The Architecture Development Method (ADM) is one of main concepts in TOGAF. It forms the core of TOGAF.
The ADM cycle is a continuous process for developing and managing the lifecycle of an enterprise architecture. Each phase has its own inputs, objectives, steps and outputs.
Because ADM cycle is a cyclic and iterative process, it is very intricate. To get an overall picture of what each phase does, what are the inputs & outputs and how the outputs of one phase feed into the next is an arduous task.
This article lists down the phases of ADM cycle in a linear manner depicting* the inputs, outputs and their flows into subsequent phases for ease of understanding. But remember it is a cyclic process so the iterations can happen in any or all phases.
Important points to remember —
- Continuous, cyclical and iterative process
- Iterations can be over the whole phases, between phases and within phases
- Each iteration makes a fresh decision on breadth of coverage, level of details, extent of time period, architectural assets to be leveraged
- Frequent validation of results against the original expectations
- Requirements management phase is a continous phase so that any change in requirements are handled
- Version numbering convention — 0.1 indicates high level outline of the architecture while 1.0 indicates formally reviewed detailed architecture
The single mindmap containing all the phases, their inputs, objectives and outputs is quite long hence for readability, it has been cut into three parts and pasted below.
TOGAF® is a registered trademark of The Open Group.
The mindmaps are based on the content on the official website for TOGAF 9.2.*Only for understanding and remembering various components of ADM and has no bearing on the
