Reading the Map · Reference
The frameworks and adjacent disciplines covered in the book, side by side. Use this to place any framework in context — what kind of thing it is, what it is for, and where its limits are. The frameworks are not competitors; they occupy different categories (see Chapter 21). The “type” column names the category.
The Frameworks at a Glance
| Framework | Type | Origin | Primary purpose | Best used for | Known limitation | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Zachman | Classification | John Zachman, IBM, 1987 | Classify the kinds of description an enterprise needs | Checking completeness; resolving “we’re talking past each other” | Describes, does not tell you how to build; ceremonial if all 36 cells are populated | | TOGAF | Method | The Open Group, 1995 | A repeatable method (the ADM) for developing architecture | A shared vocabulary and defensible sequence | Heavy if run in full; designed for large enterprises, not small fast ones | | ADM | Method (within TOGAF) | The Open Group | The phase cycle: vision → domains → roadmap → governance | Structuring the thinking, selectively | Becomes ritual if every phase is performed regardless of need | | ArchiMate | Notation | The Open Group, 2009 | A standard visual language across business, app, technology | Diagrams others can read; the vertical trace | Dense views become unreadable; needs the single-thread reading technique | | SABSA | Domain (security) | Sherwood et al., 1990s | Trace security controls to business risk | Security architecture connected to business risk | Often absent; can be heavyweight for small organisations | | BIZBOK | Domain (business) | Business Architecture Guild | Business architecture practice, incl. capability mapping | Capability maps, value streams, business-layer depth | Abstract; value depends on connecting it to real decisions | | SAP EA Framework | Domain (vendor) | SAP | Architecture aligned to the SAP landscape | Organisations with a large SAP estate | Naturally centred on SAP’s own technology | | Wardley Mapping | Strategy / evolution | Simon Wardley, 2005 | Reason about evolution and what to build vs. buy | Strategic positioning; build/buy/commodity decisions | Subjective placement; takes practice to read and draw well | | ITIL | Operating / service mgmt | UK Government (CCTA), 1989 | Manage IT services in operation | Running what architecture builds; incident/change | Downstream of architecture; can ossify into process for its own sake | | COBIT | Governance | ISACA, 1996 | Govern the enterprise’s use of IT | Control environment; audit alignment | Control-heavy; often invoked only at audit time | | Government/Defence (FEAF, DODAF, MODAF, NAF) | Method/reference (sector) | US/UK governments, 1990s–2000s | Architecture for government and defence estates | Public-sector and defence contexts | Mandated detail can be disproportionate outside those sectors |
How to Read This Table
Match the category to the question. The “type” column is the most useful. A strategy question reaches for Wardley; a method question for the ADM; a classification question for Zachman; a governance question for COBIT. Asking “which framework?” without first asking “which category of question?” is the category error of Chapter 21.
No framework does everything. Each is strong within its category and silent outside it. TOGAF gives you a method but not a notation; ArchiMate gives you a notation but not a method; Zachman gives you a taxonomy but neither. A working practice combines several.
The limitation column matters as much as the purpose column. Every framework has a characteristic failure mode — usually ceremony, heaviness, or being applied outside the context it was designed for. Knowing the limitation is knowing when not to reach for the framework.
Certification ≠ capability. Several of these frameworks have certification programmes (TOGAF and SABSA most prominently). A certificate demonstrates familiarity with the framework, not the ability to use it well in a real organisation — which is the skill this book argues actually matters.
Certification Pathways (where they exist)
| Framework | Certification | Entry point | |---|---|---| | TOGAF | TOGAF Foundation, then Practitioner (The Open Group) | Self-study or accredited training; widely available | | ArchiMate | ArchiMate 3 Foundation/Practitioner (The Open Group) | Often taken alongside TOGAF | | SABSA | SABSA Foundation (SCF), then advanced (SABSA Institute) | Accredited training | | ITIL | ITIL 4 Foundation, then specialist modules (PeopleCert/Axelos) | Foundation is the common entry point | | COBIT | COBIT Foundation, then Design & Implementation (ISACA) | Often pursued by audit and governance professionals | | BIZBOK | Certified Business Architect — CBA (Business Architecture Guild) | Guild membership and exam |
Zachman, Wardley Mapping, and the government/defence frameworks are studied through their published material and communities rather than a single dominant certification — see Appendix E for the professional landscape.
The Honest Summary
If you take one thing from this table: the frameworks are a toolkit, not a shelf of competing products. The mature practitioner uses several — a method, a notation, domain depth where needed, a strategy lens, and a governance frame — selecting each for the question in front of them and resisting the pull to perform any of them ceremonially. The frameworks are a map (Chapter 54). This table is a guide to which map to unfold for which journey.