2.2 The Architecture Repository
Key Takeaways
- The Architecture Repository stores different classes of architectural output at different levels of abstraction created by the ADM.
- The Standards Library captures the standards with which new architectures must comply, including industry standards, selected supplier products, and shared services.
- The Reference Library provides guidelines, templates, patterns, and other reference material that accelerate the creation of new architectures.
- The Architecture Capability component defines the parameters, structures, and processes that support governance of the Architecture Repository.
- The Architecture Requirements Repository provides a view of all authorized architecture requirements agreed with the Architecture Board.
2.2 The Architecture Repository
Learning Unit 1 asks you to briefly explain the Architecture Repository. Where the Enterprise Continuum is a way of classifying assets, the Architecture Repository is where different classes of architectural output are actually stored and managed, at different levels of abstraction, as the ADM runs.
What the Architecture Repository Does
The TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition explains that supporting the Enterprise Continuum is the concept of an Architecture Repository, which can be used to store different classes of architectural output at different levels of abstraction, created by the ADM. Through the Enterprise Continuum and the Architecture Repository, architects are encouraged to leverage all relevant architectural resources and assets when developing an Organization-Specific Architecture.
The ADM chapter adds three practical points:
- The repository holds reference architectures, models, and patterns accepted for use within the enterprise, plus actual architecture work done previously.
- It also contains architecture development work-in-progress.
- Each iteration of the ADM populates an organization-specific landscape, so executing the ADM repeatedly adds more and more content to the repository over time.
Major Components of the Architecture Repository
The 10th Edition Core Concepts chapter lists the major components:
| Component | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Architecture Metamodel | The organizationally tailored application of an architecture framework, including a metamodel for architecture content |
| Architecture Capability | The parameters, structures, and processes that support governance of the Architecture Repository |
| Architecture Landscape | The architectural representation of assets deployed within the operating enterprise at a particular point in time; the landscape is likely to exist at multiple levels of abstraction to suit different architecture objectives |
| Standards Library | The standards with which new architectures must comply, which may include industry standards, selected products and services from suppliers, or shared services already deployed within the organization |
| Reference Library | Guidelines, templates, patterns, and other forms of reference material that can be leveraged to accelerate the creation of new architectures for the enterprise |
| Governance Repository | A record of governance activity across the enterprise (called the Governance Log in TOGAF 9.x) |
| Architecture Requirements Repository | A view of all authorized architecture requirements that have been agreed with the Architecture Board |
| Solutions Landscape | An architectural representation of the Solution Building Blocks supporting the Architecture Landscape that have been planned or deployed by the enterprise |
Terminology change: earlier editions called the standards component the Standards Information Base (SIB). The 10th Edition glossary defines the Standards Library as "a library of standards that can be used to define the particular services and other components of an Organization-Specific Architecture."
Related Libraries and Classifications
- The TOGAF Library of published guidance supports the Reference Library class of information.
- A Viewpoint Library — a collection of architecture viewpoint specifications — is contained in the Reference Library portion of the repository.
- The Architecture Continuum classifies content stored in the Architecture Landscape or Reference Library; the Solutions Continuum classifies content in the Solutions Landscape or Reference Library.
The Architecture Landscape in Brief
The Architecture Landscape is described at different levels of granularity (covered fully in Section 10.2):
| Level | Glossary definition |
|---|---|
| Strategic Architecture | A summary formal description of the enterprise, providing an organizing framework for operational and change activity, and an executive-level, long-term view for direction setting |
| Segment Architecture | A detailed, formal description of areas within an enterprise, used at the program or portfolio level to organize and align change activity |
| Capability Architecture | An architecture that describes the abilities that an enterprise possesses |
How the Repository Is Used Across the ADM
| ADM activity | Repository interaction |
|---|---|
| Preliminary Phase | Establish the initial repository structure, tailored metamodel, and governance of repository content |
| Phases A–D | Re-use reference models, patterns, and viewpoints from the Reference Library; check the Standards Library; describe baseline and target states in the Architecture Landscape |
| Requirements Management | Record authorized architecture requirements |
| Phases E–F | Use landscape and solutions information to identify re-usable SBBs, dependencies, and Transition Architectures |
| Phase G | Record compliance assessments, dispensations, and other governance activity |
| Phase H | Update the landscape as changes are realized; record change decisions |
Scenario: A Standards Question
A project team wants to introduce a new message broker. The architect checks the Standards Library and finds the enterprise has already selected an event-streaming product as a shared service. The Reference Library contains an approved integration pattern using that product, and the Governance Repository shows that a previous project received a time-limited dispensation that has now expired. The architect guides the team to the existing standard and pattern — the repository has prevented duplicate spend.
Common Exam Pitfalls
- Confusing the Standards Library with the Reference Library. Standards are what new architectures must comply with; reference material (guidelines, templates, patterns) accelerates creation.
- Confusing the Enterprise Continuum with the Architecture Repository. The continuum classifies; the repository stores.
- Forgetting the Architecture Capability component. It holds the parameters, structures, and processes that support governance of the repository itself.
- Using the old name only. Recognize both "Standards Information Base" (TOGAF 9.x) and "Standards Library" (10th Edition).
Which Architecture Repository component captures the standards with which new architectures must comply?
What does the Architecture Capability component of the Architecture Repository contain?
An architect wants a view of all authorized architecture requirements that have been agreed with the Architecture Board. Which repository component provides it?
How does the Architecture Repository relate to the Enterprise Continuum?