TOGAF 9.2 Metamodel is an enterprise architecture framework that assists in the definition of business goals and their alignment with architecture goals in the context of enterprise software development. Read on to learn about the TOGAF metamodel, TOGAF deliverables, TOGAF phases and deliverables, and the TOGAF Content Metamodel components. To gain a better understanding of TOGAF you should also read our blog posts on what is TOGAF and Why its so important?
The TOGAF Metamodel provides a process lifecycle for creating and managing architectures inside a business. A description of inputs, outputs, and actions at each phase of the ADM describes various architectural products or artifacts, such as process and application. The content metamodel offered here establishes a formal framework to maintain uniformity throughout the ADM and assist businesses seeking to integrate their architecture within an architecture tool. A model that explains how and with what the architecture will be structurally expressed. One of the best ways to learn about TOGAF effectively is to enrol in the online TOGAF certification course online.
Content Metamodel Vision and Concepts
The essential ideas inside the core content metamodel are identified as core content metamodel concepts.
- Content for the Core and extensions
- Modeling, both formal and casual
- Entities important to the Metamodel
Core and Extensions Content
The TOGAF framework's role is to establish an open standard for architecture that may be used in a variety of settings and situations. To achieve this objective, it is required to provide a fully-featured Enterprise Architecture metamodel for content and the ability to avoid performing needless tasks through tailoring.
Core Metamodel Entities
The vocabulary defined in the TOGAF ADM is the foundation for the content metamodel. The following keywords are employed:
- Actor: a person, organization, or system that does not fall under the purview of the architectural model yet interacts with it
- Application Component: an encapsulation of application functionality aligned with the implementation structure
- Business Capability: a technical capacity that a company may have to attain a given goal
- Business Service: an officially specified interface that provides business capabilities and is explicitly regulated by an organization
- A Course of Action: strategic goals and objectives offer direction and emphasis, frequently giving the value proposition described in the company model
- Function: provides business capabilities closely associated with but not expressly managed by an organization
- Information System Services: automated components of a business service
- Organization Unit: a self-contained resource unit having goals, objectives, and metrics
- Technology Component: a technology infrastructure encapsulation that represents a class of technology product or a specific technology product
- Technology Service: a technological competency necessary to offer enabling infrastructure to facilitate application delivery
- Value Stream: an end-to-end collection of value-adding actions that provide an overall outcome for a customer, stakeholder, or end-user
The content metamodel specifies a collection of entities that allow architectural concepts to be recorded, saved, filtered, searched, and displayed in a consistent and traceable manner.
At the most basic level, the content structure is separated into TOGAF ADM stages.
Principles of TOGAF architecture deliverables, Vision, and Requirements Entities are meant to represent the context of formal architecture models, such as generic Architecture Principles, a strategic context that serves as an input for architecture modeling and needs to be created by the architecture.
Here is a blog that explains TOGAF in data architectural way in more detail.
What is the TOGAF Content Framework?
- Typically, the TOGAF architecture metamodel context is gathered during the Preliminary and Architecture Vision phases.
- Business Architecture entities capture architectural business operation models, focusing on reasons that inspire the company, how the firm is organized, and what business capabilities it possesses.
- Information Technology Architecture entities capture IT system architecture models by examining applications and data in accordance with the TOGAF ADM stages.
- Technology Architecture organizations collect acquired technology assets for use in implementing and realizing information system solutions.
- Architecture Realization elements contain change roadmaps that demonstrate the transition between architecture states as well as binding statements that are used to direct and manage an architecture implementation.
You can enrol in ITSM training courses that can help you gain a better understanding of the TOGAF content metamodel in detail.
Content Metamodel in Detail
- Core Content Metamodel explains the metamodel entities that comprise the core content metamodel.
- Full Content Metamodel covers the metamodel entities that contain content metamodel extensions.
Core Content Metamodel
The below picture illustrates the metamodel entities and connections found in the core content metamodel.
Full Content Metamodel
When all extensions are applied to the core content metamodel, a new set of metamodel entities is created. The figure given below depicts a full content metamodel.
A metamodel is an explicit model of the structures and rules required to develop specific models within an area of interest. Ultimately, it is a model that dictates how the system or domain will be modeled.
- A metamodel in Enterprise Architecture includes:
- Cataloged component type in an enterprise architecture
- Specific definitions
- Documented links between components
- Defined structure and configuration of the architecture
- The architecture's design and behavior
A summary or index to the catalogs, matrices, diagrams, and other architectural artifacts.
What is the Core and Extension Concept in TOGAF?
TOGAF's content metamodel has a variety of extension modules that enable a more in-depth evaluation of certain architectural challenges.
The basic content metamodel and preset extension modules are depicted in the image below.
Content Metamodel Entities
The content metamodel defines all possible building blocks and demonstrates how they may be described and connected.
- Concerns such as business services, actors, applications, data entities, and technology must be considered while developing and maintaining architectures.
- The metamodel exposes these issues, demonstrates their connections, and provides artifacts that may be utilized to represent them consistently.
- The metamodel may also be used to guide companies who want to utilize an architecture tool to implement their architecture.
Content Metamodel Attributes
Every metamodel entity contains:
- ID - the architecture entity's unique identification
- Name - the architectural entity's brief name
- Description - the architectural entity as described in text
- Category - a user-defined categorization taxonomy of each metamodel entity
- Source - the location where the information was gathered
- Owner - the architectural entity's owner
- Business worth - describes how this capacity adds value to the organization
- Increments - the capability's potential maturity/quality levels
Source Entity | Target Entity | Name | Extension Module |
Actor | Event | Generates | Process |
Actor | Event | Resolves | Process |
Actor | Function | Interacts with | Core |
Actor | Function | Performs | Core |
Actor | Value Stream | Participates in | Core |
Actor | Value Stream | Triggers | Core |
Actor | Organization Unit | Belongs to | Core |
Actor | Role | Performs task in | Core |
Actor | Service | Consumes | Core |
Actor | Actor | Decomposes | Core |
Actor | Data Entity | Supplies/Consumes | Core |
Business Capability | Course of Action | Is influenced by | Core |
Business Capability | Function | Is delivered by | Core |
Generic Metamodel depicts the core hierarchy of ArchiMate metamodel language behavior and structure features. This model's elements all have italic names, suggesting that they are abstract and do not participate in models. Archimate 3.1 metamodel is portrayed as being independent of the framework's layers since they may be applied across all tiers. The language aspects are divided into two categories: behavior and structure. Architecture models include elements such as an Application Component and an Application Process.
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Conclusion
There are several ITSM courses that can help you gain a better understanding of the TOGAF content metamodel. A specialized TOGAF certification course will give you a variety of advantages as it allows for knowledge about both formal and informal modeling. It formalizes the concept of Enterprise Architecture. KnowledgeHut’s TOGAF certification course offers great exposure and gives you theoretical and practical knowledge about the subject as well.
For next steps, check out our blog posts about the significance of TOGAF in enterprise architecture.
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