How do we move from where we are today to where we want to be, without chaos?

It answers this by:

  • Forcing clarity on current state vs target state
  • Defining principles and constraints before solutions
  • Providing a repeatable method to manage change at scale

The ADM (Architecture Development Method)

The heart of TOGAF is the ADM, an iterative lifecycle rather than a linear process.

High-level flow:

  1. Vision – Define why change is needed and what success looks like
  2. Business Architecture – Capabilities, processes, and operating model
  3. Information Systems Architecture – Data and applications
  4. Technology Architecture – Infrastructure and platforms
  5. Opportunities & Solutions – Viable change initiatives
  6. Migration Planning – Sequencing and trade-offs
  7. Implementation Governance – Ensuring delivery matches intent
  8. Change Management – Adapting architecture as reality shifts

The key point: this is continuous, not a one-off exercise.

What TOGAF is good at

TOGAF shines when:

  • Complexity is high and growing
  • Multiple teams or suppliers need alignment
  • Long-term evolution matters more than short-term optimisation
  • Architecture decisions must survive leadership or vendor changes

It creates:

  • A shared vocabulary
  • Traceability from strategy to systems
  • Guardrails that prevent accidental complexity

What TOGAF is not

TOGAF is often misunderstood. It is:

  • Not a software delivery methodology
  • Not a blueprint for a single system
  • Not inherently heavyweight (though it can be misused that way)

Used badly, it becomes bureaucracy. Used well, it becomes organisational memory.

Why it still matters

Even in cloud-native, agile, product-led environments:

  • Decisions accumulate faster than ever
  • Technical debt compounds silently
  • Local optimisation can undermine global outcomes

TOGAF provides a way to slow down decisions just enough to ensure they remain coherent over years, not sprints.

References

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