Please note : This help page is not for the latest version of Enterprise Architect. The latest help can be found here.

ArchiMate

The MDG Technology for ArchiMate 2.0 is one of the business modeling tools integrated with Enterprise Architect.

ArchiMate an open-standard enterprise architecture language from The Open Group, based on the IEEE 1471 standard. It offers a common language for describing the construction and operation of business processes, organizational structures, information flows, IT systems and technical infrastructure, which Enterprise Architects can use to describe, analyse and visualize the relationships among business domains clearly.

Access     Diagram | Diagram Toolbox: More Tools | ArchiMate2 | <diagram type>

ArchiMate Integration

Topic

Detail

See also

ArchiMate in Enterprise Architect

Developing ArchiMate diagrams is fast and simple using the ArchiMate MDG Technology. The ArchiMate facilities are provided in the form of:

•Several ArchiMate diagram types, accessed through the New Diagram dialog
•A comprehensive set of ArchiMate pages in the Toolbox, for each diagram type
•ArchiMate element and relationship entries in the Toolbox Shortcut Menu and Quick Linker
 

New Diagram

Toolbox Shortcut

Quick Linker

ArchiMate Toolbox Pages

For each of the Business, Application and Technology diagram types, the toolbox pages show separate categories of elements - Information, Behavior and Structure -  which provides clear differentiation between elements in different layers; for example, Business Service, Application Service and Infrastructure Service.

Similarly, there are separate connector pages - Structural, Dynamic, and Other - although the connectors have parallels with standard UML connectors.

The ArchiMate integration provides two further diagram types:

•Motivation
•For modeling stakeholders, drivers for change, business goals, principles and requirements
•Contains additional elements - Stakeholder, Driver, Assessment, Goal, Requirement, Constraint and Principle
•Contains an additional relationship - Influence

 

•Implementation and Migration
•Supports project portfolio management, gap analysis, and transition and migration planning
•Contains additional elements - Work Package, Deliverable, Plateau and Gap

 

You can modify the appearance of elements by toggling the Advanced | Use Rectangle Notation context menu option on the element in a diagram.

•For Artifact, Process, Function, Interaction, Service, Event, Actor, Role, Collaboration, Interface, Component, Node and Device elements:
•Select Use Rectangle Notation to show a rectangle with a decoration in the top corner
•Deselect Use Rectangle Notation to show the iconic representation of the element

 

You can set an Interface element  to provided, required, symmetric or assembly, through its interfacekind Tagged Value. If Use Rectangle Notation is unselected, the orientation of the interface shape is determined automatically by the edge to which an incoming connector is attached.

Because there is a large range of ArchiMate elements, using the Quick Linker arrow is very helpful in guiding you in selecting appropriate source and target elements and relationship types to model your enterprise architecture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rectangle Notation

Disable ArchiMate

If you prefer not to use the MDG Technology for ArchiMate, you can disable it (and subsequently re-enable it) using the MDG Technologies dialog (Settings | MDG Technologies).

 

MDG Technologies

Notes

•Enterprise Architect also supports ArchiMate 1.0; if you wish, you can migrate your ArchiMate 1.0 model to ArchiMate 2.0

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Learning Center topics

•(Alt+F1) | Modeling Languages | Business | ArchiMate