Open Group

8/13/2019 Open Group

1/26

The Open Group Certified Architect(Open CA) Program

Guidance to Candidates

Version 1.0June 2013


2/26

The Open Group Certified Architect (Open CA) Program: Guidance to Candidates 2

Copyright 2013, The Open Group

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by anymeans, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright

owner.

ArchiMate

, DirecNet, Jericho Forum

, Making Standards Work

, OpenPegasus

, The Open Group

, TOGAF

,

UNIX, and the Xdevice are registered trademarks and Boundaryless Information Flow, Dependability

Through Assuredness, FACE, Platform 3.0, and The Open Group Certification Mark are trademarks of

The Open Group.

All other brands, company, and product names are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks thatare the sole property of their respective owners.

The Open Group would like to thank HPs Open CA Certification Board members who have provided much

guidance in the creation of this document, and to the members of the Open CA Work Group for their contributions.Thanks also to Len Fehskens for his contribution while working for HP and subsequently in his role of VP Skills &

Capabilities at The Open Group.

The Open Group Certified Architect (Open CA) Program: Guidance to Candidates

Document Number: X1304

Published by The Open Group, June 2013.

Comments relating to the material contained in this document may be submitted to:

The Open GroupApex Plaza

Forbury Road

Reading

Berkshire, RG1 1AX

United Kingdom

or by electronic mail to:

[email protected]


3/26


Contents

1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 51.1 Assumptions .......................................................................................................................................... 51.2 Understanding the Open CA Mindset ................................................................................................ 5

2. General Guidelines ............................................................................................................................................. 62.1 Making it Easier for your Pre-Submission Reviewers .......................................................................... 72.2 Some General Advice ............................................................................................................................ 7

3. Section-by-Section Advice ................................................................................................................................. 93.1 Core Foundation Skills (CFS) ............................................................................................................. 10

3.1.1 CFS01: Apply Communication Skills ...................................................................................... 103.1.2 CFS01.1: Demonstrate Written Application of Communication Skills .............. .............. ....... 103.1.3 CFS01.2: Demonstrate Verbal Application of Communication Skills ...................... .............. 103.1.4 CFS02: Lead Individuals & Teams .......................................................................................... 113.1.5 CFS03: Perform Conflict Resolution ....................................................................................... 113.1.6 CFS04: Manage Architectural Elements of an IT Project Plan ..................... ............... ........... 123.1.7 CFS05: Understand Business Aspects ..................................................................................... 123.1.8 CFS06: Develop IT Architecture ............................................................................................. 133.1.9 CFS07: Use Modeling Techniques .......................................................................................... 133.1.10CFS08: Perform Technical Solution Assessments ................................................................... 143.1.11CFS09: Apply IT Standards ..................................................................................................... 143.1.12CFS10: Establish Technical Vision.......................................................................................... 143.1.13CFS11: Use of Techniques ....................................................................................................... 153.1.14CFS12: Apply Methods ............................................................................................................ 163.1.15CFS13: Define Solution to Functional and Non-Functional Requirements ............. .............. .. 163.1.16CFS14: Manage Stakeholder Requirements ............................................................................ 173.1.17CFS15: Establish Architectural Decisions ............................................................................... 173.1.18CFS16: Validate Conformance of Solution to the Architecture .................. .............. .............. 183.1.19CFS17: Perform as Technology Advisor ................................................................................. 18

3.2 Experience Criteria (EC) ..................................................................................................................... 193.2.1 EC01: Experience Producing Architectures ............................................................................. 193.2.2 EC02: Breadth of Architectural Experience ............................................................................. 193.2.3 EC03: Experience with Different Types of Technologies and Architectures ............... ........... 203.2.4 EC04: Application of Methods ................................................................................................ 213.2.5 EC05 ......................................................................................................................................... 213.2.6 EC06: Full Lifecycle Involvement ........................................................................................... 213.2.7 EC07: Industry Knowledge ...................................................................................................... 213.2.8 EC08: Knowledge of IT Trends ............................................................................................... 22

3.3 Professional Development (PD) .......................................................................................................... 223.3.1 PD01: Training ............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ............... .............. ......... 223.3.2 PD02: Maintain IT Industry Knowledge .................................................................................. 223.3.3 PD03: Maintain Vertical Industry Knowledge ......................................................................... 233.3.4 PD04: Develop Skills and Knowledge in IT Architecture ....................................................... 23

3.4 Contributions to the IT Architect Community (CC) ................... .............. .............. .............. .............. 233.4.1 CC01: Contribution to the IT Architecture Profession .................... .............. ............... ........... 23

3.5 Experience Profiles ............. .............. .............. .............. ............... .............. .............. .............. .............. 243.5.1 Project Summary (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.1) .............. .............. .............. 243.5.2 Personal Involvement (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.1.4) ............. ............... .... 243.5.3 Your Role (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.1.5) .................................................. 243.5.4 Business Opportunity or Problem (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.2) ................ 243.5.5 Solution (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.3) ........................................................ 24 3.5.6 Results (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.4) .......................................................... 25


4/26


3.5.7 Lessons learned (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.5) .............. .............. .............. .. 253.5.8 References (Certification Package Template Section 7) .......................................................... 25

4. Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 26


5/26


1. Introduction

The Open Group Certified Architect (Open CA) program is the premire architect certification. Many

problems with Open CA program candidate submissions can be avoided by simply following the

instructions.

This Guide is based on the experience of working within The Open Group to develop the Open CA

program, sitting on Open CA Certification Boards, and reviewing Certification Packages prior to

submission to The Open Group, as well as candidates experience. It provides simple advice, intended for

architects preparing Open CA Certification Packages or those reviewing such Packages before submission

to The Open Group, on what it means to follow the instructions.

1.1 Assumptions

This Guide assumes that the reader is already familiar with the Open CA program and has read through

the program documents found at the Open CA website.

1.2 Understanding the Open CA Mindset

The Open Group has a long history of certification activities. Until the TOGAFStandard, and more

recently the Open CA program, these certifications were for products and services, rather than

individuals. The Open Group experience in certifying software implementations against standards has

strongly influenced the way it approaches certification of individuals, and you are more likely to be

successfully certified if you understand this heritage.

The primary concern of The Open Group is that certifications are demonstrably objective. Regardless of

the individuals carrying out the certification, the results must be the same, and it must be possible to audit

a certification to confirm that this is the case. Thus, even if an Open CA Certification Board has anintuitive feeling that you deserve to be certified, you will not be certified unless that Board can clearly

cite unambiguous evidence that you satisfy the certification criteria. However, it is up to you to provide

that evidence, and thus it is up to you to provide the kind of evidence that an Open CA Certification

Board will be looking for. The required kind of evidence is spelled out as specifically as possible in two

documents the Conformance Requirements document and the Certification Package template.

The more work you make your Open CA Certification Board do to find the kind of evidence they need to

objectively justify your certification, the less likely you are to be certified. The more completely and

explicitly you provide the necessary evidence, the less inference and reading between the lines your

Certification Board will have to do, and the more likely they will approve your Certification Package if

you do indeed deserve to be certified. The examples and discussions here focus on the Level 2 (Master)

Conformance Requirements as shown in Revision 2.2.2 of the Certification Package template, but are justas applicable to Level 1 and Level 3.


6/26


2. General Guidelines

Most issues with Open CA certification submissions share the same root cause failure to be responsive

to what is requested in the Conformance Requirements and especially the Certification Package template.

To avoid such issues, provide the information the template asks for, in as obvious a format as possible.This is the single most important piece of advice: read the question and answer it in a concise and

unambiguous manner. Provide only the information asked for. Do not make it a novel! If your skill and

experience are such that you cannot provide the requested evidence, dont try to hide that in a cloud of

obfuscation. It wont work; wait until your skills and experience are such that you can clearly and

honestly provide evidence that satisfies the Conformance Requirements.

It is currently a requirement that your Certification Package is written in English. This will change when

The Open Group has certified enough individuals that the pool of qualified Certification Board members

includes people who can read languages other than English. Certification Board members are not

reviewing your written English language skills and so will be accommodating if English is not your

native language; however, they cannot certify you if they cannot understand you.

Candidates are often tempted to write at great length about the technical content of the architectures they

are citing as evidence. Open CA Certification Boards are, in general, less interested in the specifics of the

architectures you have developed than they are in how you developed those architectures. They are

looking for evidence of architectural thinking that your accomplishments are repeatable and not just a

fluke or obvious responses to simple problems. The Certification Package template asks for specific kinds

of evidence of the skills and experience upon which certification is based. Dont make the Certification

Board work to find that evidence. Be explicitly responsive to what the template asks for. Express your

evidence in a concise and focused manner.

Avoid the temptation to address several sections by pasting the same text into the template. Sometimes

the template seems to be asking for the same things in different ways, but each section is looking for

something different. Repeating the same text in multiple responses may imply to your Certification Boardtwo things you are lazy and prone to cutting corners, or you are a one trick pony and tend to provide

the same answer regardless of the question. Be responsive to each section of the template.

Be careful about claiming expert skill level. Read the definitions of the skill levels and interpret them

literally:

Applied: able to practice with supervision

Deep: able to practice autonomously

Expert: advances the state-of-the-art

If you claim expert skill, you will almost certainly be challenged, and asked what specifically you have

done to advance the state-of-the-art. You gain nothing by asserting expert level skill (it is not required for

any of the Core Foundation Skills), and you may come across as having an unduly grand opinion of

yourself.

Your Certification Package must include three Experience Profiles, which will give you the opportunity

to provide more details about what you have accomplished. Again, be responsive to each section of the

template; provide what it asks for. If you cite an Experience Profile as evidence in the Core Foundation

Skills sections, dont just say see Experience Profile . Cite the Experience Profile by name and


7/26


number, and cite the specific section in the profile where the evidence will be found. The recommended

format for such a citation is See Experience Profile , , Section . If the

citation does not respond completely to the requirement, complement it with a direct response to the

missing areas. Again, do not make the Certification Board members read between the lines or search for

your response to that requirement.

There is a 50-page limit on the size of the completed Certification Package. The Open Group will notaccept attachments or additional documents; your Certification Package must be a single document. This

applies in particular to your letters of reference. An inserted .JPG of a scan will be accepted, but an

included .PDF will not.

Avoid naming individuals unless they are your references.

The Open Group considers your Certification Package to constitute privileged information, and your

Certification Board reviewers are bound by a non-disclosure agreement. Be that as it may, The Open

Group discourages the use of sensitive information (either from your company or a third party) as

evidence of your skills or experience; your Certification Board reviewers may be employed by

competitors of your company or third parties.

2.1 Making it Easier for your Pre-Submission Reviewers

It is strongly recommended that you have someone who has been through the certification process,

especially someone who has served on a Certification Board, review your Certification Package before

your submission. Your first draft for review prior to submission should be as complete as possible.

Include your name (at least your family name, not just a string of initials) and a version number in the file

name of your Certification Package.

Ask your reviewer to make comments using the insert comment feature of MicrosoftWord. Enable

change tracking when you respond to suggestions or address omissions and leave your reviewers

comments in place. This enables the reviewer to re-read his or her particular comment on the next round

of review and see how you responded to it. When satisfied, the reviewer can remove the comment fromthe document. In subsequent revisions, accept previous changes you made so change tracking shows what

has changed from the previously reviewed revision. Try to make each review/revise cycle as effective as

possible so there are as few cycles as possible.

2.2 Some General Advice

When answering the questions in the Certification Package template, keep the following points in mind

for all answers:

Be brief, but answer all parts of the question. Dont obfuscate. Use the bold highlighted keywords

in the next sections as the topics you should address.

Most questions ask for concrete examples from your experience and how you handled it in this

particular case. Never does it ask for generic approaches; i.e., methodologies that you applied in

general. Be specific on what you did. If your explanation sounds like a textbook paragraph, you

probably didnt answer the question.

Answers must ensure that it wasyouwho did that work or were in the lead. If you were just a

member of a group, then look for other examples.


8/26


Explain acronyms. Some acronyms are obvious to you, but not all Certification Board members

or reviewers share the same background. So you may want to explain what, for example, SPOF,

SPOCS, SME, PKI, and other acronyms stand for. However, you dont need to provide an

extensive explanation of what it is.

The standard font size of the Certification Package text is Verdana 10 points and for table

columns 8 points. Do not reduce these to smaller print in an attempt to squeeze in your text thatwould otherwise exceed the 50-page limit. Follow the guidance of one of our mentors:

Everything you need, nothing you dont. That should help to stay within the 50-page limit.


9/26


3. Section-by-Section Advice

For each requirement in the following sections of the Certification Package template:

Core Foundation Skills (CFS01 through CFS17)

Experience Requirements (EC01 through EC08)

Professional Development (PD01 through PD03)

Contributions to the IT Architect Community (CC01)

there are three cues as to what is being looked for, as follows:

1. The identifier and name of the requirement.

2. The skill description (i.e., the text in the shaded table header), which reproduces the description

from the corresponding section of the Conformance Requirements document. This is referred to

below as CR.3. The Certification Package template requirement (the text in the shaded table row). This is referred

to below as TR. Generally, the CRdescribes the required skill, experience, activity, or

contribution, and the TRdescribes the evidence requested to demonstrate mastery of the required

skill, possession of the experience, or performance of the activity.

An example requirement is shown in Figure 1.

CFS01

Apply Communication Skills

Demonstrate good written communications, including the use of

proper grammar, spelling, document organization, clarity, and use of

content appropriate for the audience. Demonstrate good verbalcommunications, including strong eye contact (where culturally

appropriate), responsiveness to questions, ability to stay on subject,

use of good feedback, and follow-up questions, etc., so that effectivetwo-way communications is demonstrated.

Skill level required: Deep Skill level you claim:

CFS01.1 Demonstrate written application of communication skills

From

(mm/yy)

To

(mm/yy)

Project or Major Activity List three or moredocuments that you wrote and that werepublished or provided to clients and which demonstrate your

ability to effectively communicate architectural decisions and

designs.

Provide the name of the document, a short description of its

purpose, and your role in its creation.

Figure 1: A Sample Requirement from the Certification Package Template

Generally, the way to be responsive in a concise and focused manner is to identify the keywords in the

CRand TRand structure your response around them. In the material below we have boldfacedthese

keywords, and provided a list of Questionsthat you should answer clearly and succinctly in your

responses, or Adviceon completing the section.

Some requirement descriptions seem to be puzzling to some candidates. In those cases additional

comments are made to explain what the question wants to know from you.

2

3

1


10/26


3.1 Core Foundation Skills (CFS)

Many of the CFS sections state:

Only provide examples where your role in the effort was as the Lead Architect of the project or a

significant subsystem or component.

Your evidence should make it clear that you acted in the lead role.

3.1.1 CFS01: Apply Communication Skills

CRDemonstrate good written communications, including the use of proper grammar, spelling, document

organization, clarity, and use of content appropriate for the audience. Demonstrate good verbal

communications, including strong eye contact (where culturally appropriate), responsiveness to questions,

ability to stay on subject, use of good feedback, and follow-up questions, etc., so that effective two-way

communications is demonstrated.

Do not include documents or presentations cited in this section as part of your Certification Package. If

you include a URL for online material, it must be generally accessible (not protected).

3.1.2 CFS01.1: Demonstrate Written Application of Communication Skills

TRList three or more documentsthat were published or provided to clientsthat demonstrate your

ability to effectively communicate architectural decisions and designs.

TRProvide the name of the documentand a short description of the purposeof the document.

Questions

What was the name of the document?

What was the documents purpose?

Who was the intended audience?

What were the architectural decisions or designs it communicated?

3.1.3 CFS01.2: Demonstrate Verbal Application of Communication Skills

TRList three or moreformal presentations that were published and presented by you verbally to

stakeholders, and which demonstrate your ability to effectively communicate architectural decisions

and designs.

TRProvide the name of the document, a short description of its purpose, and your role in its

creation and presentation.

Questions

What was the name of the presentation?

What was its purpose?

Who was the intended audience?


11/26


What were the architectural decisions or designs it communicated?

Advice

Obviously, your Certification Board will not be able to judge your communication skills from the names

and descriptions of presentations and documents. They will judge your written communication skill by

the writing in your Certification Package, and your verbal communication skill by your interview. Takecare in drafting your Certification Package, and present yourself professionally during your interview.

3.1.4 CFS02: Lead Individuals & Teams

CRGiven a scope of architectural work to be accomplished, plan the work, form a team to perform the

work, and guide the team in performing the work to completion.

TRProvide threeinstances where you led a teamto perform a specific work effort and were recognized

as the driving force to perform and accomplish the task.

TRDescribe the project or major activityin which you were the recognized leader. Provide a short

description of the leadership skillsthat you used to accomplish this task.

Questions

What was the team?

What was the project or major activity?

What leadership skills did you use to accomplish this?

3.1.5 CFS03: Perform Conflict Resolution

CRMediate opposing viewpoints and negotiate equitable solutions to ensure successful and stable

outcomes.

TRDocument threesituations where you helped to mediate opposing technical/architectural

viewpointsand successfully negotiated an equitable solutionto ensure the successful outcome of an IT

project or architectural task.

Questions

What were the conflicting viewpoints?

How did you mediate and negotiate amongst them?

What was the equitable solution?

How did you ensure commitment to this solution?

Advice

Give an example of conflicting viewpoints and how you negotiated within one of your projects. The

Certification Board looks for skills you have applied in this situation it is not looking for general

processes of escalation, but specific instances of conflict resolution and how you went about it.


12/26


3.1.6 CFS04: Manage Architectural Elements of an IT Project Plan

CRGiven a project plan, identify those elements of the plan that put the integrity of the architectural

elements at risk and manage those elements through to the agreement by the client/project manager that

the project has been successfully completed.

TRDocument 3-5 exampleswhere you worked closely with the client/project managerto identify andaddress elements of the project plan that put the architectural integrityof the project plan/timeline at

risk show how you mitigated the riskto both the architecture and the project milestones.

Questions

What was at risk (what aspects of architectural integrity or what project milestones)?

Why?

How did you collaborate with the project manager?

How did you mitigate the risk?

If you avoided all risks during the project, how did you do so?

Advice

Avoid describing general processes employed to make decisions. The question asks for real examples of

specific situations in which the project plan posed a threat to the architecture. In those examples, what did

you do to mitigate the risk to both architecture and project plan? How did you handle the contrasting

needs (which ones? examples!) of the project manager (on time, budget, etc.) with that of the architecture

(agreed functionality, business, and stakeholder value)?

3.1.7 CFS05: Understand Business Aspects

CRUnderstand the stakeholders business needs, and how they relate to their business and mission.

TRProvide three exampleswhere you have demonstrated your understanding of the stakeholders

business needs, and how these needs relate to the wider context of the business and mission.

TRExamples must show how you made an explicit linkage between the technical architecture and

business need, and how you expressed the architectural value proposition in business language.

Questions

Who were the stakeholders?

What was their business need?

What was the larger business context and mission?

How did you explicitly link the architecture to the business need?

How did you express that linkage in business language?

What was the architectural value proposition?

How did you express it in business language?


13/26


Advice

Like the previous question, examples of actual situations are asked for and how in those cases you made

the link between the business needs on one hand and the proposed architecture on the other. Do not dwell

on generic approaches or methodologies that ensure alignment.

3.1.8 CFS06: Develop IT Architecture

CRGiven one or more business requirements, create the structures of a solution that can be validated to

meet those requirements.

TRDocument 3 to 5 instanceswhere you created the structures of a solutionrepresented as

architectural artifacts (for example, with UML or with another modeling notation) that satisfied the

functional and non-functional business requirements. The architectural solution was communicated

to the development team and reviewed/validated by the client.

Questions

What was the solution?

What was its structure?

What were the business requirements?

How did this solution structure satisfy the business requirements?

How didyoucommunicate this solution to the development team?

How was the solution reviewed or validated by the client?

3.1.9 CFS07: Use Modeling Techniques

CRUse modeling techniques such as use-case scenario modeling, prototyping, benchmarking, and

performance modeling to describe the problem space, to size the solution, and to validate that the

proposed architecture addresses the business requirements.

TRProvide three exampleswhere you employed accepted modeling techniquesfor different

purposes. Identify the purpose of each modeland how that purpose was achieved.

Questions

What was the modeling technique?

What was the purpose of the model?

How did you use the modeling technique to achieve that purpose?

Advice

Be open minded about what constitutes modeling. Boxes and arrows is an acceptable modeling technique.

Excel is an acceptable modeling tool. The intent of this question is to find out what you did that would

allow you to get some sense early on of whether the proposed solution would in fact workably address the

business need (the alternative being to build the whole thing and hope it works).


14/26


3.1.10 CFS08: Perform Technical Solution Assessments

CRGiven a technical solution and the underlying business requirements that drove its development,

assess the technical integrity and risks inherent in that solution in such a way that the recommendations

and findings are appropriate and implementable.

TRProvide three exampleswhere you evaluated, for different purposes. a solution in the context ofthe business requirements.

TRIdentify the purpose of each assessmentand how that purpose was achieved; for example, risk

assessment, security assessment, agility assessment, and capacity assessment.

Questions


What was being assessed?

What business requirements drove that assessment?

What was the purpose of the assessment?

How did you achieve that purpose?

3.1.11 CFS09: Apply IT Standards

CRGiven project requirements that call for or would benefit from the use of standards, establish,

implement, and enforce appropriate standards in the creation and implementation of the solution to meet

those requirements.

TRProvide three exampleswhere you effectivelyintegrated open IT standards, industry IT

standards, or your companys/client IT standardsinto the solution design in order to meet

project/business requirements. You may also use examples where you created a new standard that wasnecessary in order to meet the project requirements.

Questions

What was the standard?

What were the applicable requirements?

How did this standard address the requirements?

Advice

In your answer, give an example of a requirement in your project and what standard you applied ordefined for it. Explain the meaning, implication, and effect of that standard. Do not give generic process

answers.

3.1.12 CFS10: Establish Technical Vision

CRGiven requirements and a list of stakeholders, identify approaches, tools, techniques, and

technologies to meet the requirements, and explain the present and future rationale so that stakeholders

accept the choices and agree with the rationale.


15/26


TRProvide three exampleswhere, given the functional and non-functional principles of the project

and a list of stakeholders, you identified different approaches, tools, and techniquesthat could be

used to successfully implement the project. Briefly describe the rationale used to obtain consensusfrom

the stakeholders (developers, project management, client team, etc.) to accept your architectural

decisions.

TROnly provide examples where your role in the effort was as the Lead Architect of the project or asignificant subsystem or component. Each example must demonstrate the connection between business

and technical architectural decisions.

Questions

Who were the stakeholders?

What were the relevant principles?

What were the approaches, tools, or techniques you chose?

Why?

What were the decisions you made using these approaches, tools, or techniques?

How did you get the stakeholders to accept these decisions?

How did you link these decisions to the business context?

Advice

This question asks about various solutions you see that comply with the (non)-functional principles and

what customer-convincing criteria were used to select one as the best fitting to the architecture.

3.1.13 CFS11: Use of Techniques

CRGiven an architectural question, use and apply various techniques, such as data collection, dataanalysis, hypothesis, and solution formulation, to produce a supportable answer to the question.

TRProvide three examples where given an architectural question, you used and applied various

techniques; for example, data collection, data analysis, hypothesis, force field analysis, functional

decomposition, joint application design, or solution formulation, to produce a supportable answerto the

question.

Questions

What was the architectural question?

What was the technique you used to answer the question?

What was the supportable answer?

How did the chosen technique support the answer?

Advice

This is about a situation where an architecture is in place or under development, and a question has arisen

due to progressive insight, best practices, or encountered problems that needs to be resolved within


16/26


the architecture. How did you evaluate the question? What techniques did you apply to gather information

and weigh possible solutions in order to arrive at a resolution to the question that fits in or modifies the

architecture at hand?

3.1.14 CFS12: Apply Methods

CRGiven a work effort, select a method that meets the method recognition criteria in Section 6 of theConformance Requirements. Adapt, apply, and enforce the use of that method to successfully guide the

creation of work products that meet the requirements of the work effort.

TRProvide three exampleswhere, given a work effort, you selected a methodthat met the recognition

requirements, and adapted, applied, and enforced the useof that method to successfully guide the

creation of architectural work productsthat met the requirementsof the work effort.

Questions

What was the method?

How and why did you select it?

How did you adapt, apply, and enforce its use?

What architectural work products were produced using it?

How did you use the method to ensure these work products met the requirements?

Advice

Look at the list of recognized architecture methods at The Open Group web site. You can provide

examples using this method in various situations, such as workshops (in any flavor fully fledged or in

part, in groups or in one-on-ones), desk analysis of customer documents, replies to RFPs, etc..

Notes

EC04: Application of Methods was consolidated intoCFS12, as they seemed almost identical. While

the CFSs are about skills, and the ECs are about experience, an example of your mastery of a skill will

necessarily cite your experience. The Open CA certification views discipline and repeatability as essential

to the architecture profession, hence the emphasis on methods, and in particular well-defined methods that

satisfy explicit criteria for recognition by the Open CA program as a legitimate architectural

methodology.

You can cite the same Open CA recognized method multiple times; for example, the TOGAF ADM. For

example, as a long-time employee of a company that uses a recognized method, you will likely cite it

many times. If you do not have experience with any Open CA recognized method, you might be able to

find an appropriate method that have you used and get it recognized. This is a very important criterion forcertification, and if you lack it you will not be certified until you have acquired this experience.

3.1.15 CFS13: Define Solution to Functional and Non-Functional Requirements

CRGiven the functional and non-functional requirements, define a solution that meets the stated

requirements using the organizations and industry standard procedures and tools.


17/26


TRProvide three exampleswhere, given the functional and non-functional requirements, you defined a

solutionthat met the stated requirementsusing the organizations and industry standard procedures

and tools.

Questions

What was the requirement?


What standard procedures and tools did you use?

Why?

Advice

Provide some real (examples are asked for!) (non)-functional requirements from your project and show

how the solution you defined addresses these requirements and how you stayed within applicable standard

procedures and tools (and what were they?).

3.1.16 CFS14: Manage Stakeholder Requirements

CRGiven approved business goals, objectives, and constraints, document, clarify, refine, detail, and

prioritize functional and non-functional requirements.

TRProvide three exampleswhere, given approved business goals, objectives, and constraints, you

documented, clarified, refined, detailed, and prioritizedfunctional and non-functional

requirements.

Questions

What was the business goal, objective, or constraint? What was the requirement?

How did you manage (document, clarify, refine, detail, prioritize) the requirement?

If this was the responsibility of a project manager, how did you collaborate with the project

manager to ensure that the architecture and the requirements remained consistent?

Advice

The question looks at how you relate specific (examples are asked for!) stakeholder requirements to the

business goals set. Does the requirement contribute? If so, how much and how is it made part of the

architecture? If not, how do you handle this and communicate this to the stakeholder?

3.1.17 CFS15: Establish Architectural Decisions

CRDetermine, document, and communicate architectural decisions to support and rationalize the design

of the solution.

TRProvide three exampleswhere you established, documented, and communicated architectural

decisionsthat supported and rationalizedthe design of the solution.


18/26


Questions

What was the architectural decision?

How did you determine, document, and communicate it?

How did you support and rationalize the decision?

Advice

The answers must reflect that you communicated your decisions (which ones? example!) and provided the

reasons for the decision. Did you dictate that decision or was a consensus process used? The decisions can

apply to a new architecture being developed as well as an existing architecture that requires modification

due to new insights or changed business needs.

3.1.18 CFS16: Validate Conformance of Solution to the Architecture

CRGiven a set of requirements, define and execute strategies and plans for ensuring and demonstrating

that the solution satisfies the documented architecture.

TRProvide three exampleswhere, given a set of requirements, you defined and executed strategies

and plansfor ensuring and demonstrating that the solution satisfied the documented architecture.

Questions

What were the requirements?

What were the strategies or plans you developed to demonstrate conformance to the architecture?

Advice

The question looks for initiatives and findings that prove that the proposed solution does meet the given

architecture or, when under development, sticks to the architecture. Strategies can include proof-of-concept, use of templates, peer reviews, regular architectural/development meetings, and others.

3.1.19 CFS17: Perform as Technology Advisor

CRMaintain IT industry knowledge to advise on technical trends and techniques and apply them to the

development of solution designs.

TRProvide three exampleswhere you have advisedon IT industry technical trends and techniques

and applied your knowledgeof them to the development of solution designs.

Questions

What was the trend or technique?

What advice did you provide to whom and what was the motivation of doing so?

What result or impact did your advice have?

How did you apply your knowledge?


19/26


3.2 Experience Criteria (EC)

3.2.1 EC01: Experience Producing Architectures

CRYou must have at least three (3) years of experience producing IT architectures.

CRGuidance to Candidates: The Open CA program is intended to recognize those individuals that

possess both the required skills and a level of experience that demonstrates that they have mastered the

ability to successfully produce IT architectures.

CRCandidates for Level 2 Certification (Master Certified IT Architect) are expected to have taken

responsibility for producing successful IT architectures with occasional assistance from less experienced

IT architects where appropriate.

TRDescription of at least 36 months offull-time equivalent engagement with, and accountability for,

the architectural aspects of one or more projects or engagements. Reference may be made to the

Experience Profiles in Section 6.

Advice

The Open Group looks for three years (3 x 12 months) of work you performed as an architect. This

question does not look for a duration (period) in which you did architecture work, but for actual days of

work as an architect. Your list of experiences therefore must add up to more than 36 man-months worth

of work. If you did a half-year project in 2003 and another half-year project in 2006, this adds up to only

one year of experience, despite the fact that the time span is three years. In-between-project time does not

count towards your years of experience. Nor do other activities in such periods that cannot be vouched for

by references that also need to be mentioned at the end of the question.

It is best to compile a list of all projects you did within the allowed time span of 8 years and pick out all

of those that together make up for 3 years of experience with references to match.

Also be advised that The Open Group counts periods as started at to up to, not up to and including.

As an example: a project running from 2006/01 to 2006/09 is supposed to run for 8 months: January (01)

up to and including August (08). September (09) is not considered part of this period. If it should be, the

period quoted should read 2006/01 to 2006/10.

Here, make sure you have a reference (an individual who can vouch for the experience you cite) for each

experience. If you cite an Experience Profile, do so explicitly: See Experience Profile , , Section , and provide a brief response summary so that the reviewer doesnt have to flip

back and forth through the document.

3.2.2 EC02: Breadth of Architectural Experience

CRYou must have experience architecting IT solutions which:

Involve the application and integration of a broad variety of products, technologies, and services

from either the enterprise or solution perspective

Encompass both functional and non-functional components across multiple elements of IT

architecture in each project(Business, Application, Infrastructure, Information)


20/26


CRGuidance to Candidates: A Master Certified IT Architect has experience integrating multiple

elements of IT architecture to enable the development of correct and complete solutions to business

problems.

TRDescription of threequalifying experiences. Reference may be made to specific sectionswithin the

Experience Profiles, or Candidates may provide detaileddescriptions of work efforts that demonstrate

compliance with this criterion.

Advice

If you cite an Experience Profile, use the format: See Experience Profile , ,

Section . If not, you must provide the same level of detail here that is asked for in the Experience

Profile. Remember that managing the real estate in your Certification Package is your responsibility.

Architects are expected be able to do this. The Certification Board will use this to help get a sense of how

skillful you are in addressing requirements and focusing on essentials.

The answers should include various technologies that were part of the IT solution and that you selected as

part of the architecture and of which you have a working knowledge such as DCE, LDAP, EDI, XML,

J2EE, .NET, C#, C++, Java, PKI, etc.

3.2.3 EC03: Experience with Different Types of Technologies and Architectures

CRYou must have experience with multiple types of systems and applications architectures, and

multiple hardware and software platforms.

CRGuidance to Candidates: A Master Certified IT Architect has had exposure working with different

systems and application architectures. Through this experience, a Master Certified IT Architect can

effectively make the decisions that most appropriately satisfy requirements and mitigate or otherwise

manage risk to the project.

TRDescription of one or morequalifying experiences. Reference may be made to specific sections

within the Experience Profiles, or Candidates may provide detaileddescriptions of work efforts that

demonstrate compliance with this criterion.

Advice



Profile.

Note that the second column here asks for the type of systems, applications, hardware, and software

platforms you have worked with, rather than the project or major activity.

The answer should include operating systems or application platforms such as Windows, Linux, UNIX,

SAP, Websphere, WebLogic, Apache, DSpace, Siebel, Tibco, and others. The difference between EC02

and EC03 is that in the EC03 black box (even if customizable) platforms are used with specific

functionality, whereas in EC03 technologies are looked for that are used to create functionality.


21/26


3.2.4 EC04: Application of Methods

EC04: Application of Methods was consolidated intoCFS12 (see Section 3.1.14 above).

3.2.5 EC05

Intentionally left blank.

3.2.6 EC06: Full Lifecycle Involvement

CRYou must have been responsible for the architecture definition activity of a project or engagement

across the full lifecycle appropriate to that project or engagement, and must have been involved as an IT

architect, or in some other capacity working with others, to ensure the architecture has been realized.

CRParticipation in each phase of the lifecycle need not be as Lead IT Architect.

CRGuidance to Candidates: A Master Certified IT Architect is expected to have had full lifecycle

experience.

TRDescription of qualifying experience. You must identify at least oneproject or work effort in which

you have performed architectural work across the full lifecyclefrom inception through to

deployment. Reference may be made to Experience Profiles, or Candidates may provide a detailed

description of a work effort that demonstrates compliance with this criterion. If none of your Experience

Profiles demonstrate full lifecycle, be prepared for detailed questioning about your full lifecycle

experience.

TRExperience Profiles in which you claim full lifecycle involvement must be listed here.

Advice

The Certification Board is looking for evidence that you have lived with the consequences of yourarchitectural decisions, and understand what it means for an architecture to be realizable. For very senior

architects, who in the latter parts of their careers tend to be more involved in the early phases of projectsand hand off delivery and deployment responsibility, it may be difficult to cite such experience that falls

within the 8-year window. In this case, it may suffice for you to explain how you have remained in touch

with the project during its implementation, deployment, and operation, and explain during your interview

how you acquired full lifecycle experience earlier in your career. This is an important certification

criterion, intended as a litmus test to weed out ivory tower architects whose work is not strongly

connected to the real world.

3.2.7 EC07: Industry Knowledge

CRYou must have demonstrated expertise in one or more industry sectors, including the business, legal,and regulatory context.

CRGuidance to Candidates: Master Certified IT Architects need to have broad, up-to-date, and relevant

expertise in the industry sectors in which they work, and must have applied that knowledge.

TRDescription of at least threeactivities through which you have acquired your industry sector

knowledge. Reference may be made to specific sectionswithin the Experience Profiles, or you may

provide detaileddescriptions of work efforts that demonstrate compliance with this criterion.


22/26


Advice



Profile.

Most candidates acquire this knowledge on the job; it is OK to say so, but it helps if you did a littleactive research into the industry.

3.2.8 EC08: Knowledge of IT Trends

CRYou must have demonstrated knowledge of the significant trends in the IT domain.

CRGuidance to Candidates: Master Certified IT Architects need to be aware of current significant

market and technology trends and possess the ability to apply trends to architectural decisions.

TRDescription of at least threeactivities through which you have acquired your knowledge of IT

market and technology trends. Reference may be made to specific sectionswithin the Experience

Profiles, or you may provide detaileddescriptions of work efforts that demonstrate compliance with thiscriterion.

Advice



Profile.

Most candidates acquire this kind of knowledge on the job; it is OK to say so, but it helps if you did a

little active research into the technologies you used.

3.3 Professional Development (PD)

3.3.1 PD01: Training

CRDuring the last five yearsyou must have completed training in the design and engineering of IT

architectures either through attendance at a taught course, or through self-study.

TRDescription of qualifying course or self-study program or material. Provide the date and name of the

course or self-study program or material, along with a description of the course or self-study objectives

and content.

Advice

This training can be company internal training and can include architecture webinars.

3.3.2 PD02: Maintain IT Industry Knowledge

CRCandidates must provide a written description of the activities they have undertaken to maintain their

knowledge of the technology, trends, and techniques in the IT industry.


23/26


TRPlease list the activities in which you have participated in the last three years.Activity is required in

at least 2 of the categories in the table below.

Advice

Formal education means successful completion of coursework offered by an accredited educational

institution. Training courses means successful completion of coursework offered by the company you

work for, or a third party. Unlike PD01, the subject matter is IT in general, not just IT architecture. Dont

overlook personal reading which can include journals as well as books.

3.3.3 PD03: Maintain Vertical Industry Knowledge

CRCandidates must provide a written description of the activities they have undertaken to maintain an

understanding of the client's business as it pertains to the client's vertical industry (e.g., telecoms,

financial, etc.). Candidates should be aware of the latest trends and techniques that may influence IT

architectures for their customers within industry verticals. Candidates should endeavor to sustain this

learning process during the time they are engaged with a client or produce architectures that are industry-

specific.

TRPlease list the activities in which you have participated in the last three years. Activity is required in

at least 2of the categories in the table below.

Advice



work for, or a third party.

3.3.4 PD04: Develop Skills and Knowledge in IT Architecture

CRCandidates are expected to continually develop their skills and knowledge in IT architecture.

TRPlease list the activities in which you have participated in the last three years. Activity is required in

at least 3of the categories in the table below.

Advice



work for, or a third party.

3.4 Contributions to the IT Architect Community (CC)

3.4.1 CC01: Contribution to the IT Architecture Profession

CRCandidates must make contributions to the architecture profession; for example, mentoring,

publications, teaching, research collaboration, or participation in professional organizations.


24/26


TRPlease list activities in which you have participated in the last three years. Contribution is required

in at least 3of the categories in the table below.

Advice

You can cite the same professional memberships here that you did in PD02, PD03, and PD04. You can

cite contributions to the profession internally at your employer as well as externally.

3.5 Experience Profiles

Each of the subsection headings in the Experience Profile template is fairly explicit about what it is

asking for. Be responsive. Provide the information asked for, clearly and concisely. Remember:

everything you need and nothing you dont. Apply this to each section of the Experience Profile

template.

3.5.1 Project Summary (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.1)

This section should be self-explanatory.

3.5.2 Personal Involvement (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.1.4)

It is not a requirement, but it would help to strengthen your Certification Package if in at least one of the

three experiences you include one where your participation was through the full lifecycle of the project.

To a Certification Board member, this would mean that one of the projects that you chose to showcase

your architecture experience was also one where your participation/leadership went across all phases, and

your responses to the conformance criteria/questions would show it. For these Experience Profile(s) you

would reply with Yes in the Completion column next to the statement I was involved in the full

lifecycle of this solution.

3.5.3 Your Role (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.1.5)

Leave the tables untouched. Simply put an X in the left-most column to indicate you were the Lead IT

Architect or for any other role you played.

3.5.4 Business Opportunity or Problem (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.2)

The three sections in this part ask for a concise description of the business opportunity or problem that the

customer faced. Indicate what the scope of the problem is and what complexity is involved to address the

problem.

As architect you are involved with client personnel to define the architecture. Indicate with what type of

stakeholders you communicated and how this communication was carried out (frequency and type ofcontent/decisions for meetings, presentations, written communication, etc.).

3.5.5 Solution (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.3)

This section should briefly outline the overall proposed and implemented solution. Do not go into any

depth as the Certification Package (and this section) is about your experience and conduct as an architect

much more than the technical accuracy of the particular solution. Certification Board members are moreinterested in how you made your decisions, what reasoning you applied to make them, and how you


25/26


handled possible consequences of these decisions. The technical details are of less interest. Certification

Board members may not be experts on this solution subject but if they do want to know more about the

technicalities, they will ask for it during the interview.

Use diagrams sparingly if needed. Do not include lots of Microsoft Office PowerPointor other

illustrations and do not include them if they are not referenced and do not support the answer you give. If

diagrams are used, do not reduce them in size to the point that they are no longer readable. This isespecially true for diagrams that use small print.

In Section 6.n.3.2 a list of architectural decisions is asked for and reasons why you made them. A bulleted

list works best. Be succinct. Do not make this a historical novel of what you did. As an architect you must

have made important decisions regarding the architecture and the solution(s) that followed from it.

In Section 6.n.3.4 a list of tools you used in your architectural work is asked for. These can include

PowerPoint, MooD, Visio, Excel, ProVision, Rational Rose, Select Enterprise, or any other tool you used.

Explain briefly for what purpose you used them, and the rationale for your selection.

In Section 6.n.3.5 a list of architectural deliverables is asked for. List documents, models, prototypes,

frameworks, and other deliverables that are pivotal to the development of the solution, and for each ofthem describe the reason for inclusion as a deliverable.

3.5.6 Results (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.4)

This section is one of the more important ones of the Experience Profiles. Highlight how well the

architecture designed stood up to the realization. Was it used, modified, or discarded? Where did it

succeed and where did it fall short? Was the final result to the satisfaction of the customer and did it

address the business problems it was supposed to solve? Where you want to mention budgets, try to avoid

actual numbers (confidentiality) but rather within budget, 1.5 times the projected budget, or such

phrase.

3.5.7 Lessons learned (Certification Package Template Section 6.n.5)

Another important section. An architect learns from his/her mistakes and from what went well. Itemize

key lessons learned you had in this experience, including where things did not go as you had hoped.

What, in retrospect, would you do differently? This will indicate your continuous learning and

understanding of the field of business and its problems.

3.5.8 References (Certification Package Template Section 7)

The experiences must be verifiable by references people that will vouch for you and the role you claim

you played. The best references are from actual customer representatives such as their architects, business

manager, and others with whom or for whom you worked. The reference would mention the specific

projects (hopefully with the same name as you used in the Experience Profile), your role in them (if youwere the Lead Architect, it would be best if mentioned explicitly), approximate time of your involvement,

and in general describe your accomplishments (which should be compatible with those you mention in the

Certification Package). Each experience must have a reference.

Second choice would be from the companies you worked for internal references from account

managers, project managers, and others. These are likely to be less impartial to one of their own

colleagues like yourself.


26/26

4. Summary

Many problems with The Open Group Certified Architect (Open CA) program submissions can be

avoided by simply following the instructions. Read the Open CA documentation carefully and provide

what it asks for. Have someone who has been through the certification process, especially someone whohas served on a Certification Board, review your Certification Package before your submission.

Documents

Open Group