Actor Active agent within the enterprise (a person, a system, or an organization) who participates in the activities of the enterprise. For example, a salesperson who carries out sales operations with clients.

ADM cycle Schema of the sequencing of the phases of the ADM.

Application Operational unit deployed in the information system that handles a set of business functions.

Application architecture Enterprise architecture domain focused on the logical knowledge of applications, their links, and their positioning in the system. By extension, the logical structure of the IS, which can include SOA components, data repositories, or elements to interface with the outside world.

Application component Encapsulation of a set of elementary functionalities of an application, linked to an implementation structure.

Application service set Set made up of the technological components (hardware, software, and processes or programs) used to provide the services necessary to an application.

ArchiMate Modeling language dedicated to enterprise architecture; Open Group standard.

Architecture board Cross-organizational instance of the enterprise responsible for its entire architecture; responsible for controlling architecture, managing the architecture repository, and launching new architecture transformation cycles.

Architecture building block (ABB) Logical description or model of a building block.

Architecture contract Establishes the relationships between the architecture board and all the stakeholders involved in an architecture project; formalizes expectations, constraints, goals to be reached, and appropriate means of measurement.

Architecture development method (ADM) TOGAF method made up of a set of phases dedicated to enterprise architecture work.

Architecture domain Fundamental part of the enterprise architecture; TOGAF defines four architecture domains: Business architecture, data architecture, application architecture, and technology architecture.

Architecture principles Set of stable rules and recommendations concerning the architecture in its entirety.

Architecture repository System that contains and manages all the enterprise information that is useful to enterprise architecture (processes, data, components, deliverables, artifacts, patterns, norms, etc.).

Architecture vision 1. A presentation or overview of the future architecture as it should be. 2. Phase A of the ADM cycle, which explains and presents the future vision of the architecture. 3. A specific deliverable produced by this phase.

Artifact Description of a part of the architecture; generally organized into catalogs (lists of objects), matrices (which include the relationships between objects), and diagrams (graphical representations).

Baseline architecture Architecture (baseline or target) used as a reference; the architecture used as the departure point for an architecture review or redefinition cycle.

BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) Language used to model business processes; OMG standard.

Building block A subset or a component of the architecture; technical or functional subset represents a business, IT, or architecture element and can (potentially) be reused and combined with other subsets to form the proposed solution.

Business architecture Architecture domain dedicated to business vision, notably business processes, actors, goals, strategy, functions, and organization units.

Business event Event that can occur during enterprise functioning and that requires management action on the part of the enterprise.

Business function or functionality Produces one of the enterprise’s capabilities (e.g., marketing, client contact management, telemarketing).

Business process or process Correlated set of activities that produces tangible added value from an initial request (the trigger event).

Business scenario Prototype or model of a subset of the system, made up of a business process and a set of software components or applications, and of all the technical and organizational elements necessary to attain the desired result; used to validate options and to verify the feasibility of a solution.

Business service Supports the business capabilities explicitly managed by an organization.

Capability Designates the aptitude of an organization or a system to provide a given product or service; materialized by a series of elements (business, organizational, technical) that contribute to the realization of these products or services to the required level of quality.

Catalog Structured list made up of comparable objects, used as a reference.

Common systems Represent highly reusable systems dedicated to very cross-organizational services, such as security, networks, or communication; the III-RM included in TOGAF is an example of a common system.

Concerns Main concerns that are of critical importance for the stakeholders in a system, used to determine the acceptability of the system; can be linked to any aspect of system functioning, development, or use, including considerations such as reliability, security, distribution, and upgradability.

Constraint Condition or rule that an enterprise must respect (e.g., legal constraint).

Data architecture Enterprise architecture domain that includes logical and physical views of data, standards, and data structures used; it also includes the definition of the physical bases of the information system, expected performances, and the geographical distribution of data.

Data entity Encapsulation of data that is recognized by a business domain expert as being an “object.” Logical data entities can be associated with applications, storage means, and services.

Deliverable Provided by the architecture and have to be formally reviewed and accepted by stakeholders.

Diagram Graphical view representing a part of a model; it is an artifact.

Driver Internal or external condition that motivates an organizations goals (e.g., regulation modification, new competition).

Enterprise 1. Typically the highest level of description of an organization that covers all missions and functions; often split into several organizations. 2. Any set of organizations that share a set of goals.

Enterprise architecture 1. A formal description, or a detailed plan used as a tool in the implementation of a system. 2. The structure of the system into components, accompanied by the intercomponent relationships, principles, and guides that govern their design and their evolution.

Enterprise architecture framework Coherent set of methods, practices, models, and guides dedicated to enterprise architecture (e.g., TOGAF).

Foundation architecture Generic architecture foundations, in which we find specifications, high-level architecture patterns that apply to all types of enterprises (e.g., TOGAF’s TRM (Technical Reference Model)).

Gap Observation of the difference between two states; used in the context of “gap analysis,” where the difference between “what exists” and “what is aimed for” is identified.

Goal High-level declaration of the intent or direction of an organization; translated into objectives.

Governance Set of measurement, management, and steering processes for a business domain or IS that provides the expected level of result.

Information Any communication on or representation of facts or data in all forms (textual, graphical, audiovisual, digital).

Information domain Logical grouping of information by business domain or according to other criteria (classification, security level, etc.).

Information system (IS) System that supports enterprise activities.

Interface Interconnection and interrelation between, for example, people, systems, devices, applications, and so on.

Interoperability Capability of sharing information and services.

Key performance indicator (KPI) Quantitative and measurable statement used to judge whether or not a goal has been reached; linked to a measurement and to the means of evaluation.

Landscape Architectural representation of components deployed in an operational environment of the enterprise at a given time (e.g., application mapping of the IS).

Logical application component Encapsulation of functionalities of an application that are independent of any particular implementation.

Logical data component Encapsulation of data relative to a business entity.

Logical technology component Logical description of an infrastructure component, which can correspond to a family of similar physical components.

Matrix Representation format that shows the relationship between two (or more) architecture elements in the form of a table.

Message Flow of information exchanged between applications, services, or any information system components.

Metamodel Model that describes how and with what the architecture will be described in a structural way (model of the model).

Method Defined and repetitive approach used to broach particular types of problems.

Model Representation of a subject of interest; provides an abstract representation of the object for a given purpose. In the context of enterprise architecture, the object is all or a part of the enterprise, and the purpose provides the capability of building ''views'' that correspond to stakeholder concerns.

Objective Step in time used to demonstrate the progress made toward reaching a goal (e.g., “increase capability usage by 30% by the end of 2014 in order to support the expected increase in market share").

Organization or organization unit Autonomous resource unit including a line of managers, with goals, objectives, and measurements; can also include external components and/or partner organizations.

Phase Work unit that structures an ADM cycle, made up of a set of stages and practices, input and output. TOGAF defines eight sequential phases (from A to H) and two cross-organizational phases: the preliminary phase and the requirements management phase.

Physical application component Application, application module, application service, or any other “deployable” component linked to a functionality.

Physical data component Physical location grouping storage or deployment of data.

Physical technology component Specific technology infrastructure component (e.g., a particular version of an “off-the-shelf” product or a specific brand and version of a server).

Portfolio Complete set of elements of systems that exists within the organization (e.g., application portfolio, project portfolio).

Profile Defines extensions to a reference metamodel, such as the one frequently encountered when using the UML standard. The models presented in this book are mainly built using a UML profile dedicated to TOGAF and named “EAP (Enterprise Architecture Profile).” The TOGAF support in this book is defined by a profile.

Program Coordinated set of change projects that provide business benefits to the organization.

Project Unitary change project that provides a business benefit to the enterprise.

Reference library classification plan “Reference library” part of the architecture repository.

Requirement Statement of a business need that must be managed by one or several architecture elements or by a given work package.

Roadmap High-level action plan for change that will involve several facets of the enterprise (business, organization, technical).

Role Usual or expected functionality of an actor in the context of an activity or a business process; an actor can have one or several roles.

Service Logical representation of a repeatable activity that provides a specified result. A service is auto-contained, and can be made up of other services; presents a usage interface for consumers, who can only use it through this interface.

Service-level agreement (SLA) Usage contract between a consumer and a service provider.

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) Style of architecture based on the concept of service, designed to simplify interactions between architecture blocks while providing the system with significant flexibility.

SMART Acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound, to ensure that objectives are defined in an achievable and verifiable way.

Solution building block (SBB) Physical solution that may become an architecture building block (ABB) (e.g., “off-the-shelf” software, which is a component of the architectural view of the buyer).

Stakeholder Individual, team, or organization that has an interest in or is affected by the result of architectural change.

Standards information base (SIB) Provides a database of standards that can be used in the context of architecture specific to an organization; part of the TOGAF architecture repository.

State or capability increment Result of a change (business and architectural) that provides a performance evolution with regard to a particular capability.

Target architecture Description of the future state of the architecture whose aim is to reach the enterprise’s goals.

Technology architecture Enterprise architecture domain; software and hardware capabilities required for the deployment of application architecture.

Traceability Capability of linking artifacts produced by enterprise architecture or realization activities to other artifacts from which they originate or to which they refer.

Transition architecture Transitional architecture between existing architecture and target architecture.

UML (Unified Modeling Language) Standard (OMG) used to model software systems or applications.

View Representation of a part of the architecture from a particular point of view.

Viewpoint Designates the most appropriate perspective for an actor or family of actors; materialized through a certain number of views on the architecture, in the form of diagrams, documents, or other types of representation. A view is “what we see"; a viewpoint is “where we look from” (e.g., business viewpoint, IT viewpoint, steering viewpoint).

Work package Set of tasks identified in order to reach one or several goals for business lines. A work package can be part of a project or a program.