Entrance on DBJ.METHOD

Bridge to AI

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CMM maturity is the prerequisite for an organisation’s AI readiness. Without defined, managed processes, AI amplifies noise — not signal. The DBJ Method builds the bridge deliberately.

The Bridge Thesis

AI tools applied to chaotic (CMM L1) processes produce chaotic results faster. The DBJ Method ensures your organisation achieves the architectural clarity needed to deploy AI with precision and governance. CMM Level 3 is the minimum threshold for responsible AI integration. CMM Level 5 — the optimising state — is where AI becomes a continuous improvement engine.

Capability Maturity Model

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Entry ticket required before entering the second part of the model

DBJ CMM is TOGAF CMM tailored for businesses. All roles, but architects. They already know the complex CMM , designed for teams of architects.

DBJ CMM defines five levels of organisational maturity. The DBJ Method uses this scale to measure and grow your Enterprise Architecture practice.

Level	Name	Description	Milestone
1	Initial	Processes are ad hoc and chaotic. Success depends on individual effort. No repeatable practices exist for EA planning or execution.	Starting point
2	Repeatable	Basic project management processes are in place. Similar projects can be executed with similar results, but practices are not formalised across domains.	Pre-training
3	Defined	Processes are documented, standardised, and integrated into a defined EA framework. The whole organisation operates from a shared architecture playbook. Domains are clearly identified and aligned.	Target
4	Managed	Processes are measured and controlled using quantitative data. EA decisions are evidence-based. Quality and performance are predictable.	Phase 2
5	Optimising	Continuous process improvement is embedded. Innovation and automation — including AI — are systematically applied to refine and evolve architecture capabilities.	Destination

Basically this is where we train premiership league teams. Into qualified navigators of the AI enabled business.

DBJ ADM

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The Wheel: DBJ ADM

DBJ ADM is the TOGAF ADM cut down to what an organization without a dedicated architecture team can actually sustain.

Nine TOGAF steps become five. Each one produces a written artifact. The Business Architecture Board reviews artifacts, not conversations.

DBJ Step	Produces
1 — Principles	What the organization will not trade away
2 — Vision	What is being attempted, and why
3 — Architecture	The structure, from concept down to physical
4 — Decision	The choice, recorded
5 — Governance	The check that it was followed

NOTE

The wheel authorizes delivery. It never delivers.

It turns only at CMM Level 3 or above. Below that, there is nothing to steer.

DBJ Taxonomy

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The common and efficient language. The whole operations names the parts of the organization’s information space, and everyone uses the same names.

Simple, solid and mature. Four Categories, each holding four Capabilities.

Category	Capabilities
Conceptual	Business	Information	Application	Technology
Logical	Data Management	Integration	Platform	Security
Physical	Compute	Infrastructure	Network	Storage
Implementation	Deployment	Development	Monitoring	Operations

Taxonomy does three jobs: it locates a concern, it gives roles a shared vocabulary, and it makes knowledge findable twice.

Onboarding

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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A feasible entry

Section	Title	Description
01	The DBJ Method	What the Method is, the two stages it runs in, and how they hand off to each other
02	Capability Maturity Model	Five levels of organisational maturity, and why Level 3 is the gate before anything else in the Method applies
03	The Three Domains	Business, Product and Technology — what each domain owns, and what it is accountable for delivering
04	One Loop and the two Cycles	How work moves from Business to Product to Technology and back, as one continuous operating loop
05	Bridge to AI	Why maturity has to come before AI adoption, and what changes at each level as it is introduced
06	DBJ ADM	The five-step wheel that authorizes delivery work but never performs delivery itself
07	DBJ Taxonomy	The shared names and structure for the organisation’s information space, used without reinterpretation
—	Vocabulary	Terms every role should be able to define on demand, without looking them up

The Method Home

The BPT Cycles

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The B ↔ P ↔ T

DISAMBIGUATION — “BPT Loop” and “Operating Model” are not synonyms; they are different altitudes of the same thing.

BPT Loop describes the mechanism — the endless Business · Product · Technology cycle.

Operating Model describes its role in the architecture — what BPT is to the organization.

One Flow Two Cycles

DBJ Method Flow is made of Two Cycles chaining the B, P and T

The DBJ Method

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A pragmatic, right-sized adaptation of TOGAF that makes Enterprise Architecture actionable for growing companies — without the overhead of a full TOGAF implementation.

What is TOGAF?

TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework) is the world’s leading EA framework. It also provides a structured method — the Architecture Development Method (ADM) — for designing, planning, implementing, and governing enterprise IT architecture.

Think of TOGAF as a public library of Enterprise Architecture. TOGAF is complex and often overwhelming for organizations that have not yet established formal EA practices. The DBJ Method hides the TOGAF complexity.

The Three Method Domains

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The core of the Operating model

The whole of the organization is divided into three “domains”. Domain name reflects its role.

Business
Products
Technology

Decoupled but acting together, in what we call “BPT Loop” constellation.

flowchart
subgraph BPT["Organization under B-P-T Operational Model<br/><br/>"]
direction LR
subgraph B["Business<br>Domain<br><br><br><br>"]
direction TB
end
subgraph P["<br>Products<br>Domain<br><br><br>"]
direction TB
end
subgraph T["Technology<br>Domain<br><br><br><br>"]
direction TB
end
end
B <-->|Domain<br/>Iterations| P
P <-->|Domain<br/>Iterations| T

It is as simple as that. The “core of the trick” is to follow this simple concept when adding details to it.

Vocabulary

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Organization Vocabulary

A shared vocabulary is a prerequisite for CMM Level 3. All staff should be able to understand and apply these terms.

Term	Definition
TOGAF	The Open Group Architecture Framework. The world’s most widely adopted Enterprise Architecture framework, providing the ADM guidance, reference models, and governance structures.
DBJ Method	A right-sized adaptation of TOGAF designed for smaller, fast-moving organisations. Preserves TOGAF’s maturity model and domain structure while reducing ceremonial overhead.
Enterprise Architecture (EA)	The practice of aligning an organisation’s strategy, processes, information, and technology into a coherent, governed whole. EA makes complex decisions tractable and auditable.
CMM	Capability Maturity Model. A five-level framework (Initial → Repeatable → Defined → Managed → Optimising) that measures the maturity of an organisation’s processes and practices.
CMM Level 3 (Defined)	The state where processes are fully documented, standardised, and integrated across the organisation. All domains operate from a shared playbook. Boot Camp target.
Domain	One of three organisational operating areas in the DBJ Method: Business, Products, or Technology. Each domain has a distinct mandate, accountabilities, and artefact responsibilities.
Business Domain	Sets strategic intent, commissions initiatives, defines outcome criteria, and conducts User Acceptance Testing (UAT). Owns the decisions on why and the what.
Products Domain	Translates Business strategy into Technology-ready requirements. Manages the backlog, owns the solutions, and coordinates UAT. The bridge domain in the (BPT) B ↔ P ↔ T cycle.
Technology Domain	Builds, integrates, and operates systems per the product specifications. Applies technical governance and architecture standards. Owns the how it’s built decisions.
(BPT) B ↔ P ↔ T Cycle	The DBJ Method’s core operating rhythm. Business commissions → Products translates → Technology builds → Products stages for UAT → Business accepts. Iterative and domain-explicit.
UAT	User Acceptance Testing. The formal process by which the Business domain validates that a delivered increment meets the outcome criteria set at commission. Outcome is passed onto “final” P –> T for deployment and the cycle closure.
Bridge to AI	The DBJ thesis that CMM maturity is the prerequisite for responsible AI adoption. AI is layered into processes progressively at L3 (documentation), L4 (decision support), and L5 (optimisation).
DBJ ADM	Architecture Development Method. Simplified TOGAF phase model (Preliminary → A through H → Requirements Management) for developing and evolving enterprise architecture.
Domain Lead	The designated person accountable for decisions within a domain. Co-owns cycle governance alongside other two domain Leads. Escalates cross-domain conflicts to shared resolution.