The Open Group standard for corporate architecture, TOGAF®, has just launched a new edition. Version 9.2 of the TOGAF standard includes some updates and enhancements. The restructure of TOGAF into a core and some supplemental guidelines, which together comprise the TOGAF Body of Knowledge, is a significant development. The nomenclature has been refined, and it has been aligned with the ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2011 standard and other standards. The most intriguing update is the addition of business capabilities and value streams to TOGAF’s business architecture section. TOGAF is moving away from its previous IT concentration as a result of these acquisitions. I’ll go through these two additions in further detail in this blog.

The most intriguing update is the addition of business capabilities and value streams to TOGAF’s business architecture section.

Business Capabilities

The ability to self-planning approach was previously part of the previous edition of TOGAF, therefore business capabilities aren’t wholly new in TOGAF.

Business skills are given even more focus and attention in the latest edition. This begins with a clearer understanding of terminologies, such as distinguishing between capabilities and business capabilities. A capacity is a skill or aptitude that a company, person, or system possesses. A business capability is a specialized ability that a company can have or trade in order to attain a certain goal. As a result, competency is a broader phrase that incorporates IT and architecture competencies. A capability-based approach to architecture focuses on what the company needs to fulfill its objectives. It necessitates defining, classifying, and deconstructing the business capabilities necessary for the company to give value to one or more stakeholders. A business capacity map is presented as a self-contained perspective of the business that is independent of the existing leadership structure, business processes, and information technology. It gives a degree of abstraction that the company understands, making it an excellent tool for communicating with employees about the necessary adjustments.

Value Streams

In TOGAF, value streams are a brand-new concept.

A value stream is a diagram that depicts an end-to-end sequence of value-adding actions that culminate in a final product for a client, stakeholder, or end-user. They are the consequence of a breakdown of an organization’s actions that produce the value that is traded with stakeholders. They give context to business skills and bundle them together. They provide stakeholders with a better understanding of why the company requires certain business skills. The business competencies required at each level of the value chain may be recognized. A new artifact called a value stream stage catalog may be used to represent the outcome.

In terms of simple communication with business stakeholders, value streams offer the same advantages as business capabilities. They make it possible to communicate in commercial terms, in words that people understand. At a later stage, they might be developed into processes. Similarly, they may be transformed into an organizational structure together with business competencies. An organization map may be used to highlight the relationship between the organization and the business capabilities, as well as the value stream phases.

Understanding People

Because IT is only a means to an end, a greater emphasis on business architecture is required. Because business capabilities and value streams are critical components of the business architecture, their inclusion in the latest edition of TOGAF represents a significant advancement. In terms of corporate design, the most crucial question to ask is “why?” “, which may be traced back to business capabilities and value streams in many circumstances. In reality, I believe enterprise architects underutilize this question. This concept is also a component of the 5 Whys technique.

However, keep in mind that most things are caused by people’s convictions, interests, and emotions. As a result, true business architecture begins with a knowledge of people and how they think.

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