Phase A of the TOGAF ADM (Architecture Vision) is about building a shared understanding of where the organization stands today and where it needs to go. While the Business Capability Assessment focuses on “what the business does,” the IT Capability Assessment evaluates “how well IT supports the business” — looking at technology, applications, infrastructure, data management, security, and service delivery capabilities.
Additionally, Phase A includes a confirmation and review of the Architecture Maturity Assessment performed earlier in the Preliminary Phase. This step refines the initial maturity view based on new insights gathered during visioning, ensuring the architecture approach matches the organization’s current readiness.
Both tasks traditionally require detailed analysis, scoring across multiple IT domains, stakeholder input, and manual visualization — often duplicating effort from the Preliminary Phase. Visual Paradigm’s AI-powered TOGAF Guide-Through streamlines everything: AI generates professional radar charts for IT capabilities and automatically reviews/updates the overall maturity assessment, delivering fast, consistent, and visual results.
Why IT Capability Assessment and Maturity Review Matter in Phase A
These activities help you:
- Understand current IT strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in supporting business goals
- Identify which IT capabilities need enhancement to realize the target architecture vision
- Refine the enterprise-wide architecture maturity picture with Phase A-specific insights
- Prioritize IT investments and changes for later ADM phases (especially Phases C and D)
- Communicate a balanced view of business + IT readiness to stakeholders
TOGAF recommends using radar charts to visualize capability maturity and reviewing the Preliminary maturity assessment to ensure alignment as the vision takes shape.
How AI Automates IT Capability Assessment & Maturity Review in Visual Paradigm
In the TOGAF Guide-Through, navigate to the relevant Phase A activities: Perform IT Capability Assessment and Confirm Architecture Maturity Assessment. The AI-driven process is seamless and efficient:
- Describe Your IT Environment
Provide a natural language summary of your current IT landscape, strengths, challenges, or specific areas of focus. Example: “Our IT supports core ERP and CRM systems well, but legacy infrastructure causes frequent downtime, data integration is manual and slow, cloud adoption is limited to non-critical apps, and cybersecurity is strong but application modernization lags.” - AI Analyzes and Scores
The AI identifies key IT capability areas (e.g., application portfolio, infrastructure & operations, data management, security, integration, innovation) and scores them based on maturity, performance, and alignment with business needs — drawing from TOGAF principles and common IT capability frameworks. - Instant IT Capability Radar Chart
AI generates a clear radar (spider) chart visualizing IT capability maturity across multiple dimensions. Longer spokes indicate stronger areas; shorter ones highlight gaps — making it immediately obvious where IT supports or hinders the architecture vision. - Automated Maturity Review & Update
AI cross-references your IT description with the Preliminary Phase maturity assessment (if already completed). It suggests refinements or updates to the overall enterprise architecture maturity radar chart, incorporating new IT-specific insights for a more accurate baseline.
Both charts open directly in Visual Paradigm’s editor. You can:
- Adjust scores, add evidence, or rename dimensions
- Compare current vs. target maturity levels
- Apply formatting for executive presentations
- Link to other Phase A deliverables (Solution Concept, Business Capability chart)
Benefits of AI Automation in This Phase A Step
- Speed & Efficiency: From description to dual visual outputs (IT radar + updated maturity review) in seconds — eliminating repetitive analysis.
- Holistic View: Combines business and IT perspectives for a complete readiness picture.
- Visual Clarity: Radar charts are intuitive for IT and business stakeholders — gaps jump out at a glance.
- Consistency & Objectivity: AI applies structured, TOGAF-aligned criteria, reducing bias and ensuring repeatability.
- Actionable Foundation: Clear IT gaps and maturity refinements guide prioritization in Phases B–D.
This AI feature makes IT assessment and maturity confirmation feel integrated and effortless — turning what could be redundant work into a powerful, unified visioning step.
Ready to Assess IT Capabilities & Maturity the Smart Way?
Experience how AI brings clarity to your IT landscape and refines your architecture maturity view instantly.
Download Visual Paradigm today and start your free trial — describe your IT environment in the Guide-Through and let AI generate your IT Capability radar chart and updated maturity assessment in moments.
Build a stronger, more balanced Architecture Vision — faster and with greater confidence.