Every ADM phase produces something. The Architecture Content Framework is TOGAF's vocabulary for those work products, so that a 'deliverable', an 'artifact' and a 'building block' mean precise, different things — not loose synonyms.

Examiners love this topic because the terms are easy to blur. Nail the three definitions and the ABB-vs-SBB distinction and you've got it.

A deliverable is a contractually specified, formally reviewed and signed-off work product — an output an engagement is committed to produce (e.g. the Architecture Definition Document). Deliverables are typically archived or become part of the Repository.

An artifact is a finer-grained work product describing one aspect of the architecture. Artifacts come in three kinds: catalogs (lists of things), matrices (relationships between things), and diagrams (pictures).

A building block is a (potentially reusable) component of capability. The relationship: deliverables contain artifacts, and artifacts describe building blocks.

Building blocks come in two kinds:

Architecture Building Blocks (ABBs) describe required capability and are largely technology-neutral — they shape the solution. They are elaborated chiefly in the architecture phases (B–D), though refined across the ADM. Solution Building Blocks (SBBs) represent the actual implementation — products, bought or built — and are firmed up as you move into Opportunities & Solutions and Migration (E–F).

Mnemonic: ABB = what's needed; SBB = what's used.

In the loan programme, an ABB might be 'an asynchronous event backbone with at-least-once delivery' — a required capability, no vendor named. The matching SBB is 'Apache Kafka, 3 brokers, configured for idempotent producers'. The Architecture Definition Document (a deliverable) would contain a component catalog and an interaction matrix (artifacts) that describe both building blocks.

These work products are the outputs of the ADM phases (TGF‑C2), and they're classified and stored via the Enterprise Continuum & Repository (TGF‑C3) — an ABB may sit at the Common Systems level, an SBB at the organisation-specific level. Deliverables are what governance reviews and signs off.