If you came here without knowing what to expect: this page is about a book on the ArchiMate® IT/Enterprise Modelling Language, which is owned by The Open Group. People tend to like this book a lot: check out the review scores on e.g. Amazon (include previous versions, the book has been updated to updated versions of the ArchiMate standard since 2012 when the first edition came out). Below, you will also find a link to a free download of the first part of the book which contains a complete introduction to the entire grammar/language as well as a short BPMN primer. That chapter is enough to learn the basics and start using ArchiMate. I.e. It contains a step-by-step introduction to the entire language. The free excerpt is also a taste for the rest of the book which is about using ArchiMate well (patterns from basic to advanced, solutions for common problems, etc. etc.) and improving the depth of your understanding.
Per my standard upgrade policy: On 27 October 2024, all customers who bought the previous edition on or after 20 Oct 2022 (the date version 3.2 of the ArchiMate® Standard was published) have been a free purchase of Edition 3.2. It should be in your mailbox.
Per my standard upgrade policy: On 27 October 2024, all customers who bought the previous edition PDF before Oct 20 2022, or purchased it with the upgrade coupon for that edition at any time, have been sent on 27 October a personal coupon code that gives a €20 (74%) discount on Mastering ArchiMate 3.2 (for personal use only of course). This brings the standard PDF price of €26.99 down to €6.99 (it is so low because while I had a nightmare producing the update, the update itself is not extremely substantial, and most of what was changed is actually in the free excerpt — in the rest of the book it is mostly minor fixes). The discount works for the bundle as well, so if you did not originally purchase the bundle, buying the bundle now gets you the discount on top of the bundle discount. It should be in your mailbox. Buying the — heavily discounted — upgrade gets you the up-to-date version, supports my work, and keeps you eligible for future discounted upgrades given based on being a licensee of this edition.
Note: the coupons and download links expire. The offers don’t. Mail me if coupon or link has expired (my address is in your current book). Though if you let me reactivate the coupon after the next version of ArchiMate is released, it won’t get you rights on a free (possible) next update, but any use will give you rights on a discounted (possible) next update.
The ‘overview sheets’ have been updated last year already (the book update ran into the problem that Adobe InDesign is — engineering-wise — a piece of junk, but I have no alternative): Free ArchiMate 3.2 Overview PDFs in multiple languages. The story about the nightmare that was this update can be found here (you will see far less changes than what I had to put in as effort — “such is life, and it gets sucher every day”).
Introduction
From the back cover: Mastering ArchiMate Edition 3.2 is the fifth edition of a much praised book by Gerben Wierda about the ArchiMate® Enterprise Architecture Modeling Language, which is a standard and a Registered Trade Mark of The Open Group. The book gives an introduction to the language, then goes on to show you key aspects of successful modeling, and many different patterns for its use. From Business to Infrastructure, from Risk & Security to Application Exploitation and Maintenance. While the aim of the book is to teach the language, it often also offers necessary background, so that the patterns can make sense to the reader not familiar with a subject. Thus, it also contains introductions to subjects such as virtualization, bitcoin/blockchain, infrastructure as code, processes versus functions, SOA/API, ESB, Terminal Services, etc. It also contains a short introduction to BPMN in order to describe a linking of both major languages.
Forewords by Marc Lankhorst , the ‘father of ArchiMate’, and Jean-Baptiste Sarrodie, the Vice-chair of the ArchiMate Forum.
Praise for Mastering ArchiMate (all editions)
Some comments from public reviews (mainly Amazon) of previous editions:
- “I was able to grasp concepts faster when compared to [the] ArchiMate Spec doc”
- “a bargain at twice the price”
- “If you want to apply ArchiMate in practice, I know of no better resource”
- “should be required reading”
- “boosted my productivity”
- “a masterpiece”
- “Can I give this book a six?” (Amazon rates 1-5 stars)
Read the Amazon reviews (on previous editions) for more details and the occasional critical remark.
Statistics
234 US Letter sized (which is approximately the same surface as A4) pages (including cover), 380 diagrams, approximately 120,000 words. The hardcover weighs slightly over 1kg.
Versions
There are three versions:
| GET IT NOW | Full book. €26.99 (VAT added in the EU, see below) Full PDF. This book contains the step-by-step introduction to the language which is also available as a free excerpt (see below). The book just adds a lot of patterns and discussion on how to create patterns. If the excerpt teaches you how to use ArchiMate, the rest of the book is intended to teach how to use ArchiMate well. This PDF can be read with many PDF readers, such as Acrobat, Goodreader, Apple Preview, iBooks, etc.. This PDF has protection turned on against printing and against changing the content (see below), while allowing bookmarks, annotations, and so forth (though Apple Preview is currently lacking in support for this, so you cannot annotate with it). Not all PDF readers are perfect or even good. Volume licenses (e.g. for educational purposes) are available. Contact me. Note, while it is technically possible to read the PDF on a small screen, I do not think it is really feasible. See Is it possible to read the book on a smart phone or small tablet/reader? from the FAQ. I advise you to download the free syntax excerpt first and try it out before buying. |
| GET IT NOW | Free Syntax Excerpt PDF. This contains the Forewords, Table of Contents, and first chapter of the book, “ArchiMate Basics”, which explains the entire ArchiMate syntax. This Free Syntax Excerpt is the improved and adapted-to-ArchiMate-3.1 version of my step-by-step introduction. It is not a small introduction, measuring 56 pages (including cover — approximately 20% of the book, and it is enough to get you started in ArchiMate. Version 2.0 of this explanation was reused with permission by The Open Group and published as a white paper (“ArchiMate 2.0 — Understanding the basics“) as the standard is a reference and has not been written primarily with a didactic purpose, so it lacks an ‘educational edge’. By the way, while The Open Group has published “Understanding the Basics — An Introduction to the ArchiMate® Modeling Language, Version 3.0“, that introduction has little in common with my 2.0 version apart from the title. |
| Hardcover. It is sold through normal bookseller channels, such as Amazon, Book Depository, etc.. It is printed by Ingram in a premium quality on premium paper, above all to make the diagrams maximally readable. It’s really good looking :-). See below for links to online resellers which I update as they become available or I am notified. Prices will vary (I do not control these), but the official list prices are US$ 63.99 (also leading for the rest of the world), AU$ 89.99, CA$ 86.99, UK£ 49.99 (most EU prices will in practice be converted from the UK price as Ingram’s production takes place in the UK), and €61.99 (all prices ex transport and — potentially — VAT/Sales Tax). These are hefty prices for a book, I know, but that comes mostly from the high production cost of a large ‘premium full colour’ book. Volume discounts are available, see below. |
The Full PDF is also available as part of a bundle together with the Full PDF of Chess and the Art of Enterprise Architecture Buying the Full PDF will give you the option to buy the bundle instead.
When you buy from an EU country, EU VAT is added. Starting on 1 Jan 2019, the VAT rate for all sales in the EU is 9% (the Dutch rate for e-Books as of 1 Jan 2020) as a result of EU VAT rules (when you sell less that k€10 per year to other EU countries, you need to charge local VAT and pay that to the local tax authorities). If you need to buy as a business with Reverse VAT based on your EU VAT ID, I need to create a special invoice, arrange payment, send you a 100% discount coupon code and do a lot of (tax) administration (each transaction takes a lot of work). For this, I charge an administration fee of €7. NOTE: The Dutch government has decided to put the high VAT tariff on electronic books as of Jan 1, 2025. By that date, EU tax will go up.
Anti-piracy measures on the PDF, personal data
There is no technical DRM (digital rights management) on the PDF of the book. However, there are measures to discourage piracy:
When you buy the full PDF, you have to enter your name and email address. This email address is used to send you a download link for your personalised copy. Note: this link is valid for a week (to prevent such links accidentally leaking into the world at large and then creating havoc). In cases this goes wrong (e.g. you missed it), a new link can of course be provided. Your name, the email address and transaction info are ‘stamped’ in the PDF at the bottom of the page to make the copy personalised. This looks like this: 
(click to enlarge). This is the (social) protection of the PDF version against piracy. Experience with Edition I has shown that if a copy is freely floating around, less than one in hundred readers actually pay, even if they are civilised people form civilised organisations in civilised countries. Psychologically: people just do not pay if they are free to do this after downloading. Hence, I have to trust you not to spread your copy around, nor to remove the stamp or protection. It is possible to annotate the PDF, but not all PDF readers implement this properly. See Can I annotate the PDF?
Your data is stored at Paypal (e.g. credit card details), my transaction provider (DPD, which is very good) and on my systems (no credit card details). As buyers of Edition II and III.TC1 have already experienced, I really do not use those addresses for marketing/advertising. There have been 3 messages to announce improvements to the document on the second edition (two in 2014, shortly after release, and one in 2015) and one to announce the free/discounted access to Edition III (2017). The same is true for the 2017 Edition. I’ve been good 🙂
Use one of the links below to either buy the Full PDF or get the free syntax excerpt.
Hardcover sellers
Hardcover volume discounts are available directly: Contact me. List of known booksellers (if you know of a good one not listed here, please contact me).
- Book Depository (It was already owned by Amazon, but as of april 2023 it closed and the domain now links to amazon.com. Too bad and I could use a good worldwide alternative that has decent prices for both book and shipping).
- Amazon NL
- Amazon UK
- Amazon US
- Amazon DE
- Amazon FR
- Amazon ES
- Amazon IT
Note: it pays to look around for the hardcover. Amazon prices are a crazy casino for my book. One month it will be €58 for — say — Amazon Spain, the next it will be €85. Book Depository UK was reliably low priced with decent shipping cost, but Amazon has closed it down.
Errata
- Section 35 is called Proposed Improvements for ArchiMate 3.1 but that should of course be Proposed Improvements for ArchiMate 3.2
PDFs of ArchiMate’s MetaModel
Can be found here: Free ArchiMate Overview PDF (Several languages. Contact me if you want to provide a translation, I’ll produce the PDFs.)
Home page for the book Mastering ArchiMate Edition 3.2[You do not have my permission to use any content on this site for training a Generative AI (or any comparable use), unless you can guarantee your system never misrepresents my content and provides a proper reference (URL) to the original in its output. If you want to use it in any other way, you need my explicit permission]
R&A IT Strategy & Architecture 