ArchiMate [Ahr-ki-meyt] is an open and independent enterprise architecture modelling language to support the description, analysis and visualization of architecture within and across business domains[2] in an unambiguous way.
ArchiMate is a technical standard from the Open Group and is based on the concepts of the IEEE 1471 standard. It is supported by various tool vendors and consulting firms. ArchiMate is also a registered trademark of The Open Group.
ArchiMate distinguishes itself from other languages such as Unified Modeling Language (UML) and Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) by its well defined metamodel, and wider enterprise modelling scope.[3]
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Just like an architectural drawing in classical building architecture describes the various aspects of the construction and use of a building, ArchiMate offers a common language for describing the construction and operation of business processes, organizational structures, information flows, IT systems, and technical infrastructure. This insight helps the different stakeholders to design, assess, and communicate the consequences of decisions and changes within and between these business domains.
An architecture framework is used to structure the concepts and relationships of the ArchiMate language. It divides the enterprise architecture in to a business, application and technology layer. In each layer, three aspects are considered: active elements that exhibit behavior (e.g. Process and Function), an internal structure and elements that define use or communicate information.
One of the objectives of the ArchiMate language is to define the relationships between concepts in different architecture domains. The concepts of this language therefore hold the middle between the detailed concepts, that are used for modeling individual domains, for example, the UML for modeling software products.[4], and BPMN which is used for business process modeling.
ArchiMate is partly based on the IEEE 1471 standard. It was developed in the Netherlands by a project team from the Telematica Instituut in cooperation with several Dutch partners from government, industry and academia. Among the partners were Ordina, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, the Leiden Institute for Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) and the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI). Later, tests were performed in organizations such as ABN AMRO, the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration and the ABP.[5]
The development process lasted from July 2002 to December 2004, and took about 35 man years and approximately 4 million euros. The development was funded by the Dutch government (Dutch Tax and Customs Administration), and business partners, including ABN AMRO and the ABP Pension Fund.[6]
In 2008 the ownership and stewardship of ArchiMate was transferred to the Open Group. It is now managed by the ArchiMate Forum [7] within The Open Group. In February 2009 The Open Group published the ArchiMate® 1.0 standard[8] as a formal technical standard.
ArchiMate offers a three layered view:[2][6]
Each layer "aims to provide a natural way to look at service-oriented models. Each layer is self contained despite being a component of the integrated model, and caters to one or more architecture domains".[2][6]