ArchiMate is a standardized graphical language for modeling your enterprise architecture. Learn how SAP LeanIX supports ArchiMate to empower your models.
Using ArchiMate as a standard methodology for modeling the infrastructure of IT landscapes allows enterprise architects to share a common language with their stakeholders. This shared understanding also accelerates decision-making.
When you present an ArchiMate model to stakeholders who are already familiar with the methodology, you won't need to explain what you're showing them. By visualizing your architecture, all your stakeholders can immediately see the rationale for action.
Other modeling languages are available, but it may be beneficial to you to use Archimate as the best-practice standard accepted by the majority of enterprise architects. This makes Archimate an essential part of any enterprise architecture toolkit.
To drive your enterprise architecture forward, we've created a white paper recommending the best processes and tools for enterprise architects. Download our free EA success kit now:
WHITE PAPER: Enterprise Architecture Success Kit
What Is ArchiMate?
ArchiMate is a 'graphical language' designed to allow enterprise architects to create diagrams that visualize their organization's IT landscape in a common format. This ensures the diagrams follow best practice and are comprehensible by other enterprise architects and anyone familiar with ArchiMate.
Modern maps use a common format and symbology, so that they can be easily compared and understood. Similarly, ArchiMate offers a methodology for creating optimal enterprise architecture models that can be contrasted to other ArchiMate models.
For example, in an ArchiMate flow diagram, business processes are always displayed as yellow rectangles with rounded corners that have arrows to show the inputs and outputs of the processes. Applications are shown in turquoise and technology components are green.
Anyone familiar with ArchiMate can instantly look at an ArchiMate diagram and see the processes, applications, and technology. This makes it much faster to communicate architectural visualizations and make decisions about them.
The ArchiMate graphical language is an evolution of the previous Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1471 Recommended Practice for Architecture Description of Software-Intensive Systems. ArchiMate was developed by the Dutch government's Telematica Institute between 2002 and 2004.
In 2008, enterprise architecture's highest authority, The Open Group, adopted ArchiMate as the best-practice modeling language for enterprise architecture, replacing IEEE 1471. Since then, the continued development of ArchiMate has been entrusted to the ArchiMate forum within The Open Group.
Other graphical languages are used by enterprise architects in some cases, but the majority use ArchiMate, ensuring that enterprise architects can move between organizations without having to learn new diagram formats, and stakeholders can easily follow your diagramming. Let's look more closely at the elements of the ArchiMate language.
Components Of ArchiMate
ArchiMate prescribes visualizing your enterprise architecture as a flow diagram with information and action circulating through your software and hardware as part of business processes. Each component is represented by a labeled box, while the flow information is displayed as arrows connecting the components.
These components are further categorized into "aspects" and "layers" as a kind of three-dimensional element to the 2D diagram that adds further levels of detail. You can also choose whether to use a simple Core Framework, or apply the more-detailed Full Framework, which adds more information on physical IT components.
- In the Core Framework, components are categorized into color-coded business, technology, and application layers
- In the Full Framework, strategy, physical, and implementation & migration layers are added with their own colors to provide further information on how your IT landscape is impacted by and impacts your real business operations
Within each layer, there are three types of aspects that encompass a list of elements:
- Passive structure elements are acted upon, such as data objects
- Behavioral elements are performed, such as business processes
- Active structure elements perform behavioral elements on passive structure elements, such as applications
ArchiMate then documents the relationships between elements using lines and arrows. Relationships include:
- Structural relationships
- Dependency relationships
- Dynamic relationships
- Other relationships
Together, these components create, not only a graphical language, but a conceptual one. This allows enterprise architects and their stakeholders to view and discuss enterprise architecture with a common understanding of terminology.
The SAP LeanIX Meta-Model
SAP LeanIX comes with its own meta-model. This is a best-practice template for building your initial model of your enterprise architecture within our software to help you begin and develop your enterprise architecture practice.
Organizations whose enterprise architecture function is already mature, however, may prefer to use the more-complex ArchiMate language to bring their infrastructure modeling in-line with The Open Group's best practice and the most-experienced greatest enterprise architects. Thankfully, SAP LeanIX will also accommodate this.
By adding custom categories and types to application and component fact sheets in SAP LeanIX, you can build an ArchiMate architecture model within our platform. This allows you to leverage the power of SAP LeanIX and also match The Open Group's enterprise architecture standard.
To drive your enterprise architecture forward, we've created a white paper recommending the best processes and tools for enterprise architects. Download our free EA success kit now:
