Relationships

Relationships are an important part of the ArchiMate language; they bind elements to other elements and - in some cases - other relationships. Enterprise Architects allows relationships to be created in a number of ways; in this section we will discuss three of the main ways of creating relationships.

Creating Relationships - Toolbox

Relationships can be selected from the diagrams toolbox pages which are specific to the diagram or view that is being constructed. The relationship appear in a toolbox page beneath the elements and can be dragged between any two elements or in some cases between an element and a relationship. The relationships can be used with any pair of elements in the repository.

Creating Relationships - Quick Linker

Relationships can be drawn between two elements or an element and another relationship directly in a diagram, using the element or relationship Quick Linker. The drawing of a relationship is initiated by dragging the small vertical arrow that is positioned at the top right of an element or in the center of a relationship. The allowable elements will be displayed when the linker is drawn to target a diagram object.

Creating Relationships - Matrix

Relationships can be created using the matrix, which is a great tool for visualizing the relationship between two sets of elements in a spreadsheet-like appearance. The matrix displays the two sets of element based on the Package location and their type. The type of relationship can be specified, which then displays an arrow that indicates pairs of elements - one from the x-axis and one from the y-axis are related by the specified relationship. A new relationship can be added by right-clicking in an empty cell and selecting 'Create new relationship'.