The TOGAF® Standard, 10th Edition - Leader’s Guide – 2025 Update

By The Open Group

#html-body [data-pb-style=KICU1C7],#html-body [data-pb-style=VCTM590]{justify-content:flex-start;display:flex;flex-direction:column;background-position:left top;background-size:cover;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-attachment:scroll}This document is a TOGAF Series Guide: The TOGAF Leader’s Guide to Establishing and Evolving an EA Capability. It has been developed and approved by The Open Group, and is part of the TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition. Written for the Enterprise Architecture Capability Leader, the person who is tasked to lead the effort to establish or evolve an Enterprise Architecture Capability, the Leader’s Guide presents advice on establishing an Enterprise Architecture Capability that aligns to a set of requirements and expectations that are specific to each enterprise. It proposes an approach for the standing-up and enhancement of an enterprise’s Enterprise Architecture Capability, based upon established best practices. This approach follows a configured path through the TOGAF Architecture Development Method (ADM).
This document:

Introduces key topics of concern
Defines the terms related to the topic
Shows the terms that are related to an EA Capability
Discusses what the Leader needs to know
Describes what the Leader should do with this knowledge

It covers the following topics:

An introduction to the topic, including an assessment of the state of EA, definitions, and key concepts used in the Guide
A narrative that is a companion to the TOGAF ADM, that leads the reader through a series of topics and related steps to assist in stepping back from the current operational context to seek a broader perspective
How to adopt an EA Capability, including the preparation and initiation activities required to establish or enhance the EA Capability
A mapping of how the TOGAF ADM can be used for architecting and establishing an EA Capability
Reactions from other readers:‘A quality hard copy of the TOGAF method - easier to read than endless htm docs or huge pdfs! The TOGAF framework has become the de facto standard for developing Enterprise Architectures.'
‘A good one-stop-shop guide and toolsets for getting your Enterprise Architecture right. A lot of thought, experience, and funding have gone into this, and the results are well worth the price you pay for the book (and the actual accreditation should you or your organization wish to go down that route).’Amazon Comment
‘…it still is the best documented Enterprise Architecture method publicly available. The book is of high quality binding and will endure browsing through the pages for a long time.’Amazon Comment

• Language: English
• Publisher: Van Haren Publishing
• Release date: Jun 30, 2025
• ISBN: 9789401813389

Book preview

Part 1: Introduction

The Open Group

1. Introduction

This document presents advice on establishing an Enterprise Architecture (EA) Capability that aligns to a set of requirements and expectations that are specific to each enterprise. It proposes an approach for the standing-up and enhancement of an enterprise’s EA Capability based upon established best practices. This approach follows a configured path through the TOGAF® Architecture Development Method (ADM).

This document is written for the EA Capability Leader, the person who is tasked to lead the effort to establish or evolve an EA Capability. We have selected the term Leader deliberately to reflect the role rather than any one of the myriad titles in an enterprise the Leader may have. This document is structured to provide the context, content, and rationale behind choices and steps that an EA Leader can consult at any point in time to set up, operate, and improve the value extracted from the practice of EA in the organization. A high-functioning EA Capability optimizes Boundaryless Information Flow™ within and between enterprises based on open standards and global interoperability.

Practicing EA requires in-depth interaction with several specialized functions such as strategy development, HR policies, and corporate accounting. This document:

•Introduces key topics of concern

•Defines the terms related to the topic

•Shows the terms that are related to an EA Capability

•Discusses what the Leader needs to know

•Describes what the Leader should do with this knowledge

This document transitions its focus between setting up a new EA Capability practice and evolving or reestablishing the practice. It is presented this way to reflect the reality of the state of EA prevalent in the industry at the time of writing.

This document is divided into six parts:

Part 1 (this part) is the introduction, including an assessment of the state of EA, definitions, and key concepts used in this document.

Parts 2 and 3 present a narrative that leads the reader through a series of topics and related steps to assist in stepping back from the current operational context to seek a broader perspective. Ideally, the contents of these first two parts should form a companion to the TOGAF ADM or similar architecture development processes, methods, or frameworks that an enterprise may choose to adopt. This document takes this approach deliberately. It focuses on outcomes without being distracted by implementation or evolution. This is done by simply focusing on what must be done and what needs to be achieved out of the steps.

Part 4 covers adoption of the EA Capability. This includes preparation and initiation activities required to establish or enhance the EA Capability that would be relevant to an enterprise.

Part 5 shows a simple mapping of how the TOGAF ADM can be practically used. This follows a configuration of the TOGAF ADM for architecting and establishing an EA Capability. It serves as an example to show how the TOGAF ADM could be customized to address the purpose for which an EA Capability is being established.

Part 6 contains appendices.

Not all scenarios or related fields discussed in this document will be relevant for every enterprise, and especially in the first attempts at creating an EA Capability. Establishing any capability is an iterative process. This document is intended as a starting point to create or evolve an EA Capability, when the purpose for performing EA changes, or when the charter for a team changes.

Even though this document has a logical structure, it is not designed as a simple task-list. The depth and detail of every step taken by the EA Leader is iterative, and the only variable is time spent for each step. As with all change work, listing what you need to know is not the same as defining the level of detail in documentation. This document provides a concise summary of what you need to know to establish the EA Capability in Table 13-1.

It is the EA Leader’s judgment to consider the level of depth and documentation and how to iterate in a manner that best suits an enterprise. The intent of this document is that you read Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 before making any judgment call on the approach to building an EA Capability.

Experience has shown that there is no one right EA Capability model. There are numerous examples of EA Capability being focused on strategy or portfolio or project or a combination of these. EA Capability has been aligned to organizational change leaders, supporting specific transformation efforts, or has focused on continuous improvement and change or embedded within an IT organization. This document will help the Leader of an EA Capability to identify an approach that is:

•Appropriate to the enterprise

•Appropriate to the context of the EA Capability

•Appropriate to the purpose of the EA Capability

This document presents a tailored approach to establish and evolve EA Capability, aligned to the TOGAF Preliminary Phase. The EA Capability is designed to deliver architectures for a purpose and to drive effective change. However, when presenting the concepts supporting each of the steps, the document presents a few leading alternative techniques and approaches. It is up to the Leader to identify and employ concepts or school of thought that best meets the needs of the