The definition of an architecture used in ANSI/IEEE Std 1471-2000 is:
“The fundamental organization of a system, embodied in its components, their relationships to each other and the environment, and the principles governing its design and evolution.”
At present, TOGAF, which stands for The Open Group Architecture Framework, embraces but does not strictly adhere to ANSI/IEEE Std 1471-2000 terminology. By TOGAF’s definition, the term “architecture” has two meanings depending upon its contextual usage:
- A formal description of a system, or a detailed plan of the system at component level to guide its implementation
- The structure of components, their inter-relationships, and the principles and guidelines governing their design and evolution over time.
