This document is a Study Guide for TOGAF® Version 9 for students planning to become certified for TOGAF 9 Foundation. It will familiarize you with all the topics that you need to know in order to pass the TOGAF 9 Part 1 Examination.
It gives an overview of every learning objective for the TOGAF 9 Foundation Syllabus and in-depth coverage on preparing and taking the TOGAF 9 Part 1 Examination. It is specifically designed to help individuals prepare for certification.
This first chapter will familiarize you with the TOGAF 9 certification program and its principles, as well as give you important information about the structure of the TOGAF 9 Part 1 Examination.
The objectives of this chapter are as follows:
• To provide an understanding of TOGAF certification and why you should become certified
• To learn key facts about the TOGAF 9 Part 1 Examination
(Syllabus Reference: Unit 13, Learning Outcome 1: You should be able to briefly explain the TOGAF certification program, and distinguish between the levels for certification.)
Certification is available to individuals who wish to demonstrate they have attained the required knowledge and understanding of TOGAF Version 9.3 There are two levels defined for TOGAF 9 People certification, denoted Level 1 and Level 2, which lead to certification at TOGAF 9 Foundation and TOGAF 9 Certified, respectively. This Study Guide covers the first of these – TOGAF 9 Foundation. Studying for TOGAF 9 Foundation can be used as a learning objective towards achieving TOGAF 9 Certified, as the learning outcomes in TOGAF 9 Foundation are also required in TOGAF 9 Certified.
Why is TOGAF certification important?
The existence of a certification program for the TOGAF standard provides a strong incentive for organizations to standardize on the TOGAF standard as the open method for enterprise architecture, and so avoid lock-in to proprietary methods. It is an important step in making enterprise architecture a well-recognized discipline, and in introducing rigor into the procurement of tools and services for enterprise architecture.
The two certification levels are summarized in Figure 1 and Figure 2. Figure 1 shows the relationship between Level 1 and Level 2. Level 2 (TOGAF 9 Certified) is a superset of the requirements for Level 1 (TOGAF 9 Foundation).4
Figure 1: TOGAF 9 Certification Program Overview
The documents available to support the program are as shown in Figure 2.
Program description documents, such as this Study Guide, are intended for an end-user audience including those interested in becoming certified. The Program definition documents are intended for trainers, examination developers, and the Certification Authority. All these documents are available from The Open Group web site.5
Why become certified?
Becoming certified demonstrates clearly to employers and peers your commitment to enterprise architecture as a discipline. In particular, it demonstrates that you possess a body of core knowledge about the TOGAF standard as an open, industry standard framework and method for enterprise architecture. The Open Group publishes the definitive directory of TOGAF Certified individuals, and certified service and product offerings, and issues certificates.
Figure 2: Certification Document Structure
The vision for the program is to define and promote a market-driven education and certification program to support TOGAF 9. The program has been designed with the following principles in mind:
The purpose of certification to TOGAF 9 Level 1, known as TOGAF 9 Foundation, is to provide validation that the candidate has gained an acceptable level of knowledge of the terminology, structure, and basic concepts of TOGAF 9, and understands the core principles of enterprise architecture and the TOGAF standard.
The learning objectives at this level focus on knowledge and comprehension.
Individuals certified at this level will have demonstrated their understanding of:
• The basic concepts of enterprise architecture and the TOGAF standard
• The core concepts of TOGAF 9
• The key terminology of TOGAF 9
• The ADM cycle and the objectives of each phase, and how to adapt and scope the ADM
• The concept of the Enterprise Continuum; its purpose, and its constituent parts
• How each of the ADM phases contributes to the success of enterprise architecture
• The ADM guidelines and techniques
• How Architecture Governance contributes to the Architecture Development Cycle
• The concepts of views and viewpoints and their role in communicating with stakeholders
• The concept of building blocks
• The key deliverables of the ADM cycle
• The TOGAF reference models
• The TOGAF certification program
Examination
Certification for TOGAF 9 Foundation is achieved by passing the TOGAF 9 Part 1 Examination. This is a multiple-choice examination with 40 questions.6
What is the relationship between TOGAF 9 Foundation and TOGAF 9 Certified?
The learning outcomes for TOGAF 9 Foundation are a subset of those for TOGAF 9 Certified. Candidates are able to choose whether they wish to become certified in a stepwise manner by starting with TOGAF 9 Foundation and then at a later date TOGAF 9 Certified, or alternately to go direct to TOGAF 9 Certified by taking the combined examination.
This Study Guide is aimed at preparing you to become certified for TOGAF 9 Foundation. The examination for this level is the TOGAF 9 Part 1 Examination, which comprises 40 multiple-choice questions.
The TOGAF 9 Foundation Syllabus for the examination is contained in Appendix D. Certain topic areas are weighted as more important than others and thus have more questions. The 11 topic areas covered by the examination together with the number of questions per area in the examination follows:
1. Basic Concepts (3 questions)
2. Core Concepts (3 questions)
3. Introduction to the ADM (3 questions)
4. The Enterprise Continuum and Tools (4 questions)
5. ADM Phases (9 questions)
6. ADM Guidelines and Techniques (6 questions)
7. Architecture Governance (4 questions)
8. Architecture Views, Viewpoints, and Stakeholders (2 questions)
9. Building Blocks (2 questions)
10. ADM Deliverables (2 questions)
11. TOGAF Reference Models (2 questions)
The examination questions are multiple-choice questions. These are very similar in format to the Test Yourself questions included in each chapter. Note that the exact format for display is test center-specific and will be made clear on the screens when taking the examination.
Exam Tip
Please read each question carefully before reading the answer options. Be aware that some questions may seem to have more than one right answer, but you are to look for the one that makes the most sense and is the most correct.
You should consult with the test center regarding the forms of picture ID you are required to bring with you to verify your identification.
No; it is a closed-book examination.
You should consult the current policy on The Open Group web site. At the time of writing, the policy states that individuals who have failed the examination are not allowed to retake the examination within one (1) month of the first sitting.
You can prepare for the examination by working through this Study Guide section-by-section. A mapping of the sections of this Study Guide to the TOGAF 9 Foundation Syllabus is given in Appendix D. After completing each section, you should answer the Test Yourself questions and read the referenced sections from the TOGAF documentation. Once you have completed all the sections in this Study Guide, you can then attempt the Test Yourself examination papers in Appendix B. These are designed to give a thorough test of your knowledge. If you have completed all the prescribed preparation and can attain a pass mark for the Test Yourself examination papers as described in Appendix B, then it is likely you are ready to sit the examination.
The TOGAF 9 People certification program is a knowledge-based certification program. It has two levels, Level 1 and Level 2, which lead to certification for TOGAF 9 Foundation and TOGAF 9 Certified, respectively.
The topic for this Study Guide is preparation for taking the TOGAF 9 Part 1 Examination that leads to the TOGAF 9 Foundation certification. The examination comprises 40 simple multiple-choice questions to be completed in one hour.7
Preparing for the examination includes the following steps:
• You should work through this Study Guide step-by-step.
• At the end of each chapter, you should complete the Test Yourself questions and read the sections of the TOGAF documentation listed under Recommended Reading.
• Once you have completed all the chapters in this Study Guide, you should attempt the Test Yourself examination papers given in Appendix B.
• If you can attain the target score in Appendix C, then you have completed your preparation.
Q1: How many certification levels are there in the TOGAF 9 People certification program?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
Q2: Which one of the following is the entry level certification for an individual?
A. TOGAF 9 Certified
B. TOGAF 9 Foundation
C. TOGAF 9 Professional
D. TOGAF 9 Architect
Q3: Which one of the following describes three principles of the TOGAF 9 People certification program?
A. Integrity, Scalability, Flexibility
B. Objectivity, Robustness, Simplicity
C. Openness, Fairness, Quality
D. Knowledge-based, Valuable, Simplicity
E. All of these
Q4: Which of the following topic areas is not included in the TOGAF 9 Foundation Syllabus?
A. Architecture Governance
B. Basic Concepts
C. Building Blocks
D. Guidelines for adapting the ADM: Iteration and Levels
E. Introduction to the ADM
Q5: All of the following apply to the TOGAF 9 Part 1 Examination, except which statement?
A. Candidates who fail cannot take the examination again within one (1) month.
B. The examination consists of more than 100 questions.
C. The examination has multiple-choice format questions.
D. It is a closed-book examination.
The following are recommended sources of further information for this chapter:
• TOGAF Certification for People: Program Summary Datasheet, 2013, published by The Open Group (www.opengroup.org/togaf9/cert/docs/togaf9_cert_summary.pdf)
• TOGAF 9 Foundation Datasheet, 2013, published by The Open Group (www.opengroup.org/togaf9/cert/docs/togaf9_foundation.pdf)
• TOGAF Certification for People: Certification Policy, February 2009 (X091), published by The Open Group (www.opengroup.org/bookstore/catalog/x091.htm)
• TOGAF Certification for People: Conformance Requirements (Multi-Level), December 2011 (X111), published by The Open Group (www.opengroup.org/bookstore/catalog/x111.htm)
• The Open Group TOGAF 9 Certification web site: www.opengroup.org/togaf9/cert
• The TOGAF information web site: www.togaf.info
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3 This edition of this Study Guide covers Version 2 of the TOGAF Certification for People Conformance Requirements, which are aligned to TOGAF Version 9.1.
4 The gap at the top of the pyramid is to signify that additional certification levels may be added in the future.
5 Available from the TOGAF 9 Certification website at www.opengroup.org/togaf9/cert, or from The Open Group Bookstore at www.opengroup.org/bookstore.
6 For the latest information on examinations, see the TOGAF 9 Certification web site at www.opengroup.org/togaf9/cert.
7 Additional time is allowed for candidates for whom English is a second language where the examination is not available in the local language. For further information see the advice to candidates sheet on The Open Group TOGAF 9 Certification web site.
