Section 1: Phase B Overview
Phase B — Business Architecture — is the first of the four architecture-domain phases. It follows Phase A (Architecture Vision) and produces a detailed description of the current and future business, giving the technology domains (Phases C and D) the business context they need.
Key question Phase B must answer: "What business capabilities do we need to achieve the Architecture Vision?"
Key Inputs and Outputs
| Inputs to Phase B | Outputs from Phase B |
|---|---|
| Architecture Vision (from Phase A) | Baseline Business Architecture description |
| Statement of Architecture Work | Target Business Architecture description |
| Architecture Principles | Gap Analysis (Business domain) |
| Organisational context & strategic plans | Updated Architecture Definition Document |
| Existing Architecture Repository content | Updated Architecture Requirements Specification |
| Business drivers & goals/objectives | Updated Architecture Repository (Business) |
Part 1 tests whether Phase B comes before or after Phase A. Always: Preliminary → A → B → C → D → E → F → G → H. Phase B must complete before Phase C begins because data and application architecture depend on a defined business context.
Section 2: Business Architecture Techniques
Business Capability Map
A particular ability or capacity the business possesses or requires in order to achieve a specific outcome. A capability describes what the business does — not how it does it, and not who does it. Capabilities are stable; processes change. Example: "Customer Onboarding" is a capability; the step-by-step workflow to onboard a customer is a process.
Capabilities are organised into a three-level hierarchy: L1 (domains, e.g. "Customer Management"), L2 (capabilities, e.g. "Customer Acquisition"), and L3 (sub-capabilities, e.g. "Digital Channel Acquisition"). Heat-mapping overlays business priority and current performance scores to identify investment priorities.
Example — Banking Capability Heat-Map (L1 capabilities):
Priority: High · Maturity: Low
Priority: High · Maturity: Medium
Priority: Medium · Maturity: High
Priority: Critical · Maturity: Low
Priority: Medium · Maturity: Medium
Red = investment gap Amber = watch Green = adequate
Value Stream
An end-to-end collection of value-adding activities that create an overall result for a customer, stakeholder, or end-user. A value stream crosses organisational boundaries and is triggered by an external actor. It differs from a process in that it focuses on value delivered, not steps performed.
Example — Loan Origination Value Stream (5 stages):
Capture
Assessment
& Approval
& Legal
Disbursement
Actor/Role Catalog
The Actor/Role Catalog documents every organisational unit, external actor, and the roles they perform. An actor is a person or system that initiates a business function. A role is a set of related skills, responsibilities, and behaviours. One actor may play multiple roles; one role may be played by multiple actors. This catalog is foundational for Phase C application user stories and Phase G governance.
Section 3: Business Architecture Artifacts
TOGAF's Content Framework defines three classes of artifact. Part 1 tests artifact-to-class assignment frequently.
| Class | Artifact Name | What It Captures |
|---|---|---|
| Catalogs | Organization/Actor Catalog | Organisational units and external actors |
| Driver/Goal/Objective Catalog | Business drivers, goals, and measurable objectives | |
| Role Catalog | Roles, responsibilities, and required skills | |
| Business Service/Function Catalog | Services and functions the business offers or requires | |
| Location Catalog | Geographic locations and their business relevance | |
| Process/Event/Control/Product Catalog | Business processes, triggering events, controls, products | |
| Contract/Measure Catalog | Business contracts and service-level measures | |
| Matrices | Business Interaction Matrix | Interactions between business units and functions |
| Actor/Role Matrix | Mapping of actors to the roles they perform | |
| Diagrams | Business Footprint Diagram | Links business goals to org units, functions, and services |
| Business Service/Information Diagram | Business services and the information they consume/produce | |
| Functional Decomposition Diagram | Hierarchy of business functions | |
| Product Lifecycle Diagram | Stages in the lifecycle of a business product | |
| Goal/Objective/Service Diagram | Traces goals through objectives to the services that deliver them | |
| Use-Case Diagram | Business use cases, actors, and their interactions | |
| Organization Decomposition Diagram | Hierarchical breakdown of the organisation | |
| Process Flow Diagram | Sequence of activities in a business process | |
| Event Diagram | Events that trigger business functions or state changes |
Part 1 asks whether a named artifact is a Catalog, Matrix, or Diagram. Key memory rule: Catalogs are lists (rows of data), Matrices show relationships between two catalogs (rows × columns), and Diagrams are visual representations. The Business Footprint Diagram is the single most-tested Phase B diagram — know that it links goals → org units → functions → services.
Section 4: Gap Analysis in Phase B
Gap analysis compares the Baseline Business Architecture (current state) against the Target Business Architecture (future state) to identify what must change. The output is a Gap Matrix — a grid with baseline elements on one axis and target elements on the other.
| Gap Type | Description | Business Example |
|---|---|---|
| People | Skill or headcount deficiency between baseline and target | No data scientists in baseline; 15 required in target |
| Process | Missing or inadequate business processes | No customer complaints resolution process in baseline |
| Technology | Capability gap that requires new or changed technology | Baseline lacks real-time fraud detection capability |
| Data | Missing, low-quality, or inaccessible data assets | Customer lifetime value data not captured in baseline |
Each gap drives a requirement that feeds into Phase E (work packages) and ultimately shapes the Architecture Roadmap. Gap resolution options: eliminate (drop baseline element), add (create target element), modify (transform existing element), or retain (carry forward unchanged).
Section 5: Capability vs Process vs Value Stream
| Dimension | Business Capability | Business Process | Value Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answers | What can we do? | How do we do it? | What value is delivered end-to-end? |
| Stability | Very stable — changes rarely | Changes as methods improve | Stable at a high level |
| Boundary | Organisation-agnostic | Often within one department | Crosses organisational boundaries |
| TOGAF artifact | Capability Map (custom) | Process Flow Diagram | Value Stream diagram (custom) |
| Triggered by | N/A — persistent ability | An event or input | An external actor's need |
Section 6: Industry Examples
- Banking: Core banking modernisation programme uses a heat-mapped capability model to identify that "Digital Onboarding" and "Real-Time Payments" are high-priority / low-maturity capabilities requiring investment in Phase E work packages.
- Healthcare: A patient journey value stream ("Referral → Triage → Diagnosis → Treatment → Discharge → Follow-up") reveals handoff delays between provider organisations, driving cross-boundary process redesign in the Target Business Architecture.
- Government: A digital services catalogue (Business Service Catalog artifact) documents all citizen-facing services and maps them to owning departments, enabling rationalisation and the creation of a shared-services model.
- Retail: An omnichannel capability map at L1/L2 exposes that "Order Fulfilment" and "Returns Management" capabilities are duplicated across online and in-store channels, presenting a consolidation opportunity.
Section 7: Exam Tips
- The primary purpose of Phase B and its position in the ADM cycle.
- Distinguishing Catalogs / Matrices / Diagrams — especially the Business Footprint Diagram vs. Functional Decomposition Diagram.
- The definition of a business capability — "what, not how"; stable across process changes.
- The four types of gap: people, process, technology, data.
- Common wrong-answer traps: (1) Confusing the Business Footprint Diagram (goals → services) with the Organization Decomposition Diagram (structural hierarchy). (2) Saying a capability describes how the business operates — it describes what. (3) Placing gap analysis in Phase E — gap analysis is produced at the end of each domain phase (B, C, D).
Part 2 scenarios often present a CIO wanting to "understand what the business does before redesigning systems." The best answer is to perform Phase B first — build a capability map and value stream — before proceeding to Phase C. When a scenario shows an organisation with no existing architecture, start Phase B by documenting the Baseline; if the baseline is already documented, focus on the Target and Gap Analysis. Scenarios testing Phase B often require you to recommend the Business Footprint Diagram to show how goals link to services, or the Actor/Role Matrix to clarify responsibilities before application design.
Revision Summary — Chapter 04
- Phase B (Business Architecture) follows Phase A and precedes Phase C; it answers "What capabilities do we need?"
- Key inputs: Architecture Vision, Architecture Principles, organisational context, existing repository content.
- Key outputs: Baseline Business Architecture, Target Business Architecture, Gap Analysis, updated Architecture Definition Document.
- A business capability describes what the business can do — not how; capabilities are stable across process changes and organised L1/L2/L3 with heat-map overlays for priority and maturity.
- A value stream is an end-to-end set of value-adding activities triggered by an external actor; it crosses organisational boundaries and focuses on outcome, not steps.
- Phase B artifacts: 7 Catalogs (Organisation/Actor, Driver/Goal/Objective, Role, Business Service/Function, Location, Process/Event/Control/Product, Contract/Measure), 2 Matrices (Business Interaction, Actor/Role), 9 Diagrams (Business Footprint, Business Service/Information, Functional Decomposition, Product Lifecycle, Goal/Objective/Service, Use-Case, Organization Decomposition, Process Flow, Event).
- Gap analysis classifies gaps as People, Process, Technology, or Data; each gap feeds a requirement into Phase E work packages.
- Business Footprint Diagram is the single most-tested Phase B diagram: it traces goals → organisational units → business functions → business services.
Practice Questions
Five exam-style questions covering Phase B. Click a question to reveal the answer and explanation.
A. A step-by-step sequence of activities that produces a specific business output
B. An organisational unit responsible for a defined set of business services
C. A particular ability or capacity the business possesses or needs, describing what it can do
D. An end-to-end set of activities that delivers value to an external customer
Explanation: C is correct. A business capability describes what the enterprise can do, independently of how, who, or where. Option A describes a business process. Option B describes an organisational unit. Option D describes a value stream. The critical distinction — "what not how" — is the most-tested aspect of capability definitions in Part 1.
A. During Phase A, after the Architecture Vision is approved
B. At the end of Phase B, after both Baseline and Target Business Architectures are defined
C. During Phase E, when opportunities and solutions are being identified
D. During Phase F, as part of finalising the Migration Plan
Explanation: B is correct. Gap analysis is performed at the end of each architecture domain phase: at the end of Phase B (Business), at the end of Phase C (Data and Application), and at the end of Phase D (Technology). The gaps discovered feed into Phase E to define work packages. Options C and D confuse gap analysis with roadmap planning activities.
A. Business Footprint Diagram
B. Functional Decomposition Diagram
C. Organisation Decomposition Diagram
D. Goal/Objective/Service Diagram
Explanation: A is correct. The Business Footprint Diagram is designed specifically to trace the chain from business goals → organisational units → business functions → business services. Option B (Functional Decomposition) shows function hierarchy only. Option C shows the reporting hierarchy of the organisation. Option D traces goals to objectives to services but does not include organisational units in the chain.
A. People gap — no fraud analysts exist in the baseline
B. Process gap — the fraud investigation workflow is missing
C. Technology gap — the capability requires technology the baseline does not possess
D. Data gap — transaction data is not available for fraud analysis
Explanation: C is correct. "Real-time fraud detection" is primarily a technology capability gap — it requires an analytics platform, streaming data pipeline, and ML scoring engine that the baseline does not have. While there may also be people and data gaps in a real scenario, the primary classification for missing technology capability is a Technology gap. Part 1 asks you to identify the single best classification for a described situation.
A. Business Service/Function Catalog
B. Actor/Role Matrix
C. Business Footprint Diagram
D. Process/Event/Control/Product Catalog
Explanation: B is correct. The Actor/Role Matrix is one of the two Phase B matrices (the other being the Business Interaction Matrix). It maps actors to the roles they perform — a rows × columns relationship view. Option A and D are catalogs (list-format artifacts). Option C is a diagram (a visual representation). Memorise: Phase B has exactly 7 catalogs, 2 matrices, and 9 diagrams.