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Architecture Principles are general rules and guidelines that inform and support the way in which an organization sets about fulfilling its mission. They reflect a level of consensus among the various elements of the enterprise, and form the basis for making future IT decisions. One of the purposes of Architecture Principles is to establish a common understanding of how to control the business in pursuit of strategic objectives, by providing a framework for evaluating and agreeing on the changes that affect the enterprise’s architecture3 References: 3: The TOGAF Standard, Version 9.2, Part III: ADM Guidelines and Techniques, Chapter 23: Architecture Principles : The TOGAF Standard, Version 9.2, Part IV: Architecture Content Framework, Chapter 31: Architecture Principles

A set of architecture principles that cover every situation perceived meets the recommended criteria of completeness. Completeness is one of the six criteria that should be applied when developing or assessing architecture principles. Completeness means that there are no gaps or overlaps in the coverage of principles across all relevant aspects of the enterprise’s architecture. Reference: The TOGAF® Standard | The Open Group Website, Section 3.3.7 Architecture Principles.

According to the TOGAF standard, the need for the ADM process to be governed is to ensure that the architecture development and implementation activities are conducted in a consistent, coherent, and compliant manner1. Governance provides the means to verify that the method is being applied correctly and effectively, and that the architecture deliverables and artifacts meet the quality and standards criteria1. Governance also enables the management of risks, issues, changes, and dependencies that may arise during the ADM process1.

Some of the benefits of governing the ADM process are2:

•Improved alignment of the architecture with the business strategy and objectives

•Enhanced stakeholder engagement and communication

•Increased reuse and integration of architecture assets and resources

•Reduced complexity and duplication of architecture efforts

•Increased agility and adaptability of the architecture to changing needs and requirements

•Improved compliance and auditability of the architecture outcomes and outputs

Phase A: Architecture Vision identifies stakeholders, their concerns, and defines the scope and objectives of the architecture engagement.

Defining enterprise strategy is outside ADM (it is a business planning activity).

Describing the target architecture happens in Phases B, C, and D.

Developing an EA Capability is done in the Preliminary Phase, not Phase A.

Phase G: Implementation Governance provides architectural oversight of the implementation. It ensures that the implementation conforms to the Target Architecture using Architecture Contracts and governance frameworks.

Phase H: Architecture Change Management is about maintaining the architecture lifecycle and handling new requirements, not direct implementation oversight.

Preliminary Phase is about setting up the architecture capability.

Phase A is about developing the Architecture Vision.

The illustration shows the relationship between the Enterprise Continuum, the Architecture Continuum, and the Solutions Continuum, which are key concepts in the TOGAF framework. The Enterprise Continuum is a view of the Architecture Repository that shows how generic foundation architectures can be leveraged and specialized to support the requirements of an individual organization. The Architecture Continuum specifies a structured classification for architectural artifacts, such as models, patterns, and descriptions, that can be reused and adapted across different domains and levels of abstraction. The Solutions Continuum identifies implemented solutions that support various stages of business and IT capability evolution, such as common systems, industry solutions, and organization-specific solutions. The illustration also shows how the architecture context and requirements are influenced by external factors, such as business drivers, stakeholders, and standards, and how they shape the generic and specific architectures and solutions. The illustration also shows how the deployed solutions become part of the architecture context for future iterations of the architecture development cycle. References:

•TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition, Part II: Architecture Development Method, Chapter 6: Architecture Repository, Section 6.2 Enterprise Continuum.

•TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition, Part IV: Architecture Content Framework, Chapter 35: Enterprise Continuum and Tools, Section 35.1 Introduction.

The chart shown is a Gantt chart, which is commonly used for project management to illustrate a project schedule. In the context of TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework), which is a framework for enterprise architecture, this Gantt chart is demonstrating the sequenced approach to the Architecture Development Method (ADM). The ADM is the core process of TOGAF which provides a tested and repeatable process for developing architectures. The ADM is described as being iterative, over the whole process, between phases, and within phases. For each iteration of the ADM, a fresh decision must be taken about each of the parameters (scope, granularity, time period, and architecture assets).

The ADM consists of a number of phases that have to be followed in sequence:

Preliminary Phase: Framework and principles

Phase A: Architecture Vision

Phase B: Business Architecture

Phase C: Information Systems Architectures, including Data and Application Architectures

Phase D: Technology Architecture

Phase E: Opportunities and Solutions

Phase F: Migration Planning

Phase G: Implementation Governance

Phase H: Architecture Change Management

Requirements Management

Each phase is dependent on the outputs of the previous phase and the Requirements Management phase runs throughout. The Gantt chart clearly shows the dependency and sequence in which these phases occur, implying that a structured approach is followed to produce the enterprise architecture.

The TOGAF Standard, Version 9.2, a standard of The Open Group

The TOGAF documentation available at https://publications.opengroup.org/standards/architecture and https://publications.opengroup.org/guides/architecture

“Modeling these items would help the clarification process, and in particular would highlight any ambiguities or conflicts that involved trade-offs and/or prioritization… the architecture principles… likewise help clarify ambiguities or conflicts that involve trade-offs.” Open Group Publications