ECA and the TOGAF ADM¶

Draft
v0.1.0
Enterprise and solution architects
Reviewed 2026-07-26

Enterprise Context Architecture (ECA) provides a cross-cutting perspective across the TOGAF Architecture Development Method (ADM). ECA preserves the ADM phase structure and supplies enterprise context to every phase. Requirements Management captures and updates that context at the center of the cycle.

Key change

ECA provides a cross-cutting perspective and influences every phase of the cycle. Requirements Management captures and maintains ECA context requirements for all phases.

ADM cycle¶

flowchart TB
    RM(("Requirements Management<br/>ECA context requirements"))
    A["A. Architecture Vision"]
    B["B. Business Architecture"]
    C["C. Information Systems Architectures"]
    D["D. Technology Architecture"]
    E["E. Opportunities &amp; Solutions"]
    F["F. Migration Planning"]
    G["G. Implementation Governance"]
    H["H. Architecture Change Management"]

    A --> B --> C --> D --> E --> F --> G --> H --> A
    RM --- A
    RM --- B
    RM --- C
    RM --- D
    RM --- E
    RM --- F
    RM --- G
    RM --- H

Phase-by-phase mapping¶

The table maps each ADM phase to its primary ECA context domains and surfaces the AI concerns for that phase.

ADM phase	Primary ECA contexts	AI concerns ECA surfaces
A. Architecture Vision	Business, People & Org, Governance	Authorized outcomes, decision rights, and prohibited uses before work begins
B. Business Architecture	Business, People & Org, Operational	Intent, value streams, capabilities, and roles AI would support or change
C. Information Systems Architectures	Information, Technology, Integration	Data, semantics, applications, and interfaces AI would depend on or disrupt
D. Technology Architecture	Technology, Integration, Operational	Platforms, model gateways, grounding sources, and infrastructure boundaries
E. Opportunities & Solutions	Business, Technology, Governance	Buy/build/reuse choices, model and platform options, and sprawl reduction
F. Migration Planning	Operational, Governance, People & Org	Rollout risk, workforce impact, oversight readiness, and control sequencing
G. Implementation Governance	Technology, Integration, Governance, Operational	Least-privilege tool access, evaluation gates, and control evidence at build time
H. Architecture Change Management	Governance, Business, People & Org	Drift, material-change assessment, re-approval, and context fed back to Requirements Management

Requirements Management at the center¶

Requirements Management links ECA to the ADM. Each phase reads ECA context requirements and writes back new or changed requirements as the architecture evolves. This exchange keeps mission intent, data semantics, governance obligations, and operational constraints synchronized across the cycle. AI capabilities remain grounded in current, authoritative enterprise context.

Alignment note¶

This page uses the canonical TOGAF ADM phase names (A. Architecture Vision through H. Architecture Change Management, with Requirements Management at the center). The mapping supports adoption and carries no endorsement or certification from The Open Group. Validate ADM tailoring against your organization's architecture practice.