ADM engagements

An engagement is a piece of architecture work, from the first request to hand-over to delivery. Each one follows the same route: intake, then four gates (feasibility, options appraisal, business case, solution design), then delivery. The TOGAF ADM phases are tracked alongside as an equal view. Anyone who can contribute can raise a request; architects triage it, move it through the gates and keep the record.

Requirements specification (optional)

You can give Lintel the full specification when you raise a request, so the engagement starts with real content instead of a blank page. Paste the whole text, attach documents, or do both.

• Lintel keeps the pasted text and every attached file with the request.
• It then reads them and fills in what they say: a summary (only if you left the summary box empty), the sponsor and target date (only if those were blank), the people and dates named, and the individual requirements.
• The title is always yours to write. Nothing you typed yourself is overwritten, and you can edit or remove anything Lintel adds.

If your organisation has switched on AI assistance, the text is also read by its AI model. Otherwise it is read by rules only and nothing leaves the server.

ADM engagements

The list of every engagement, one row each, with reference, title, sponsor, lead architect, stage and target date.

1. Use the chips above the table to filter: All, Mine, or a single stage. Each stage chip shows how many engagements are in it.
2. Select a reference to open the engagement.
3. Choose Raise a request to start a new one (contributors and above).

Stages run Intake, Feasibility, Options appraisal, Business case, Solution design and Delivery. An engagement can also be Parked or Closed.

Raise a request

This is the form for asking Architectural Services for help. Give a title, the business sponsor, an optional sponsor email (which invites them to the Architecture Review Board when their item is discussed), an optional demand intake reference, a target date and a few lines on outcomes, drivers and timing.

1. Fill in at least the title.
2. Optionally paste a specification or attach documents; see Requirements specification.
3. Choose Raise request.

The request appears at Intake and an architect will triage it. Afterwards an architect can edit the details, but the reference never changes.

An engagement

This page is the whole record of one engagement. The top card shows the stage, sponsor, lead architect, target date and who raised it. Below it, the stage chips show how far along it is, and two tabs switch between Gates and TOGAF ADM phases. Further down are the work products, the repository scope, any panels from add-on modules (such as requirements and RAID) and the timeline.

Everyone who can see the engagement can read it. Only architects move gates, change phases and edit scope.

Specification and documents

The documents and pasted specification kept with this request. Each file is listed with its size, when it was added and by whom. Select a name to download it. A note appears beside any file whose text could not be read (a scanned PDF, for instance).

To add more, open Add more of the specification or more documents, paste or attach, and choose Keep and read. Lintel reads the new material and adds what it finds without overwriting your edits. Pasted text stays viewable under The specification as pasted.

People named

Names found in the specification and documents, with their role or email where one was given, such as a sponsor or project manager. They are for reference only: Lintel does not invite or email anyone from this list. If a name is wrong, it came from the source text; correct the source or ignore it.

Dates named

Dates found in the specification and documents, each with the words around it so you can see what it refers to (a go-live, a milestone, a deadline). Dates are shown as DD/MM/YYYY. They are for reference; the engagement’s own target date is only set from them when you left it blank.

Requirements read from the specification

Requirements Lintel found in the text, shown with the priority it read (Must, Should, Could or Won’t this time). If the Requirements module is switched on, they are added straight to the engagement’s requirements, where you can match them to capabilities. If it is off, they are kept here as a list so nothing is lost. See Requirements.

Intake

The first step. A new request waits here until an architect triages it.

1. An architect opens the engagement and, in Intake, enters the email of the lead architect. Leave it blank to take the engagement yourself.
2. Choose Triage and start feasibility.
3. The engagement moves to Feasibility.

Once triaged, an architect can change the lead architect at any time with Reassign.

Gate 1 – Feasibility

The architecture lead decides whether the request is feasible and worth taking further.

1. Review the request and add a feasibility assessment as a work product.
2. Choose a decision: Proceed to the options appraisal, Park or Close.
3. Add a note (required if you park or close).
4. Choose Record Gate 1 decision.

A parked engagement can be brought back with Reopen at feasibility. Only architects record this decision.

Gate 2 – Solution options appraisal (SOA)

The Architecture Review Board decides whether the preferred option is sound.

1. Add the Solution Options Appraisal as a work product.
2. Choose Submit to the ARB. This creates an ARB item.
3. The ARB secretariat triages it and can move it to another meeting.
4. The gate follows the ARB decision: passed, or returned for rework.

The panel shows the ARB reference, meeting date and outcome. See An ARB item.

Gate 3 – Business case

Investment governance, outside the ARB, decides the business case. Lintel only records the outcome.

1. When the business case has been through investment governance, an architect chooses Approved or Returned for revision.
2. Enter the business case reference.
3. Add a note (required if returned).
4. Choose Record Gate 3 outcome.

An approved case moves the engagement to Solution design.

Gate 4 – High-level solution design (HLSD)

The ARB decides the high-level design.

1. Add the High-Level Solution Design as a work product.
2. Choose Submit to the ARB.
3. When the ARB passes it, choose Hand over to delivery.

If the ARB returns it, rework the design and submit again.

Delivery

Once Gate 4 is passed and the engagement is handed over, it is with delivery through project governance. The Architecture Contract is agreed with the delivery team through the ARB. Until then this card simply says delivery starts once Gate 4 is passed.

TOGAF ADM phases

The same engagement seen through the TOGAF Architecture Development Method: Preliminary, phases A to H, and Requirements Management, which runs throughout. The gates move the main phases on automatically.

1. Open the TOGAF ADM phases tab.
2. An architect can set any phase to Not started, In progress, Complete or Not needed.
3. Add a short note and choose Save.

Viewers can read the table but not change it.

Work products

The documents that evidence the engagement: feasibility assessment, options appraisal, business case, high-level design, decision records and others. Each row shows the title (a link if one was given), kind, ADM phase and whether it is Draft or Final.

Architects can mark a product Final or back to Draft, or remove it from the list. Removing it only removes the entry here, not the document itself. Gates 2 and 4 expect the matching product to exist before you submit.

Add a work product

Record a document against the engagement.

1. Enter a title and choose the kind.
2. Optionally choose the ADM phase.
3. Optionally add a link (an https address, or a path inside Lintel).
4. Choose Draft or Final, then Add.

Lintel stores the link, not the file, so keep the document where your team already works. Architects only.

Scope in the repository

The repository elements this engagement touches, such as applications or technologies, so everyone can see the impact. Each is a link to its record.

1. Type an element reference (for example APP-0001) in Add an element.
2. Choose Add to scope.
3. To take one out, choose Remove beside it.

Architects only. See An application or technology record.

Timeline

A plain history of the engagement, newest first: when it was raised, triaged, each gate decision, phase changes, documents read and who did each. It is automatic and cannot be edited, so it works as the audit trail for the engagement.