Validating enterprise architecture against requirements
You can validate the enterprise architecture against architecture requirements. Out of the box, the Requirement definition can be associated with:
•The Business Scenario definition.
•Architecture Building Blocks (ABBs).
•Solution Building Blocks (SBBs).
You can associate each Requirement with associated:
•Business Goals.
•Business Objectives.
You can relate the Requirement definition with other TOGAF definition types through two basic methods:
1 Add ListOf Requirement as a property to desired definition types, by customizing the metamodel through usrprops.txt.
2 Address them using a built-in addressable facility.
Adding new requirement type definitions
The customizable metamodel enables you to add new properties to any definition type, and new definition types to an encyclopedia.
•You can add Requirement as a ListOf property to an existing TOGAF definition type.
•You can add more refined Requirement definition types, such as Software Requirement, Technology Requirement, and so on.
Using addressables
The built-in addressable requirements facility enables you to select any symbol on any diagram and “address” a requirement-type definition to it.
You do this by selecting a symbol on an open diagram, and selecting Dictionary > Addresses. These definition types are available as addressables:
With TOGAF option selected
•Requirement.
•Risk.
•Issue.
Other addressable type definitions available:
•Business Objective.
•Business Process.
•Change Request.
•Critical Success Factor.
•Current Data Collection.
•Data Class.
•Deliverable.
•Geographic Location.
•Functional Organization.
•Information Requirement.
•Issue.
•Organizational Goal.
•Test Plan.
You can run reports to show what requirement-types have been “addressed” (and which have not) to what symbols. (A set of reports for addressables is available: select Reports > Reports > Report Generator > File > Open Report File, and then select Address.rpt).
These “addressables” can also be displayed on symbols through a modification to USRPROPS.TXT.
Validating that architecture meets requirements
Validation of what requirements (or other addressable-type definitions) are addressed by what parts of the architecture is performed using standard System Architect Reporting.