ArchiMate Notation

ArchiMate Notation

ArchiMate 3.x is the standard notation for Enterprise Architecture modelling. It organises elements into layers, aspects, and relationships.

Layer Overview

Layer	Concerns	Colour (convention)
Strategy	Goals, capabilities, resources	Yellow
Motivation	Drivers, assessments, principles, goals, requirements	Light yellow
Business	Business processes, actors, roles, objects	Yellow/Tan
Application	Application components, services, interfaces	Blue
Technology	Infrastructure, networks, devices, system software	Green
Physical	Physical elements, facilities, equipment	Dark green
Implementation & Migration	Work packages, events, plateaus, gaps	Orange

Core Element Types

Motivation Layer

• Driver — internal or external condition motivating change
• Assessment — result of an analysis (SWOT, risk)
• Goal — high-level statement of intent
• Outcome — desired end result
• Principle — normative property of architecture
• Requirement — need to be met
• Constraint — restriction on the architecture

Strategy Layer

• Capability — ability to achieve outcomes
• Course of Action — approach to achieve goals
• Resource — asset in support of strategies
• Value Stream — sequence of activities delivering value

Business Layer

• Business Actor — entity capable of performing behaviour
• Business Role — responsibility assigned to an actor
• Business Process — sequence of behaviours producing a result
• Business Function — collection of behaviour based on a criterion
• Business Service — explicitly defined exposed business behaviour
• Business Object — passive concept with significance in the business
• Contract — formal or informal agreement
• Product — coherent collection of services and products

Application Layer

• Application Component — modular unit of application functionality
• Application Interface — point of access for application services
• Application Service — explicitly defined exposed application behaviour
• Application Function — automated behaviour of an application
• Data Object — passive element processed by applications

Technology Layer

• Node — computational resource
• Device — physical IT resource
• System Software — software operating the environment
• Technology Service — explicitly defined exposed technology behaviour
• Artifact — physical piece of data used or produced by a system
• Network — communication medium
• Path — link between nodes

Core Relationships

Relationship	Meaning	Notation
Association	Unspecified relationship	Plain line
Composition	Whole-part, lifecycle dependency	Filled diamond
Aggregation	Whole-part, no lifecycle dependency	Open diamond
Assignment	Links units of behaviour to active elements	Circle with line
Realisation	Higher-level concept realised by lower	Dashed line + open arrow
Serving	Element provides services to another	Open arrowhead
Access	Element accesses a passive element	Dashed open arrowhead
Influence	Element affects another	Dashed line + open arrowhead
Triggering	Causal relationship between behaviours	Filled arrowhead
Flow	Transfer of information, goods, etc.	Dashed filled arrowhead

Diagram Types

Viewpoint	Purpose	Primary Layers
Organisation	Actors, roles, responsibilities	Business
Business Process	End-to-end process flows	Business
Application Cooperation	Application interactions	Application
Application Usage	Business processes using applications	Business + Application
Technology	Infrastructure and technology	Technology
Layered	Cross-layer view	All
Capability Map	Strategic capabilities	Strategy + Business
Motivation	Goals, drivers, requirements	Motivation
Roadmap / Migration	Transition states	Implementation

Diagram Formats

Mermaid (preferred for inline diagrams)

ArchiMate concepts map to Mermaid graph nodes. Use a legend comment at the top:

graph TD
  %% ArchiMate: Business Layer
  Actor1["👤 Business Actor\nCustomer"]
  Role1["🎭 Business Role\nOrder Manager"]
  Proc1["⚙️ Business Process\nOrder Fulfilment"]
  Svc1["📦 Business Service\nOrder Processing Service"]

  Actor1 -->|assigned to| Role1
  Role1 -->|performs| Proc1
  Proc1 -->|realises| Svc1

Use node shapes and emoji prefixes to indicate element types when native ArchiMate shapes are unavailable.

Graphviz (.dot)

digraph archimate {
  rankdir=TB;
  node [shape=box, style=filled];

  // Business Layer (tan)
  Actor1 [label="Business Actor\nCustomer", fillcolor="#F5DEB3"];
  Process1 [label="Business Process\nOrder Fulfilment", fillcolor="#F5DEB3", shape=ellipse];

  // Application Layer (blue)
  AppComp1 [label="Application Component\nOrder System", fillcolor="#B0C4DE"];

  Actor1 -> Process1 [label="triggers"];
  Process1 -> AppComp1 [label="uses"];
}

Draw.io (.drawio)

For Draw.io diagrams, describe the elements and relationships clearly. The ea-diagram agent will generate the XML. Reference references/drawio-archimate-shapes.md for shape library setup instructions.

Guidance for AI-Generated Diagrams

When generating ArchiMate diagrams:

1. Identify the viewpoint and primary audience first
2. Limit diagrams to one viewpoint — do not mix concerns
3. Use only elements appropriate to the diagram's layers
4. Mark AI-generated diagrams with a comment: %% 🤖 AI Draft — Review Required
5. Keep diagrams focused — 7±2 elements per diagram is optimal

Additional Resources

• references/element-catalogue.md — Complete element type reference with notation symbols
• references/viewpoint-guide.md — Detailed guidance for each ArchiMate viewpoint
• references/drawio-archimate-shapes.md — Draw.io shape library setup for ArchiMate