The Open Group Architecture Framework
The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF®) is a framework for enterprise architecture
which provides a comprehensive approach for designing, planning, implementing,
and governing an enterprise information architecture.
TOGAF is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. [2]
TOGAF is a high level and holistic approach to design, which is typically
modeled at four levels: Business, Application, Data, and Technology. It tries
to give a well-tested overall starting model to information architects, which
can then be built upon. It relies heavily on modularization, standardization
and already existing, proven technologies and products.
An architecture framework is
a set of tools which can be used for developing a broad range of different
architectures.[3] It should:
- describe a method for defining an information system
in terms of a set of building blocks
- show how the building blocks fit together
- contain a set of tools
- provide a common vocabulary
- include a list of recommended standards
- include a list of compliant products that can be
used to implement the building blocks
TOGAF is such
an architecture framework.
The ANSI/IEEE Standard 1471-2000 specification of architecture (of software-intensive
systems) may be stated as: "the fundamental organization of a system,
embodied in its components, their relationships to each other and the
environment, and the principles governing its design and evolution."
However TOGAF has its own view, which may be specified as
either a "formal description of a system, or a detailed plan of the system
at component level to guide its implementation", or as "the structure
of components, their interrelationships, and the principles and guidelines
governing their design and evolution over time."
Enterprise architecture domains:
TOGAF is based
on four interrelated domains
- Business
- Data
- Application
- Technology
