Key takeaways
- The ADM says what to do and in which order; techniques detail how to do it.
- Three families of help: ADM Techniques, TOGAF Series Guides, and White Papers and Guides in the TOGAF Library.
- The ADM Techniques belong to the Fundamental Content; the Series Guides form the Guidance part.
- A technique can be referenced by several phases: it belongs to none in particular.
Three families of resources around the ADM
The ADM does not work alone. To apply it, practitioners can draw on guidelines, templates, checklists, and detailed descriptions, organized into three complementary families.
The first two belong to the TOGAF Standard: the ADM Techniques are part of the Fundamental Content, while the Series Guides form the Guidance part. The third gathers Open Group publications available through the TOGAF library.
- ADM Techniques: reference techniques (principles, gap analysis, readiness, risks…) described in a document of the Standard
- TOGAF Series Guides: advice on using and adapting the Standard to a context (agility, security, business scenarios…)
- Open Group White Papers and Guides: documents classified and referenced in the TOGAF Library
Why techniques are described separately
If each phase contained the full detail of every technique it uses, the ADM would become unreadable and repetitive, because the same technique often serves in several places. The Standard therefore describes each technique once and refers to it from the points of the ADM where it is useful.
In practice, a technique is not owned by a phase. Business scenarios are used in the Preliminary Phase, Phase A, and Phase B; gap analysis in Phases B, C, D, and E; the readiness-for-change assessment starts in Phase A and feeds Phases E and F. Techniques complement the ADM; they replace neither its phases nor its steps.
Spotting the main techniques and when they are used
For the Foundation exam, focus on each technique’s role and the phase where it first appears. The following mental map helps answer ‘which technique?’ and ‘which phase?’ questions.
- Architecture Principles: set in the Preliminary Phase, then used to arbitrate decisions
- Business scenarios: requirements and consensus, from the Preliminary Phase to Phase B
- Gap analysis: differences between Baseline and Target, mainly in Phases B to E
- Interoperability: exchange requirements, revealed in Phase A and refined up to Phase F
- Business Transformation Readiness Assessment: carried out in Phase A, actions taken up in Phases E and F
- Risk management: identification in Phase A, monitoring in Phase G
TERMS TO KNOW
The terms, in context.
- ADM Techniques
- TOGAF Standard document describing the techniques used during the ADM, such as principles or gap analysis.
- TOGAF Series Guides
- The Guidance part of the Standard: advice for applying and adapting the TOGAF Standard to specific needs.
- TOGAF Library
- The Open Group library that classifies and references additional White Papers and Guides.
- Fundamental Content
- The normative, stable core of the TOGAF Standard, which includes the ADM and the ADM Techniques.