OGBA-101 The Open Group TOGAF Business Architecture Foundation Exam Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

In Business Architecture, “value” refers to the benefit provided to stakeholders, aligning with TOGAF's goal to capture and deliver value in business processes and capabilities. Business value is viewed as outcomes or improvements that meet stakeholder needs, rather than purely financial or numerical metrics.

A business capability is a conceptual representation that reflects the core abilities or capacities of a business. It is defined as an intrinsic ability that an organization possesses or can develop to consistently deliver a specific outcome or set of outcomes. Business capabilities abstract away from the organizational structure, processes, and technology to focus on the 'what' the business can do, rather than the 'how' it does it. This concept is fundamental in business architecture as it helps in aligning strategic objectives with operational efficiency.

Business capabilities in TOGAF are defined as the ability of an organization to achieve a specific purpose or outcome. The components that make up a business capability typically include:

Roles: The responsibilities and positions within the organization that support the capability.

Processes: The activities and workflows that are essential to the functioning of the capability.

Information: The data and knowledge necessary for the capability to operate effectively.

Resources: The assets, such as people, technology, and materials, required to support the capability.

This comprehensive definition ensures that each capability is fully understood in terms of the resources and activities required to deliver its intended outcomes.

A business capability map is a comprehensive representation that showcases an organization's abilities in a structured manner. It identifies and illustrates the various business capabilities that allow the enterprise to function and deliver value. These capabilities are often defined independently of the organizational structure, processes, or technology, focusing instead on what the business does and can do. This map encompasses the end-to-end value delivery and how different capabilities interrelate and support one another, thus providing a holistic view of the business's functional abilities.

A business model describes how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value for its stakeholders3. A business architecture breaks a business model down into the core functional elements that describe how the business works, such as the value proposition, the customer segments, the channels, the revenue streams, the cost structure, the key resources, the key activities, and the key partnerships3.

The relationship between business models and business architecture is that while business models provide a high-level description of business elements such as customers, markets, and the economic rationale of the business, the business architecture takes this model and breaks it down into more detailed descriptions. It identifies the core functional components and their relationships, which describe how the business operates, the roles involved, the information flowing through the business, and the technology supporting business activities.

In TOGAF ADM, Phase B is the Business Architecture phase where the architect should locate existing architecture descriptions to create an information map. This phase involves developing a detailed understanding of the business environment, including business processes, roles, and information flows. Existing architecture descriptions provide a baseline for identifying how information is currently managed and how it can be optimized to support business objectives.

A value stream is an approach to modeling business value that focuses on the end-to-end sequence of activities that an organization performs to deliver a product or service to the customer. This perspective is designed to help organizations understand the full lifecycle of value creation, from the initial customer demand to the final delivery of value. It provides a holistic view of the flow of value through the organization and is instrumental in identifying areas of waste and opportunities for improvement to enhance the overall customer experience. Value streams help in visualizing and optimizing the steps necessary to effect change in the business processes and systems that create value for the customers.

An information map is most closely related to a Business Capability Map in the sense that both are tools used to visualize and understand different aspects of an enterprise's architecture. While an information map focuses on the relationships and flow of information within the organization, a Business Capability Map outlines the abilities and capacities the business possesses. Both are used to analyze and design architectures that support the business's objectives.

The diagram provided illustrates a Capability Map. Here's why:

Focus on "what" the organization does: The diagram depicts various functions and activities that the organization performs, such as "Program/Human Resource Matching," "Employee Supply and Demand Mgmt," "Benefits Management," etc. These represent the capabilities of the organization, or what it is able to do.

Hierarchical structure: The capabilities are organized hierarchically, with broader functions like "HR Mgmt." encompassing more specific capabilities like "Position Advertising" and "Skills Assessment." This shows how different capabilities relate to each other and contribute to higher-level functions.

No specific process flow: Unlike a process map or value stream map, this diagram doesn't show a sequence of steps or flow of activities. It focuses on the capabilities themselves, not how they are executed

TOGAF defines an “Enterprise” as any collection of organizations or alliances working toward shared goals, such as in consortiums or partnerships. This scope allows the architecture to address cross-organization processes and infrastructures for collaborative endeavors.

Phase A (Architecture Vision) of the TOGAF ADM builds out initial organizational maps to understand high-level organizational needs and link them to architecture goals. This step provides foundational insight that informs subsequent phases, particularly for stakeholder alignment.

In the context of a value stream within TOGAF, a value stream stage represents a segment of the overall process that delivers value to stakeholders. Each stage has specific characteristics and elements that help define its progress and completion. The "exit criteria" is a key element that describes the end state condition, denoting the completion of a value stream stage. Here’s how TOGAF defines and uses these concepts:

Value Stream Definition:

A value stream represents an end-to-end collection of activities that create a result for a customer, stakeholder, or end-user. It provides a visual representation of how value is delivered.

Value Stream Stages:

Each value stream consists of multiple stages, each contributing to the overall value delivery. These stages need to be clearly defined to ensure the value stream can be effectively managed and improved.

Exit Criteria:

Definition: Exit criteria are the conditions that must be met to signify the completion of a value stream stage. These criteria ensure that all necessary tasks have been completed and that the output meets the required quality and performance standards.

Purpose: By defining exit criteria, organizations can ensure that each stage of the value stream is completed before moving to the next, maintaining quality and consistency across the process.

TOGAF References:

Phase B: Business Architecture: In this phase, value streams and their stages are modeled. Defining exit criteria for each stage helps in managing transitions and ensuring that each part of the value stream is delivering the intended value.

In summary, the exit criteria define the end state condition of a value stream stage, ensuring that all necessary tasks are completed and quality standards are met before proceeding to the next stage.

In the absence of existing Architecture Descriptions, the development of a Business Architecture would begin with the gathering of relevant information about the business. This information can come from strategic documents, business plans, process documents, and stakeholder interviews, among other sources. Once gathered, this information would be used to create Business Architecture models that articulate the business vision, strategy, governance, organization, and key business processes. These models provide a blueprint that captures the essence of the business and guides subsequent architecture work.

Business models are essential tools within TOGAF for providing different perspectives on the business operations, strategies, and value propositions. Here’s a detailed explanation:

Purpose of Business Models:

Business models are designed to represent various aspects of the business, such as value creation, delivery, and capture mechanisms. They provide a structured way to analyze and understand the business.

Different Viewpoint:

Cross-Check Assumptions: Business models offer a different viewpoint that helps in validating and cross-checking assumptions made about the business. By presenting a visual and structured representation of the business, these models enable stakeholders to identify gaps, inconsistencies, and areas that need further analysis.

Holistic Understanding: They help in gaining a holistic understanding of how different components of the business interact, which is crucial for ensuring that the enterprise architecture aligns with the business strategy and goals.

TOGAF References:

Phase A: Architecture Vision: During this phase, business models are used to articulate the vision and scope of the architecture effort. They help in ensuring that all assumptions are validated and that the architecture aligns with business objectives.

Phase B: Business Architecture: Business models are also utilized in this phase to analyze business capabilities, processes, and value streams. They provide a different viewpoint that aids in identifying areas for improvement and ensuring alignment with the strategic intent.

In summary, business models provide a different viewpoint that helps cross-check assumptions, ensuring that the enterprise architecture is aligned with the business strategy and objectives.