Implementing TOGAF

Have you ever tried to implement an Enterprise Architecture Framework? It isn't as easy as you might think.

Many IT departments are now well established and as such have well defined and integrated frameworks which are used to deliver their transformation, new business and technology refresh work.  Even with this they still often struggle to engage their business throughout the life cycle of the program or project being implemented and can often deliver solutions that don't meet their businesses needs.

Introducing techniques that include initiation of governance and assurance boards, high-level principles and base requirements, before you even start to produce any tangible architecture definitions or designs is difficult. Most senior managers want immediate results from their decisions, long term architectural integrity delivered through use of a framework they've probably never heard of is not always high on their list of priorities.

Even getting key stakeholder buy-in to agree high-level principles can prove difficult. You have to be able to sell the benefits of frameworks such as TOGAF to individuals at CxO level who may never have heard anything about TOGAF, Zachmann or any other architectural framework. How do you convince them that the additional early investment required will provide long term benefit to their organisation?

Why should the finance director release additional funds for you to generate some principles documents, stakeholder maps and a terms of reference for the steering board?

Why should the programme or project manager commit resource to steering boards or principles/requirements meetings without delivering any tangible architecture or business change?

These are the questions and challenges you will face when trying top introduce an architecture framework into an organisation. That is why you need to tailor these frameworks to not only meet the IT architecture of your organisation but also the business/process architecture. You need to be able to quickly produce principles and high-level requirements that can be discussed and altered to meet the needs of the organisation you are working in.

The on going education and mentoring of individuals to the benefits of TOGAF or any similar framework is a must, and something you should come to expect if you are trying to introduce these into an organisation. The ability to identify and represent ongoing cost savings to your organisations investment boards is an absolute must, without the belief that an increased cost will deliver real savings you will really struggle to get the buy-in of your senior management, and without their sponsorship your attempts will be doomed to failure.