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EAWheel

Mapping to the TOGAF ADM

The stages in the Enterprise Architecture Implementation Wheel consist of steps and key focus areas. The level of detail increases as the Implementation Wheel is read from the inside out. The stages and associated steps are based on and inspired by the TOGAF® Standard. Therefore, a mapping to the TOGAF Architecture Development Method (ADM) [1] can be made. The tabs below show the relationship between the Implementation Wheel stages on the one hand and the ADM phases on the other.

The four stages of the Implementation Wheel

Stage one: Document maps to the TOGAF ADM phases A, B, C, and D.

Stage Step Focus area ADM phase
DocumentInformationOrganizationPhase B
  ProcessesPhase B
  ConceptsPhase C
  ApplicationsPhase C
  TechnologyPhase D
 StakeholdersClassificationPhase A
  MappingPhase A
  CommunicationPhase A

Read more about Stage one: Document.

The mapping explained

According to the TOGAF Standard, Phase B is about developing the Target Business Architecture that describes how the enterprise needs to operate to achieve the business goals, and respond to the strategic drivers. This aligns with what the Enterprise Architecture Implementation Wheel describes as gaining insight into the organizational structure and its processes.

Phase C instructs the organization to capture its Application Portfolio within the Architecture Repository. The same goes for the technology products that are being used. They, too, need to be captured in diagrams and catalogs (during Phase D). Classifying the products during inventory is a welcome addition. The Implementation Wheel supports this method by emphasizing the importance of its inventory stage.

Finally, Phase A is all about identifying stakeholders and their concerns, as well as knowing how to communicate the architecture with them. To do so correctly, creating a stakeholder mapping based on their classification is essential. The Enterprise Architecture Implementation Wheel addresses all three of these important topics – Stakeholder Classification, Mapping, and Communication – during the first stage (Document).

More information about the Implementation Wheel mapping to the TOGAF ADM can be found in Chapter 8, Section 8.1, of my book.

[1] The Open Group. The TOGAF® Standard, 10th Edition, Architecture Development Method. ’s-Hertogenbosch: Van Haren Publishing, 2022.

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