Archimate

Archimate
Name	Archimate
Developer	The Open Group
Influenced by	Zachman Framework, TOGAF, Unified Modeling Language, Business Process Model and Notation, Entity–relationship model

Archimate is an open and independent modeling language for enterprise architecture, created to provide a uniform representation for diagrams that describe architectures across business, application, and technology domains. It supports alignment of strategic initiatives with operational structures and facilitates communications among stakeholders such as executives, Chief Information Officer, Enterprise Architect, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Program Manager. The language interoperates with frameworks and standards used by organizations like The Open Group, ISO/IEC JTC 1, CMMI Institute, Project Management Institute, European Commission, and National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Overview

Archimate is intended to model architecture artifacts spanning concepts familiar to practitioners of TOGAF, Zachman Framework, and Gartner methodologies while providing formal semantics comparable to modeling standards like Unified Modeling Language and Business Process Model and Notation. The language maps concerns addressed by stakeholders such as CIO, COO, and CTO into views and viewpoints used by roles including Business Analyst, Solution Architect, Systems Engineer, Change Manager, and Service Manager. Archimate supports relationships and viewpoints that mirror constructs in Enterprise Architecture, Service-Oriented Architecture, Information Technology Infrastructure Library, and COBIT governance frameworks. Vendors, toolmakers, and consultancies such as IBM, Microsoft, Sparx Systems, Orbus Software, BiZZdesign, Archi, and MEGA International provide ecosystem support.

History and Development

Archimate originated from research projects associated with Teesside University, academic collaborators including Henk Jonkers and practitioners influenced by Jan van Bon and John Zachman. Development and standardization were shepherded by The Open Group, with successive versions released influenced by reviews from stakeholders like European Union agencies, national governments such as United Kingdom, Netherlands, and United States Department of Defense advisors. The language evolved alongside standards such as ISO/IEC 42010 and initiatives like SOA adoption programs championed by consultancies including Capgemini, Deloitte, Accenture, PwC, and Ernst & Young. Community projects including Open Group ArchiMate Forum, academic conferences like International Conference on Enterprise Architecture, and user groups at events such as Gartner Symposium/ITxpo shaped specification updates.

Core Concepts and Framework

Archimate defines core concepts grouped into domains reflecting the concerns of stakeholders like Business Owner, Product Manager, Portfolio Manager, and Application Manager. Fundamental elements correspond to constructs known from Business Process Model and Notation and Entity–relationship model and are organized to relate to frameworks such as TOGAF ADM and Zachman Framework. Concepts include strategic elements similar to those in Balanced Scorecard and ITIL Service Strategy, value elements analogous to constructs in Porter’s Five Forces, and resource representations used by organizations like World Bank and OECD. The metamodel provides formal semantics enabling traceability between artifacts used by Project Manager, Program Director, Solution Architect, and Infrastructure Architect roles.

Layers and Viewpoints

The language structures architecture into layers—commonly aligned with viewpoints used by CIO and CTO teams—such as the Business Layer, Application Layer, and Technology Layer, with cross-cutting aspects for Motivation, Implementation, and Migration. Viewpoints map to stakeholder concerns articulated by roles like Business Analyst, Change Manager, Security Architect, Data Architect, and Risk Manager and correspond to deliverables familiar from PRINCE2 and PMBOK Guide practices. Interoperability with repository patterns used by vendors such as IBM Rational and Microsoft Azure ensures models can be partitioned for governance by bodies like European Banking Authority and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Language Extensions and Notation

Extensions enable modeling constructs for domains such as Security Architecture, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, and Business Capability modeling, drawing on standards and products from Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, Cisco Systems, and VMware. Notation follows a visual grammar comparable to Unified Modeling Language stereotypes and iconography used by vendors like Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect and tools such as Archi. Profiles and extensions have been proposed to integrate models with BPMN diagrams, TOGAF artifacts, UML class diagrams, and data models promulgated by OMG and ISO committees. Organizations including BiZZdesign, MEGA International, Orbus Software, and open-source initiatives provide plug-ins aligning notation with repository products like GitHub and collaboration platforms such as Confluence.

Tooling and Adoption

Tool support ranges from open-source projects like Archi and community plugins to commercial platforms from BiZZdesign, Sparx Systems, MEGA International, Orbus Software, Software AG, IBM and SAP. Adoption is visible in sectors including financial services monitored by Bank of England and Federal Reserve System, public administrations such as European Commission and UK Cabinet Office, and large enterprises like Siemens, General Electric, BP, Shell, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Santander, Vodafone, Telefonica, AT&T, Verizon, Siemens Healthineers, Philips, and Boeing. Training and certification programs are offered by The Open Group, academic institutions like Teesside University, consultancies such as Accenture and Capgemini, and community workshops at conferences like Gartner and O'Reilly events.

Criticisms and Limitations

Critics from academic forums and industry analysts including Gartner, Forrester Research, and university researchers at University of Oxford and Massachusetts Institute of Technology note limitations: perceived complexity for newcomers such as Business Analyst or Project Manager, potential ambiguity when integrating with BPMN or UML artifacts, and tooling fragmentation among vendors like Sparx Systems and BiZZdesign. Some governance bodies like ISO committees and regulatory agencies including European Banking Authority highlighted challenges in auditability and version control when models are used for compliance reporting. Debates persist in communities at venues like IEEE conferences and forums involving The Open Group regarding standard evolution, backward compatibility, and alignment with emerging technologies championed by Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft Azure.

Category:Enterprise architecture standards