Archimate®

Developed by the members of The Open Group, ArchiMate® 2.1 was released in December 2013 and is aligned with TOGAF®, the world’s most popular Enterprise Architecture framework. As a result, enterprise architects using the language can improve the way key business and IT stakeholders collaborate and adapt to change.

The standard contains the formal definition of ArchiMate as a visual design language, together with concepts for specifying inter-related architectures, and specific viewpoints for typical stakeholders. The standard also includes a chapter addressing considerations regarding language extensions.

The contents of the standard include the following:
• The overall modeling framework that ArchiMate uses
• The structure of the modeling language 139
• A detailed breakdown of the constituent elements of the modeling framework covering the three layers (Business/ Application/Technology), cross-layer dependencies and alignment, and relationships within the framework
• Architectural viewpoints, including a set of standard viewpoints
• Optional extensions to the framework
• Commentary around future direction of the specification
• Notation overviews and summaries

ArchiMate 2.1 improves collaboration through clearer understanding across multiple functions, including business executives, enterprise architects, systems analysts, software engineers, business process consultants, and infrastructure engineers. The standard enables the creation of fully integrated models of an organization’s Enterprise Architecture, the motivation behind it, and the programmes, projects, and migration paths to implement it. ArchiMate already follows terms defined in the TOGAF framework, and Version 2.1 of the specification enables modeling throughout the TOGAF Architecture Development Method (ADM) cycle.