The Business Ship Steering Wheel

The DBJ ADM is a simplified version of the TOGAF ADM adapted for business use into the DBJ Method. It retains the wheel metaphor — a repeating cycle of governed architecture work — while reducing the step count to what a real organization can sustain.

The DBJ ADM wheel produces distilled architecture artifacts. The wheel authorizes delivery; it never delivers.

The Prerequisite

The organization must be at CMM Level 3 or above before it can steer the ADM wheel effectively.

Five DBJ ADM Steps

The DBJ ADM reduces the nine TOGAF ADM steps to five. Each step produces at least one written artifact. The Business Architecture Board reviews artifacts, not conversations.

DBJ Step	DBJ Category
1 — Principles	Conceptual
2 — Vision	Conceptual
3 — Architecture	Conceptual → Logical → Physical
4 — Decision	Implementation
5 — Governance	Implementation

Deliverables

Every step produces formal documents, diagrams, or catalogs that record decisions for review. Without them, governance has no object to act on.

DBJ ADM Deliverable	Purpose
1. Principles document	Constraints and non-negotiables governing the entire wheel
2. Architecture Vision	Business case, scope, and stakeholder sign-off
3. Architecture definition	Full cross-category architecture: Conceptual through Physical
4. Decision record	Approved path forward with sequencing and cost
5. Governance report	Compliance verification and loop closure

Requirements Management

Requirements Management is the central hub of the wheel — not a step, but a persistent store running throughout the wheel’s life. Every step reads from it and may add to it. Nothing falls through the gap between steps.

Requirements are hierarchical and traceable. Each deliverable references the requirements it satisfies. This traceability chain is what makes the process auditable — and what enables CMM Level 5.

One Wheel or Many

A single wheel suits small organizations or narrowly scoped engagements. Multiple concurrent wheels arise in larger organizations — each independently scoped and governed, with EA coordinating coherence across them.

What does not change is the structure: every wheel follows the DBJ ADM, uses Requirements Management, and has a clear EA governance role.


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