The #ArchiMate Wish List: Junctions for All

Though I like ArchiMate, and I can (except for a few missing things such as Capability) model anything I encounter in the enterprise, I think some changes could make ArchiMate even more powerful. This is the first post in a…

Why is Stakeholder not a Role in #ArchiMate?

In Plato's 'Socratic Dialogue' Protagoras, Socrates and Protagoras (the great 'Sophist') have a discussion on what knowledge and skill is and how people acquire these. I am reminded of that discussion as I am thinking about how to explain my reasoning…

Reframing #ArchiMate: about the physical domain, layers and recursion

In a previous post, I discussed the first ideas that came from thinking about modelling the physical side of an enterprise, things like printing presses, steel mills, etc., something not directly the domain of ArchiMate (nor EA in general for…

Modelling Physical Enterprise Architecture with #ArchiMate

Enterprises are not just about IT, and though EA started because of the chaos and complexity in IT, many real enterprises are not just about information. An 'Enterprise' Architecture that cannot describe the entire enterprise is not worth its name.…

#ArchiMate is overrated (and underrated)

In every field of inquiry, it is true that all things should be made as simple as possible – but no simpler — often attributed to Albert Einstein but coined that way by journalist Sydney. J.Harris in 1964. I’m going…

What is wrong with these #ArchiMate pictures?

The Dutch are well known for their knack of speaking foreign languages. This seems to be obvious. Where in many countries, people just speak a single language, seventeen million  Dutch, living in a small country (with two languages, even, the…

A Small Puzzle: Which Relation?

While working on something else, I ran into something funny. I would like you to tell me which relation type exists between two elements in the following setup. The situation is like this. We have a very large system that…

What is wrong with this picture?

As I was looking at materials to review, I came across this diagram: Before I write more: can you say what is wrong with it? Please add your comment below. Update Sep 12, 2013: Here is the explanatory text that…

Mapping #BPMN and #ArchiMate, first thoughts

ArchiMate is an open standard for modeling Enterprise Architecture. It can be used in many ways. One of these is a good Current State Architecture description: your current landscape of business and IT, coherently modeled with enough detail to be…

Abstraction versus Precision in ArchiMate

We architects love abstraction. Abstraction makes the nitty gritty and complex details disappear. Abstraction makes the unmanageable manageable. Our business colleagues also love it when we produce abstractions. It makes our end products easier to digest. In ArchiMate, you can…