archimate.md

ArchiMate 3.2 Reference

Overview

ArchiMate is an open and independent enterprise architecture modeling language developed by The Open Group. It provides a uniform representation for diagrams that describe enterprise architectures across multiple layers.

Relationship Types

Structural Relationships

Relationship	Description
Composition	Represents that an element consists of one or more other concepts. Strong ownership.
Aggregation	Represents that an element combines one or more other concepts. Weaker ownership.
Assignment	Represents the allocation of responsibility, performance of behavior, storage, or execution.
Realization	Represents that an element plays a critical role in the creation, achievement, sustenance, or operation of a more abstract element.

Dependency Relationships

Relationship	Description
Serving	Represents that an element provides its functionality to another element.
Access	Represents the ability of behavior and active structure elements to observe or act upon passive structure elements.
Influence	Represents that an element affects the implementation or achievement of some motivation element. Can be marked with +/-
Association	Represents an unspecified relationship, or one that is not represented by another ArchiMate relationship.

Dynamic Relationships

Relationship	Description
Triggering	Represents a temporal or causal relationship between elements.
Flow	Represents transfer from one element to another.

Other Relationships

Relationship	Description
Specialization	Represents that an element is a particular kind of another element.

Relationship Connectors

Connector	Description
Junction (And)	Used to connect relationships of the same type with AND logic.
Junction (Or)	Used to connect relationships of the same type with OR logic.

Motivation Elements

Element	Definition
Stakeholder	The role of an individual, team, or organization (or classes thereof) that represents their interests in the effects of the architecture.
Driver	An external or internal condition that motivates an organization to define its goals and implement the changes necessary to achieve them.
Assessment	The result of an analysis of the state of affairs of the enterprise with respect to some driver.
Goal	A high-level statement of intent, direction, or desired end state for an organization and its stakeholders.
Outcome	An end result, effect, or consequence of a certain state of affairs.
Principle	A statement of intent defining a general property that applies to any system in a certain context in the architecture.
Requirement	A statement of need defining a property that applies to a specific system as described by the architecture.
Constraint	A limitation on aspects of the architecture, its implementation process, or its realization.
Meaning	The knowledge or expertise present in, or the interpretation given to, a concept in a particular context.
Value	The relative worth, utility, or importance of a concept.

Strategy Layer Elements

Element	Definition
Resource	An asset owned or controlled by an individual or organization.
Capability	An ability that an active structure element, such as an organization, person, or system, possesses.
Value Stream	A sequence of activities that create an overall result for a customer, stakeholder, or end user.
Course of Action	An approach or plan for configuring some capabilities and resources of the enterprise, undertaken to achieve a goal.

Business Layer Elements

Active Structure Elements

Element	Definition
Business Actor	A business entity that is capable of performing behavior.
Business Role	The responsibility for performing specific behavior, to which an actor can be assigned, or the part an actor plays in a particular action or event.
Business Collaboration	An aggregate of two or more business internal active structure elements that work together to perform collective behavior.
Business Interface	A point of access where a business service is made available to the environment.

Behavior Elements

Element	Definition
Business Process	A sequence of business behaviors that achieves a specific result such as a defined set of products or business services.
Business Function	A collection of business behavior based on a chosen set of criteria (typically required business resources and/or competencies), closely aligned to an organization.
Business Interaction	A unit of collective business behavior performed by (a collaboration of) two or more business actors, business roles, or business collaborations.
Business Event	A business-related state change.
Business Service	Explicitly defined behavior that a business role, business actor, or business collaboration exposes to its environment.

Passive Structure Elements

Element	Definition
Business Object	A concept used within a particular business domain.
Contract	A formal or informal specification of an agreement between a provider and a consumer that specifies rights and obligations.
Representation	A perceptible form of the information carried by a business object.
Product	A coherent collection of services and/or passive structure elements, accompanied by a contract, offered to customers.

Application Layer Elements

Active Structure Elements

Element	Definition
Application Component	An encapsulation of application functionality aligned to implementation structure, which is modular and replaceable.
Application Collaboration	An aggregate of two or more application internal active structure elements that work together to perform collective behavior.
Application Interface	A point of access where application services are made available to a user, another application component, or a node.

Behavior Elements

Element	Definition
Application Function	Automated behavior that can be performed by an application component.
Application Interaction	A unit of collective application behavior performed by (a collaboration of) two or more application components.
Application Process	A sequence of application behaviors that achieves a specific result.
Application Event	An application state change.
Application Service	An explicitly defined exposed application behavior.

Passive Structure Elements

Element	Definition
Data Object	Data structured for automated processing.

Technology Layer Elements

Active Structure Elements

Element	Definition
Node	A computational or physical resource that hosts, manipulates, or interacts with other computational or physical resources.
Device	A physical IT resource upon which system software and artifacts may be stored or deployed for execution.
System Software	Software that provides or contributes to an environment for storing, executing, and using software or data deployed within it.
Technology Collaboration	An aggregate of two or more technology internal active structure elements that work together to perform collective behavior.
Technology Interface	A point of access where technology services offered by a technology internal active structure element can be accessed.
Path	A link between two or more technology internal active structure elements, through which these elements can exchange data, energy, or material.
Communication Network	A set of structures and behaviors that connects devices or system software for transmission, routing, and reception of data.

Behavior Elements

Element	Definition
Technology Function	A collection of technology behavior that can be performed by a technology internal active structure element.
Technology Process	A sequence of technology behaviors that achieves a specific result.
Technology Interaction	A unit of collective technology behavior performed by (a collaboration of) two or more technology internal active structure elements.
Technology Event	A technology state change.
Technology Service	An explicitly defined exposed technology behavior.

Passive Structure Elements

Element	Definition
Artifact	A piece of data that is used or produced in a software development process, or by deployment and operation of an IT system.

Physical Elements

Element	Definition
Equipment	One or more physical machines, tools, or instruments that can create, use, store, move, or transform materials.
Facility	A physical structure or environment.
Distribution Network	A physical network used to transport materials or energy.
Material	Tangible physical matter or energy.

Implementation and Migration Layer Elements

Element	Definition
Work Package	A series of actions identified and designed to achieve specific results within specified time and resource constraints.
Deliverable	A precisely defined result of a work package.
Implementation Event	A state change related to implementation or migration.
Plateau	A relatively stable state of the architecture that exists during a limited period of time.
Gap	A statement of difference between two plateaus.

Composite Elements

Element	Definition
Grouping	Aggregates or composes concepts that belong together based on some common characteristic.
Location	A conceptual or physical place or position where concepts are located (structure elements) or performed (behavior elements).

ArchiMate Layers

ArchiMate organizes elements into distinct layers:

1. Motivation Layer - Why: stakeholders, drivers, goals, requirements
2. Strategy Layer - What: capabilities, resources, value streams, courses of action
3. Business Layer - What: business processes, actors, services, objects
4. Application Layer - How: application components, services, data objects
5. Technology Layer - How: infrastructure, nodes, devices, networks
6. Physical Layer - Where: facilities, equipment, materials, distribution networks
7. Implementation & Migration Layer - When: work packages, plateaus, gaps

Key Concepts

Active vs Passive Structure

• Active Structure: Elements that can perform behavior (actors, roles, components, nodes)
• Passive Structure: Elements that are acted upon (objects, artifacts, data)

Internal vs External Behavior

• Internal Behavior: Functions, processes, interactions
• External Behavior: Services (exposed functionality)

Events

State changes that trigger or are triggered by behavior (business events, application events, technology events)

References

• ArchiMate® 3.2 Specification Copyright © 2022 The Open Group