TOGAF and the Architecture Forum -- the Continuing Story
Chris Greenslade of Frietuna Consultants and Chair
of the Architecture Forum presented the evolution of the TOGAF framework
and its current dual incarnation as a Technical Edition (Version 7)
and an Enterprise Edition (Version 8).
Chris also reviewed the role of the Architecture Forum , in which
TOGAF is evolved, with respect to both TOGAF and its wider interests,
in IT Architecture as a discipline and in COTS tools for IT Architecture.
[PPT]
TOGAF 7 Certification -- Industry Announcement and Launch
Elaine Babcock of DISA introduced the Announcement
and Launch on behalf of DISA and The Open Group Customer Council.
John Spencer, Director of The Open Group Architecture Forum,
in which the TOGAF framework is evolved, gave an overview of the certification
program, which comprised four classes of certification:
- Training courses - instructing in the use of TOGAF 7
- Practitioners – having the knowledge to use TOGAF 7
- Professional services - offered in support of TOGAF 7
- Architecture tools - supporting TOGAF 7 and its Architecture Development
Method
John explained the motivations and objectives of the program, its
operation, and its benefits to the IT customer community. He then announced
that the following 7 companies had already certified under the program
by the time of the initial launch:
- Architecting the Enterprise Limited
- CC&C Solutions pty Limited
- Computacenter Limited
- Computas A/S
- Frietuna Consultants Limited
- Popkin Software
- Terasoft Group
He introduced four of the companies who had already certified by the
launch of the program, to speak to the value that they perceived in
the program:
Judith Jones of Architecting-The-Enterprise addressed
TOGAF 7 Training certification:
What TOGAF 7 certification means:
- On-site and e-learning course that will deliver the TOGAF 7 component
training and skills development required by The Open Group
- Global reach: Students around the world will be able to meet the
TOGAF 7 Certification training requirements leading to their TOGAF
Certification
- By applying TOGAF 7 in a well defined manner and consistently through
the use of certified architecture tools then experienced IT Architects
will be able to deliver IT solutions that add real value.
- Organisations will be able to train their IT people in a globally
accepted architecture framework and have the confidence that their
people will have the tools to deliver real business value through
their IT architecture.
- We have an opportunity to create a world class programme for IT
Architects which will enhance their skills to deliver world class
IT architecture and solutions.
Motivations for certification:
- Strong supporter of TOGAF and The Open Group’s global business
value
- Provides a means to grow TOGAF 7 skilled resources across industries
and globally
- Provides the quality standards for TOGAF 7 training to enable our
business to develop a world class programme
- Proves the business value of the training provided
- Share knowledge with other TOGAF 7 Certified services and practitioners
through the Architecture Forum
- Grow TOGAF awareness, business and markets
Chris Greenslade of Frietuna Consultants addressed
TOGAF 7 Certified (Practitioner) certification. There were different
motivations for certification, for individual architects and for suppliers
of architecture services.
For individual architects:
- Ability to identify and fill gaps in skills
- Improved job and earnings prospects
- Freelancers can establish their credentials
- Personal satisfaction and motivation from the assessment process
- New knowledge, learning and contacts from the network of certified
architects
For suppliers of architecture services – internal or third-party:
- Increased ability to recruit staff of known knowledge levels
- Increased ability to retain and motivate quality staff
- Marketing advantage in winning business and premium pricing opportunity
- Reduced claims and lawsuits (due diligence)
Stuart Murray of Computacenter addressed his company's
motivations for certifying under the TOGAF 7 Professional Services
program:
- Demonstrates company commitment to best practice
- Reinforces the company’s vendor-independent solution provider
message
- Demonstrates the company’s commitment to training and people
development
Finally, David Harrison of Popkin Software explained
why Popkin had certified its System Architect tool under the TOGAF
7 Tool Support program:
- In tune with Popkin’s mission statement as “the enterprise
architecture company”
- Contributes to the goal of business-IT alignment
- Opportunity to reach organisations doing architecture
- Popkin already a Zachman partner
- System Architect already supports
- Zachman Framework
- DoDAF
- TEAF
- RUP
- IT architecture in a business context (TOGAF 7)
- Enterprise edition (TOGAF 8) – it’s what we do ….
hence ….
- ….TOGAF support in SA a logical next step
Conclusions:
- Customers can now procure TOGAF 7 certified tools, training, professional
services, and thereby avoid lock-in to proprietary methods.
- With the benefit of certification, TOGAF 7 is more than ever the
logical choice as the basis for IT Architecture work. [PDF]
TOGAF 8 Enterprise Edition -- Public Briefing
John Spencer, Director of The Open Group Architecture Forum,
gave an overview of the new "Enterprise Edition" of TOGAF
- Version 8
TOGAF Version 8 “Enterprise Edition” - Summary:
- An effective, industry standard framework and method for enterprise
architecture.
- Complementary to, not competing with, other enterprise frameworks
- Use in conjunction with frameworks having defined deliverables
more specific to particular sectors.
- “Demystifies” architecture development
- Emphasizes business goals as architecture drivers
- A framework and method for achieving the “Boundaryless Information
Flow” vision. [PDF]
Using Business Scenarios in the Software Development Process
One of the key elements of the TOGAF Architecture Development Method
is the use of the Business Scenario technique to articulate the business
drivers and goals that the IT Architecture is to address and support.
Business Scenarios are a very versatile and powerful approach to linking
business needs and technology. Mike Starkey of IBM presented IBM's
use of the Business Scenario method, in the context of the software
development process.
The results of using this process:
- Changing the development culture to focus on customer solutions
- Helping make the “is-it-nice” or “is-it-necessary” kind
of decisions
- More general knowledge of what customers are trying to do with
our products
- Interesting side-effects
- Customers interested in the process
- Using business scenarios to build their own platform
- Customers interested in how their scenarios map to the ones
we are addressing in development (i.e. Coverage) [PDF]
Network Centric Warfare -- C2ERA & CII
Barry Smith of MITRE Corporation, and the US Vice-Chair of the Architecture
Forum, gave a presentation on the US Airforce's Command and Control
Enterprise Reference Architecture (C2ERA) and the Common Integrated
Infrastructure (CII) which forms a key part of it.
Summary:
- The US Air Force is moving out on enterprise architecture
- C2ERA has been mandated across ESC
- C2ERA defines a 3-tiered architecture that divides the enterprise
into nodes that reside on a common infrastructure
- The common integrated infrastructure (CII) has undergone initial
definition and a list of potential services has been drafted
- One of these enterprise services, Network Time, is reasonably well
defined at this time [PDF]
TOGAF and OMG's Model Driven Architecture (MDA) / F16 Mission Software
- the OMG's Model Driven Architecture (MDA) in Practice
Allan Kennedy of Kennedy Carter Limited gave a dual presentation.
Allan first focused on the on-going joint work between the OMG and
The Open Group to create synergy between OMG's Model-Driven Architecture
(MDA) and TOGAF.
TOGAF AND MDA: A Unifying Theme:
- TOGAF, and particularly the ADM, exposes and/or generates a considerable
quantity of knowledge about the actual and planned architecture (at
all four levels) of a system or system of systems
- MDA provides a set of languages for formalising that knowledge
as stakeholder-friendly models that can be verified for correctness
- …and that can be leveraged to automate the production of downstream
deliverables.
Allan then moved on to illustrate some of the concepts just presented,
by way of the F-16 Modular Mission Computer Application Software. This
project had been developed by Lockheed Martin using the Kennedy Carter
toolset, which combines the use of MDA concepts with eXecutable UML.
Summary:
- MDA with executable UML is a Lightweight Process
- Executable modelling offers all the benefits of code-centric development
without the drawbacks:
- No redundancy in the development process
- Automated traceability
- Synchronised documentation
- Early testing
- Less rework
- Once established, MDA shortens timescales and reduces cost
- MDA results in an accumulation of software assets to be integrated
into future developments rather than rebuilt [PDF]
