AI in Visual Paradigm’s TOGAF Guide-Through is designed to give you excellent starting points — high-quality, TOGAF-aligned artifacts created in seconds from your description. But the real power comes from the human + AI partnership: you bring your domain knowledge, context, and judgment to review, edit, and refine the output until it perfectly matches your organization’s needs.
This article provides practical, step-by-step guidance on how to effectively review and improve AI-generated artifacts (ArchiMate diagrams, radar charts, gap visualizations, work breakdown structures, timelines, etc.) so you achieve professional, accurate, and fully customized results — fast.
Step 1: Adopt the Right Mindset — AI Output Is a Strong Draft, Not the Final Product
Think of AI-generated content as a very capable junior architect who has done 80–90% of the work correctly and quickly. Your role is to:
- Validate accuracy against real business context
- Ensure completeness (nothing critical missing)
- Correct any misinterpretations
- Add organization-specific details
- Polish presentation for stakeholders
This collaborative approach is what makes the results superior to purely manual or purely AI-driven work.
Step 2: Perform a Quick First-Pass Review (1–2 Minutes)
Immediately after generation, do a fast visual and structural check:
- Does the overall layout and structure look logical and readable?
- Are the main elements present and correctly categorized (e.g., Business Actors vs. Application Components)?
- Do relationships (realization, triggering, flow, assignment) make sense at first glance?
- For charts: Are the axes/dimensions relevant? Do scores appear reasonable?
- Any obvious errors (e.g., wrong element types, duplicated items, missing key entities)?
If something looks seriously off, refine your original description and regenerate before investing time in editing.
Step 3: Structured Review Checklist
Use this quick checklist for every artifact type:
**For ArchiMate Diagrams (Baseline/Target/Transition/Gap/Solution Concept/Governance):**
- Correct ArchiMate element types used?
- Relationships accurate and following standard conventions?
- All critical entities from your description included?
- Any organization-specific naming conventions followed (or should be added)?
- Color coding / grouping / layout clear for intended audience?
**For Radar Charts (Maturity/Capability):**
- Dimensions/axes relevant to your context?
- Scores realistic given your description?
- Any capability/area obviously missing?
- Target or benchmark lines needed for comparison?
**For Gap Visualizations:**
- Gaps clearly highlighted (color, annotation, dedicated elements)?
- Gap descriptions accurate and specific enough?
- Prioritization or severity levels needed?
**For Work Breakdown Structures & Roadmaps/Timelines:**
- Logical sequencing and dependencies?
- Durations and milestones realistic?
- Business value delivery points visible?
- Risks or constraints noted?
Step 4: Practical Editing Techniques in the Editor
Visual Paradigm’s editor is powerful and intuitive — use these common refinements:
- Rename & Re-label: Change generic names to your organization’s terminology (e.g., “CRM System” → “Salesforce CRM”)
- Add/Remove Elements: Insert missing items or delete irrelevant ones
- Adjust Relationships: Correct direction, type, or add missing connections
- Apply Styling: Use consistent color schemes, stereotypes, or layers for domains (business=blue, application=green, technology=orange)
- Annotate: Add notes, evidence links, or comments for traceability
- Re-layout: Use auto-layout or manual drag to improve readability
- Compare & Merge: If you regenerated multiple times, compare versions and merge the best parts
Pro Tip: Use the “Properties” panel to quickly edit attributes, documentation, or tags on any element.
Step 5: Validate Against Source Material & Stakeholders
Cross-check the refined artifact with:
- Your original description
- Existing documentation or repositories
- Stakeholder feedback (share preview/export)
- TOGAF / ArchiMate guidelines (Visual Paradigm has built-in validation tools)
Once validated, the artifact is ready to become part of your official deliverables.
Best Practices for Continuous Improvement
- Start with clear, detailed descriptions — better input = better output
- Regenerate when needed — it’s fast and often yields improvements
- Build a personal checklist for your organization’s common refinements
- Save good AI + edited versions as templates for future projects
- Track what types of refinements you most often make — this helps improve future descriptions
Remember: the goal is efficiency + quality. AI handles the heavy lifting; you add the precision, context, and polish.
Ready to Turn AI Drafts into Professional Deliverables?
Now that you know how to review and refine effectively, you can confidently produce exceptional TOGAF artifacts in a fraction of the usual time.
Download Visual Paradigm today and start your free trial — generate an AI artifact, apply these review techniques, and see how quickly you create accurate, customized, standards-compliant architecture deliverables.
Master the human-AI partnership — and deliver better enterprise architecture faster.