TOGAF encourages agencies to examine and redesign business processes as a core part of transformation. By linking business architecture to information systems and technology decisions, the framework helps ensure that new solutions are built around how services should work—not how they happened to evolve. The framework’s Architecture Development Method (ADM) supports iterative, incremental progress rather than “big bang” transformations. This aligns well with budget cycles, procurement constraints, and the need to show early wins. Closing the Gap Between Strategy and Delivery State strategic plans often articulate ambitious goals— digital-first services, data-driven policy, improved constituent experience—but projects on the ground struggle to translate those goals into actionable requirements. TOGAF helps close this gap. It provides a powerful tool to map the existing state of the organization and build a step-by- step roadmap to the desired future state. Policy objectives are decomposed into capabilities, capabilities into processes, and processes into enabling systems and data. This traceability ensures that technological investments are clearly justified and that projects remain aligned with agency missions. The result is fewer disconnected initiatives and greater confidence that limited resources are being directed where they matter most.
Managing Legacy Systems Without Paralysis
agentic AI services risk amplifying errors, bias, and fragmentation. With it, states can enable intelligent assistants, proactive services, and real-time decision support that are accurate, auditable, and aligned with public values. In this sense, data architecture is not preparation for the future, it is a prerequisite for it. Governance That Enables, Not Inhibits Effective governance is often seen as slowing innovation. In practice, the absence of clear governance leads to rework, duplication, and failed initiatives. TOGAF promotes lightweight, decision-focused governance that provides guardrails rather than roadblocks. Clear standards, shared services, and transparent review processes allow teams to move faster with confidence, knowing expectations upfront. Good governance does not restrict innovation; it channels it. Acting with Intent Digital transformation in state government is inevitable. The Open Group’s Open Digital Transformation Architecture is building on the foundation of TOGAF and offers a way to move faster by seeing the whole enterprise—aligning people,
Legacy systems remain a defining challenge for state agencies. Many are mission- critical and cannot be replaced quickly, yet they constrain agility and innovation. TOGAF supports a pragmatic approach through transition architectures. Agencies can define realistic intermediate states that balance risk, cost, and value— modernizing incrementally while maintaining continuity of service. Legacy systems are evaluated based on their contribution to outcomes, not just their age. Progress replaces perfection. Momentum replaces delay. Data Management: The Foundation for the Next Wave of Services As states look toward advanced analytics, automation, and agentic foundational, not optional. AI systems are only as accurate, fair, and trustworthy as the data that feeds them. TOGAF explicitly elevates data as a core architectural domain. It encourages agencies to define data ownership, standards, interoperability, and governance early—before deploying advanced tools. This discipline is essential for ensuring data quality, consistency, privacy, and ethical use. Without strong data architecture, AI–based services, data management becomes
processes, data, and technology around shared outcomes. It helps agencies modernize responsibly, prepare for AI-enabled services, and build capabilities that endure beyond individual projects or administrations. Florida Technology Magazine – 2026 Legislative Edition – 35
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