This is another post about TOGAF. Check other posts in the series.

Objectives

Phase A – Architecture Vision – is the first phase in iteration cycle, after establishing Architecture Capability in Preliminary phase. It provides a Statement of the Architecture Work that will be delivered in an iteration of the ADM cycle. It also provides the Vision of the proposed enterprise architecture. The Statement of Architecture Work defines the program of works to develop and deploy the architecture outlined in the Architecture Vision.

Approach

The Statement of Architecture Work defines the scope and approach that will be used to complete an architecture project. It also defines success criteria indicate what a “good” outcome of the architecture work will look like and how to measure it (KPI). At the end of this phase sponsoring organization signs this document to confirm consensus and support of final architecture work. Business Scenarios are used to understand the business requirements and help articulate the architecture requirements implied by the required capability.

Techniques

A Business Scenario is a complete description of a business problem, both in business and in architectural terms, which enables individual requirements to be viewed in relation to one another in the context of the overall problem.

Using Business Scenarios helps understand requirements by showing the critical steps and interactions between key actors and their roles in desired process. Business Scenarios should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely (SMART).

Inputs

Inputs to phase are usually the outputs from previous phase(s). In this case: Principles, Request for Architecture Work, Organizational Model for Enterprise Architecture, Tailored TOGAF framework.

Outputs

Architecture Vision Document

Architecture Vision is a high-level view of the Baseline and Target Architectures based on the stakeholder concerns, business capability requirements, scope, constraints, and principles. The Architecture Vision typically covers the breadth of scope identified for the project, at a high level. Architecture Vision Document contains:

• Problem description
• Business scenarios
• Environment and process models
• Actors and their roles and responsibilities
• Baseline and Target Architecture (draft and high level)

Statement of Architecture Work

Typical contents of a Statement of Architecture Work are:

• Architecture project request and background
• Architecture project description and scope
• Overview of Architecture Vision
• Specific change of scope procedures
• Roles, responsibilities, and deliverables
• Acceptance criteria and procedures
• Architecture project plan and schedule
• Approvals

Reference Materials

Phase A: Architecture Vision

Business Scenario Template

Statement of Architecture Work Template

Architecture Vision Document Template