The Architecture Content Framework

Ferrow Shipping is preparing a disaster recovery plan as part of Phase D. The infrastructure lead needs to see which physical locations, such as the two data centers and four port offices, host which technology environments and which applications run in each, so that the impact of losing a site can be assessed.

Which artifact should the architects produce?

1. AThe Technology Standards catalogThe Technology Standards catalog lists the approved technology standards; it says nothing about where components are deployed.
2. BThe Application/Technology matrixThis matrix maps applications to the technology components that support them, but it does not show the physical locations that host them.
3. CThe Environments and Locations diagramThe Environments and Locations diagram depicts which locations host which applications and technology environments, which is what a site-loss impact assessment needs.
4. DThe Data Lifecycle diagramThe Data Lifecycle diagram shows how a data entity changes state over time, which is unrelated to site hosting.

The Chief Operating Officer of Meridian Foods has asked for a single picture, for an executive steering meeting, that shows how the company's business goals and organizational units link to the business functions and services that deliver them and to the technical components that support those services. The architecture team already has the underlying catalogs.

Which artifact best meets this request?

1. AThe Organization/Actor catalogA catalog lists one kind of building block, here organizational units and actors; it does not show links from goals through functions to technology.
2. BThe Business Interaction matrixThe Business Interaction matrix shows dependencies and communication between organizations and actors, not the trace from goals to technical components.
3. CThe Platform Decomposition diagramThe Platform Decomposition diagram breaks down the technology platform that supports applications; it is aimed at technology stakeholders, not executive goal alignment.
4. DThe Business Footprint diagramThe Business Footprint diagram describes links between business goals, organizational units, business functions and services, and maps them to the technical components that deliver capability.

An internal auditor at Sablewood Pharma asks the architecture team for a complete list of all business applications in use, with each application's owner, lifecycle status and supporting vendor. The auditor does not need to see interfaces or relationships to other architecture elements.

Which artifact best meets the auditor's request?

1. AThe Application/Function matrixThis matrix relates applications to the business functions they support; the auditor asked for a list with attributes, not a relationship view.
2. BThe Application Communication diagramThis diagram shows communication and interfaces between applications, which the auditor explicitly does not need.
3. CThe Application Portfolio catalogA catalog is a list of building blocks of one type with their attributes; the Application Portfolio catalog lists applications and their properties.
4. DThe Application Use-Case diagramThis diagram shows how applications are used by actors in business processes, not an inventory with ownership and lifecycle data.

Elmstead Credit Union has a two-person architecture team. For its first ADM cycle the team lead proposes producing every catalog, matrix and diagram the TOGAF Standard lists for Phases B, C and D, so that nothing is missed. The CIO objects that this will take a year, and suggests instead publishing only diagrams on the intranet with no formal review. The Statement of Architecture Work requires an Architecture Definition Document approved by the Architecture Board.

Which approach best applies the Architecture Content Framework?

1. AProduce every artifact listed for Phases B to D, because the content framework is a mandatory checklist.The Architecture Content Framework is meant to be tailored; producing every artifact regardless of stakeholder concern wastes effort and is not required.
2. BSelect only the artifacts that address the stakeholders' concerns in scope, and package them into the Architecture Definition Document required by the Statement of Architecture Work for board approval.Artifacts are chosen to address stakeholder concerns, and deliverables are the formally reviewed work products, so a tailored set of artifacts inside the required deliverable satisfies both the scope and the governance need.
3. CPublish only diagrams on the intranet and skip the Architecture Definition Document.Dropping the deliverable removes the formal review and sign-off that the Statement of Architecture Work requires.
4. DReplace the content framework with ArchiMate models, because ArchiMate defines its own deliverables.ArchiMate is a modeling language that can be used to create TOGAF artifacts; it does not define the contractual deliverables required by the Statement of Architecture Work.