What is TOGAF?
TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework) is an open, vendor-neutral framework from the consortium The Open Group that organisations use to develop, govern and apply their enterprise architecture step by step in change initiatives. At its heart is the Architecture Development Method (ADM): a repeatable cycle that runs from an architecture vision through business, data, application and technology architecture to migration planning and governance of the implementation. TOGAF is not a modelling language and not a ready-made architecture, but a method and a shared vocabulary that you tailor to your own organisation.
TOGAF helps organisations to steer change in a structured way, from strategy through to execution.
🧠 Where does TOGAF come from and which version is current?
TOGAF 1.0 appeared in 1995 and was largely based on TAFIM, the Technical Architecture Framework for Information Management of the US Department of Defense. Since then The Open Group has maintained the standard; it is the same consortium that looks after ArchiMate and the UNIX specification.
| Version | Year | Characteristic |
|---|---|---|
| TOGAF 1.0 | 1995 | First version, derived from TAFIM |
| TOGAF 8 Enterprise Edition | 2002 | Extended from technical to enterprise architecture |
| TOGAF 9 | 2009 | Modular structure with Architecture Content Framework, Architecture Repository and Architecture Capability Framework |
| TOGAF 9.1 and 9.2 | 2011 and 2018 | Corrections, improved guidance, outdated content removed |
| TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition | 25 April 2022 | Modular: Fundamental Content plus Series Guides |
The 10th Edition is split into two parts. The Fundamental Content holds the stable core and consisted of six documents at launch: introduction and core concepts, the ADM, ADM techniques, applying the ADM, architecture content, and setting up the architecture capability and governance. The Series Guides explain how to apply that core in specific situations, such as agile delivery, digital transformation or integrating risk and security. This lets The Open Group update practical guidance more often without changing the core. An updated release, the 2025 Update, appeared in 2025 and incorporates, among other things, the corrections of Technical Corrigendum 1; it is still the 10th Edition.
🔄 How does the ADM cycle work?
The ADM is an iterative cycle of nine phases, with Requirements Management at the centre: requirements arrive in every phase, are recorded centrally and feed the other phases.
| Phase | Goal | Typical output |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary | Establish the architecture capability: scope, principles, governance, tailored framework | Architecture principles, tailored framework |
| A: Architecture Vision | Scope, stakeholders, business case and a high-level target architecture | Statement of Architecture Work |
| B: Business Architecture | Map processes, roles, capabilities and objectives | Baseline and target business architecture |
| C: Information Systems Architectures | Data and application architecture (Information Architecture and Application Architecture) | Data and application landscape, gap analysis |
| D: Technology Architecture | Technical Architecture: platforms, networks, infrastructure | Technology landscape and standards |
| E: Opportunities & Solutions | Group gaps into work packages and transition architectures | Solution options, initial roadmap |
| F: Migration Planning | Fix sequence, cost, risks and dependencies | Implementation and migration plan |
| G: Implementation Governance | Ensure projects conform to the architecture | Architecture Contracts, compliance reviews |
| H: Architecture Change Management | Monitor whether the architecture still fits new requirements and technology | Change requests, start of a new cycle |
| Requirements Management | Manage requirements across all phases | Requirements repository |
The cycle is not linear. TOGAF describes iterations within groups of phases: capability iterations (Preliminary and A), development iterations (B to D), transition planning (E and F) and governance iterations (G and H). You can also run the ADM per domain or organisational unit, for example for a single plant first.
🧱 What building blocks does TOGAF offer besides the ADM?
- Four architecture domains - business, data, application and technology. In the Netherlands the data domain is often called information architecture. The four domains map onto the organisational, information, application and IT infrastructure layers of the five-layer model of NORA.
- Architecture Content Framework - defines which deliverables, artefacts (catalogues, matrices, diagrams) and building blocks each phase produces. TOGAF distinguishes Architecture Building Blocks (what is needed) from Solution Building Blocks (which product or component fulfils it).
- Enterprise Continuum - a classification from generic to organisation-specific architectures and solutions, split into an Architecture Continuum and a Solutions Continuum. A reference model such as the Purdue Model sits at the generic end, your own plant architecture at the specific end.
- Architecture Repository - the store of principles, models, standards and decisions, often held in a tool with ArchiMate support.
- Architecture capability and governance - an Architecture Board, compliance reviews and Architecture Contracts make sure decisions actually land in projects. This ties into wider governance and into COBIT.
🏭 How do you apply TOGAF in an OT environment?
TOGAF comes from office IT, but the method works for OT and OT convergence too. The difference lies mainly in the content of phase D and the requirements captured in phase A: availability and safety weigh more heavily in a plant than in an office, and installations often stay in service for twenty years or more. A practical approach:
- Preliminary - state that the scope includes production, building management or infrastructure, and put process engineers, maintenance and the OT security lead on the Architecture Board.
- Phase A - express the vision in business terms, for example less unplanned downtime or demonstrable compliance with NIS2 requirements.
- Phases B and C - model production processes and the information flow between ERP, MES and control, using ISA-95 as the reference model for the boundary between business and production.
- Phase D - describe the OT architecture with the Purdue Model and the zones and conduits of IEC 62443 (Zones and Conduits Model). Security is a cross-cutting concern in TOGAF; a dedicated Series Guide explains how to address risk and security in every phase.
- Phases E and F - plan the migration of legacy systems around maintenance shutdowns and planned outages; in a brownfield plant a big-bang replacement is rarely feasible.
- Phases G and H - link architecture compliance reviews to the existing management of change process, so no change to a control system bypasses the architecture.
An example from the process industry: the Open Process Automation Forum, founded in 2016 on ExxonMobil’s initiative, is a forum within The Open Group and develops the O-PAS standard for open control systems. That is where TOGAF thinking and process automation meet directly.
🏛 How does TOGAF relate to other frameworks?
| Framework | Focus | Relationship with TOGAF |
|---|---|---|
| ArchiMate | Modelling language for enterprise architecture | Also from The Open Group; developed in the Netherlands by the Telematica Instituut (2002–2004), with The Open Group since 2008; version 4 appeared in April 2026. Provides the notation for ADM artefacts |
| NORA | Dutch government reference architecture | Supplies principles and layers; TOGAF supplies the process to apply them |
| GEMMA | Reference architecture for Dutch municipalities | Content for municipalities; the ADM can be used alongside GEMMA |
| WILMA | Reference architecture for Dutch water authorities | Sector-specific elaboration of NORA, usable within a TOGAF approach |
| MARIJ | Former Dutch central government reference architecture | Historic example; ministries now often work with TOGAF and ArchiMate |
| COBIT | IT governance and control | Aligns with TOGAF’s governance and compliance side |
| ITIL | IT service management | Complementary: ITIL runs the services that TOGAF helps to design |
TOGAF is framework-oriented: you adapt it; you do not follow it blindly.
🎓 How does TOGAF certification work?
For the 10th Edition The Open Group deliberately chose version-free names. There are three main certifications:
- TOGAF Enterprise Architecture Foundation - knowledge of concepts and terminology, with no prerequisites (exam OGEA-101).
- TOGAF Enterprise Architecture Practitioner - applying the standard in scenarios (OGEA-102 after Foundation, or the combined OGEA-103; holders of TOGAF 9 Certified can take the bridge exam OGEA-10B).
- TOGAF Business Architecture Foundation - aimed at business architecture and business planning.
Certifications do not expire; you are certified against a given version of the body of knowledge. According to The Open Group, the register already held more than 77,500 certifications by April 2018.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Is TOGAF free to use?
TOGAF is an open standard that you can download after registering with The Open Group and use within your own organisation. Commercial use, such as delivering training or embedding TOGAF in a product, requires a licence from The Open Group. Certification and accredited training are paid services.
What is the difference between TOGAF and ArchiMate?
TOGAF is a method that describes how to develop and govern an enterprise architecture, whereas ArchiMate is a modelling language for drawing that architecture. Both are standards of The Open Group and are often used together: the ADM determines which views are needed, ArchiMate provides the notation.
Do you have to follow the entire ADM?
No, TOGAF explicitly expects you to tailor the framework to your organisation in the Preliminary phase. Many organisations use only phases A to D for a target architecture, or run short ADM iterations within an agile way of working. The 10th Edition has dedicated Series Guides for this.
Is TOGAF suitable for OT and industrial automation?
TOGAF is suitable for OT as long as you supplement it with OT-specific reference models such as ISA-95, the Purdue Model and IEC 62443. The ADM structure helps you plan IT/OT convergence, migrations away from ageing control systems and security measures as one coherent programme. Availability and safety must be recorded as hard requirements in phase A.
Which TOGAF version is current?
The current version is the TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition, published on 25 April 2022 and refreshed in 2025 with the 2025 Update. It consists of Fundamental Content and Series Guides. Certifications based on TOGAF 9.2 remain valid, because TOGAF certificates do not expire.
How does TOGAF relate to NORA?
NORA is the Dutch government reference architecture and mainly supplies content: principles, layers and agreements for the public sector. TOGAF supplies the generic process and governance to apply such a reference architecture within a specific organisation. Dutch public bodies therefore often combine the two, with ArchiMate as the modelling language.
📌 In summary
TOGAF is one of the best-known open frameworks for enterprise architecture: a tailorable method (the ADM) plus a shared vocabulary that keeps change under control from strategy to execution.
TOGAF has existed since 1995, became modular with the 10th Edition of April 2022 and is often combined with ArchiMate for modelling, NORA or GEMMA for public-sector content, and ISA-95, the Purdue Model and IEC 62443 for OT. If you apply TOGAF to IT/OT convergence, use the ADM as the backbone and fill in the technology phase with OT-specific reference models.