This appendix details the normative requirements for relationships between elements of the ArchiMate modeling language. It is constructed from the metamodel figures in Chapters 3 through 13 and the derivation rules for relationships outlined in Section 5.6.
For the restrictions on using the derivation rules to infer the set of allowed relationships, the following are called ‘domains’:
• Motivation (Chapter 6)
• Strategy (Chapter 7)
• Core, which includes the Business Layer (Chapter 8), Application Layer (Chapter 9), Technology Layer (Chapter 10), physical elements (Chapter 11), and the location element (Section 4.6.2)
• Implementation and migration (Chapter 13)
The restrictions below apply with respect to the relationships that can be derived:
• If a is an implementation and migration element, core element, or strategy element, and b is a motivation element, only ‘realization’ or ‘influence’ can be derived from a to b; no relationship can be derived from b to a
• If a is an implementation and migration element or a core element, and b is a strategy element, only ‘realization’ can be derived from a to b; no relationships can be derived from b to a
• If a is an implementation and migration element, and b is a core element, only ‘realization’ can be derived from a to b; no relationships can be derived from b to a
• If a is in domain A and b is in domain B (which may equal A), then a relationship cannot be derived from a to b or from b to a through an intermediary c in a domain C that is distinct from both A and B
The following rules apply to access relationships and passive structure elements:
• For an element a and element b, ‘access’ from a to b can only be derived if b is a passive structure element
• For an element a and element b, if b is a passive structure element then only ‘access’ can be derived from a to b
And these general modeling rules must be observed:
• For two elements a and b, where b has a metamodel specialization to a (e.g., a is Node and b is Facility), all relationships that are allowed from a to a are also allowed from a to b, from b to a, and from b to b; also, given b and c, two different elements which have a metamodel specialization to a (e.g., b is Facility and c is System Software), then all relationships allowed from a to a are also allowed from b to c and from c to b
Notes:
• These restrictions only apply to derived relations, not to relationships explicitly defined in the metamodel diagrams, which are by definition allowed
• The product and location elements count as core elements in these derivations
• Figures 5, 12, and 16, which provide the generic structure of layers, are intended as a template for these layers; the subtypes of these elements do not inherit all possible relationships with other subtypes, only with those within their own layer, as specified in the layer-specific metamodel fragments
• Product and plateau are composite elements, but can only aggregate or be composed of the specific concepts depicted in their respective metamodel fragments Figure 65 and Figure 104
The letters in the tables have the following meaning:
(a)ccess (c)omposition (f)low a(g)gregation ass(i)gnment
i(n)fluence ass(o)ciation (r)ealization (s)pecialization (t)riggering ser(v)ing
Note: To enhance readability, the rows and columns – i.e., ‘From’ and ‘To’ – have been swapped compared to previous versions of the standard.
B.1 Grouping, Plateau, and Relationships Between Relationships
For grouping, plateau, and relationships, the following conditions hold:
• Grouping and location elements may have an aggregation or composition relationship to any concept (element, relationships, or relationship connectors)
• A grouping element may have any relationship with any element (provided that the element is a possible target element for the relationship)
• Any element may have any relationship with a grouping element (provided that the element is a possible source element for the relationship)
• A grouping element may have any relationship with another grouping element
• Any relationship may have an association relationship with any element
* Provided that element is a possible target element of the relationship.
** Provided that element is a possible source element of the relationship.
(c)omposition ass(i)gnment ass(o)ciation (t)riggering
(f)low a(g)gregation (r)ealization (s)pecialization
Downloads of the ArchiMate documentation are available under license from the Download link within the ArchiMate information web site. The license is free to any organization wishing to use ArchiMate documentation entirely for internal purposes. A book is also available from The Open Group Bookstore as document C179.