ArchiMate Diagram

ArchiMate is an open and independent enterprise architecture modeling language that supports the description, analysis, and visualization of architecture within and across business domains. An ArchiMate Diagram provides a structured representation of the various components of an enterprise, their interrelationships, and their integration with IT infrastructure.

While both ArchiMate and UML are modeling languages, they serve different purposes. UML is primarily used for software design and system modeling, focusing on the structural and behavioral aspects of systems. In contrast, ArchiMate is tailored for enterprise architecture, offering a holistic view of the organizational, informational, and technical layers of an enterprise.

Archimate keyword

You can use the archimate keyword to define an element. Stereotype can optionally specify an additional icon. Some colors (Business, Application, Motivation, Strategy, Technology, Physical, Implementation) are also available.

Defining Junctions

Using the circle keyword and the preprocessor, you can also create junctions.

Example 1

Example 2

List possible sprites

You can list all possible sprites for Archimate using the following diagram:

ArchiMate Macros

Archimate Macros and Library

A list of Archimate macros are defined Archimate-PlantUML here which simplifies the creation of ArchiMate diagrams, and Archimate is natively on the Standard Library of PlantUML.

Archimate elements

Using the macros, creation of ArchiMate elements are done using the following format: Category_ElementName(nameOfTheElement, "description")

For example:

Archimate relationships

The ArchiMate relationships are defined with the following pattern: Rel_RelationType(fromElement, toElement, "description") and to define the direction/orientation of the two elements: Rel_RelationType_Direction(fromElement, toElement, "description")

The RelationTypes supported are:

The Directions supported are:

For example: Rel_Composition(StakeholderElement, BService, "Description for the relationship")
Rel_Composition_Down(StakeholderElement, BService, "Description for the relationship")

Appendice: Examples of all Archimate RelationTypes

[Adapted from Archimate PR#25]