The Quick Step Guide to TOGAF Certification for TOGAF TOOL SUPPORT

Copyright © 2002-2004 The Open Group

Issue 1.01, January 12 2004

This document is a quick guide to the steps for an organization to register a product for certification against the TOGAF TOOL SUPPORT Product Standards. For a full understanding of the TOGAF Certification program please see the TOGAF Certification Guide.

Applying for certification requires you to submit some initial information via the web.  You need to be registered as a designated contact for a company which has been accepted into the program in order to register a product for the TOGAF TOOL SUPPORT Product Standard. Further information is given below.

Registration

Completing The TOGAF Commercial License Agreement

To register a product against the TOGAF TOOL SUPPORT Product Standard your organization must have a TOGAF Commercial License . A link on the certification web page provides information on how to obtain a TOGAF Commercial License. This is a prerequisite , without completion of which you will not be able to enter the web certification system to register this Product Standard.

You should download the agreement from the link provided within the web certification system, and follow the instructions for submitting to The Open Group. Once you have been approved your company will be added to the list of companies who can register themselves. You are recommended to notify the Certification Authority that you have signed a license. The Certification Authority will then be able to followup with The Open Group's legal department to find out when the TOGAF Commercial License has been countersigned.

Accessing the Web Certification System

The Certification Authority provides a web based certification system through which products, services or individuals can be submitted for certification. The entry point to this is at http://www.opengroup.org/togaf/cert/.

Prior to use of the Web Certification system you are recommended to browse the Web Certification primer presentation at http://www.opengroup.org/togaf/cert/docs/primer/.

The first step is to select "Enter", which then gives you an intermediate screen with various help information, from which you can then proceed to access the secure web server.

Submitting Initial Certification Information

In order to access the web certification system you need a valid username and password on the Certification Authority's web server.

If you don't yet have an account, you may obtain one from the certification web site by selecting "Enter secure site" to enter the secure web site (if you have not already done so), then selecting "New User" to create your username and password.

Once you have your username, from the secure web site, select "Login" to login.

Registering Contacts for a Company

To register products, services or individuals on behalf of a company, you must be registered as the designated Authorized, Technical or Alternate contact for that company. Company registration and that of its designated contacts have a number of steps that must be completed before you will be able to proceed. Your login will not offer you the full range of Product Standards until all the following steps have been successfully completed.

Please take the following steps to register your company and its contacts:-

1. You will need a username and password on the Certification Authority's web server for identification purposes. If you don't yet have an account, you may obtain one from the certification web site by selecting "Enter secure site" to enter the secure web site (if you have not already done so), then selecting "New User" to create your username and password.
2. Next you will need to enter your company name (you can give a part of the company name and the system will give you available matches in the database . and accept the terms and conditions of the Certification program, by accepting the Certification Agreement, for entry into the system. To do this you need to select "New Company Account". The system will then match that against those who have TOGAF Commercial Licenses. If there is a match you can proceed.

   If you do not have a TOGAF Commercial License this needs to be obtained before you can proceed.

3. To register your company, you need to select your company name and specify the name and contact information for the following contacts:
   • The Authorized Signatory who will authorize your company's registration. The Authorized Signatory must be someone who is authorized to enter into legal commitments on behalf of the company.
   • The Technical Contact, who will be the primary contact for all certification-related issues.
   • An optional Alternate Contact, who will be the back-up for the Technical Contact and also have access to the web certification system to register items
   • The Financial Contact, who will be the contact for any payment and/or invoicing issues
   • An optional Marketing Contact, who will be the contact for any marketing-related certification issues

   Note: The Authorized Contact, the Technical Contact and the Alternate Contact, if specified, are the only users who will have the ability to register products or services using the web certification system.

4. The web based certification system will then send electronic mail to your designated Authorized Signatory who must respond by electronic mail to the Certification Authority. The Certification Authority will verify the response and, if the requirements are met, accept your organization for entry into the certification system.

When the above is completed and the Certification Authority has responded to your designated Authorized Signatory with notification that your application has been accepted, your Technical and Alternate contacts will receive confirmation by electronic mail from the web certification system that your company account has been activated. At this point, your Technical and Alternate contacts will be able to progress to the next stage which is accessing the web certification system to commence registrations.

Registering a Product for the TOGAF TOOL SUPPORT Product Standard

If you want to re-brand an already certified product skip ahead to the next section.

When you register a product you are required to provide details including the name of the product, and version or release information, for which conformance has been demonstrated.

You must select the Product Standard that the product is being registered for.

After you select the "Select the Product Standard" button, you are then presented with the Certification Agreement, which must be accepted in order to proceed with this registration.

The next screen presented is then specific to the Product Standard. If you wish to send any notes to the Certification Authority about this registration you may do so on this form. Such notes are held confidential between you and the Certification Authority. You may also enter a URL for this registration which would be presented on the Certification Register.

Re-branding a Product

In order to re-brand an already certified TOGAF TOOL SUPPORT product select the "Submit a Re-branded Product" link. You will then need to select the existing product that you wish to re-brand. A screen is then presented for you to input the details including the name of the product and the version or release number.

If you wish to send any notes to the Certification Authority about this registration you may do so on this form. Such notes are held confidential between you and the Certification Authority. You may also enter a URL for this registration which would be presented on the Certification Register.

After you select the "Register a Re-branded Product" button, you are then presented with the Certification Agreement, which must be accepted in order to proceed with this registration.

Uploading your Conformance Statement

When registering a product for the TOGAF TOOL SUPPORT Product Standards you must upload the Conformance Statement for your product.

If you are re-branding an already certified product the Conformance Statement must be identical to that of the original supplier apart from the supplier name and product name and version information.

At this point if you select "Next", the screen will inform you that you have completed all the necessary steps and can proceed to the final registration stage. It is also possible to select the "Conformance Statement" link if you wish to change the file that you uploaded.

The Final Step - Confirming your Submission & Payment

Once you have completed input of all the required information, the web based certification system allows you to confirm your submission details and then proceed with the payment.

The certification system will display a form into which you enter the final details that are required to submit the product for certification. This is done in two stages:

• This form allows you to check all the information relating to your company (if applicable), the product, and the registration. It is divided into sections; each one needs confirmation from you that it is correct. You can also signify that you wish the registration to be kept confidential prior to product launch. If any of the information needs correcting you can, at this point, update it.
• The second and final part is to affirm your commitment to the terms and conditions of the program as stated in the Certification Agreement and the committments as required by the Product Standard.
  Certification fees are due at this stage.

Payment

Payment is required to complete a full submission for registration. Payment may be either by credit card at the time of registration, or by purchase order, check or wire transfer received by the Certification Authority in advance of registration.

Note: The Certification Authority will not process the registration until payment has been received.

See http://www.opengroup.org/togaf/cert/docs/Fee_Schedule.html for the fee schedule. Please note that if you use a payment method other than by credit card, your submission cannot be processed until the payment is received by the Certification Authority.

Completion of Certification

You will be notified of the status of your request for certification within 10 business days. 

If for any reason the submission was not complete, you will  be notified so that any corrections can be made and resubmitted. Such a resubmission needs to be done within one month unless an extension has been granted by the Certification Authority.  The initial fee covers one set of corrective actions.

The details of the certified product will then be put on the Certification Register, which is a public document, unless you have requested that it remains confidential. To keep the certification confidential, this option must be selected in the web certification system at the time the product is submitted.

When a certification has been made public, you will be sent a URL from where you can download a certificate.

You should note that certification is valid for a defined period as stated in Section 9.1, Duration of Certification of the Certification Policy. At the end of that period, if applicable, if you wish the product or service to remain certified you will need to renew the certification. (See the Guide to TOGAF Certification for more information.)

Appeals Process

You may appeal decisions made by The Open Group Certification Authority as stated in Section 11, Appeals Process of the Certification Policy. Any request for appeal should be sent by electronic mail to togaf-cert@opengroup.org . Receipt of such a request will be acknowledged within 6 working days by the Certification Authority and the appeals process invoked.