ArchiMate 3.1 Support

ArchiSpark implements the core subset of ArchiMate 3.1 as defined by the Open Exchange Format XSDs.

Elements

Elements are organized into layers (vertical separation of concerns) and categories (role within a layer).

Business Layer

Represents organizational entities: actors, processes, services and business information.

Type	Category	Role
BusinessActor	Active structure	Executes business behavior via Assignment
BusinessRole	Active structure	Responsibility assigned to an actor
BusinessCollaboration	Active structure	Two or more actors working together
BusinessInterface	Active structure	Access point for business services
BusinessProcess	Behaviour	Sequence of activities producing a result
BusinessFunction	Behaviour	Grouping of behaviors by competence
BusinessInteraction	Behaviour	Collaborative process between roles
BusinessEvent	Behaviour	Triggers a process or state change
BusinessService	Behaviour	Externally visible business capability
BusinessObject	Passive structure	Manipulated by business behavior
Contract	Passive structure	Formal agreement
Representation	Passive structure	Perceptible form of information
Product	Passive structure	Coherent collection of services/objects

Application Layer

Represents software: components, application services and data.

Type	Category	Role
ApplicationComponent	Active structure	Encapsulates application behavior
ApplicationCollaboration	Active structure	Cooperating components
ApplicationInterface	Active structure	Access point to application services
ApplicationProcess	Behaviour	Sequence of application actions
ApplicationFunction	Behaviour	Automated application behavior
ApplicationInteraction	Behaviour	Collaborative application behavior
ApplicationEvent	Behaviour	Application state change trigger
ApplicationService	Behaviour	Externally visible application capability
DataObject	Passive structure	Manipulated by application behavior

Technology Layer

Represents infrastructure: servers, networks, system software.

Type	Category	Role
Node	Active structure	Computational or physical resource
Device	Active structure	Physical computing hardware
SystemSoftware	Active structure	Software managing hardware (OS, middleware)
TechnologyCollaboration	Active structure	Cooperating nodes
TechnologyInterface	Active structure	Access point to technology services
Path	Active structure	Communication link between nodes
CommunicationNetwork	Active structure	Set of paths forming a network
TechnologyProcess	Behaviour	Sequence of technology actions
TechnologyFunction	Behaviour	Automated technology behavior
TechnologyInteraction	Behaviour	Collaborative technology behavior
TechnologyEvent	Behaviour	Technology state change trigger
TechnologyService	Behaviour	Externally visible technology capability
Artifact	Passive structure	Data object used by technology behavior

Physical Layer

Represents the physical world: equipment, facilities, materials.

Type	Category	Role
Equipment	Active structure	Physical machine or tool
Facility	Active structure	Building, site or location
DistributionNetwork	Active structure	Physical transport network
Material	Passive structure	Tangible physical object

Motivation Layer

Represents the why of architecture: stakeholders, goals and requirements.

Type	Description
Stakeholder	Person or group with an interest in the architecture
Driver	External or internal factor motivating change
Assessment	Result of analysis of a driver (SWOT, risk, etc.)
Goal	High-level desired end state
Outcome	Observable result to be achieved
Principle	Normative property to guide decisions
Requirement	Need to be met by the architecture
Constraint	Restriction on implementation
Meaning	Knowledge assigned to a concept
Value	Importance attributed to an element

Strategy Layer

Represents how the organization will achieve its goals.

Type	Description
Resource	Asset (physical, informational or financial) owned or controlled
Capability	Ability to perform a class of behaviors
CourseOfAction	Plan for achieving goals
ValueStream	Sequence of activities delivering value to a stakeholder

Implementation & Migration Layer

Represents the transition: projects, deliverables and migration states.

Type	Description
WorkPackage	Series of actions to achieve a result
Deliverable	Precisely defined result of a work package
ImplementationEvent	Moment when a transition begins or ends
Plateau	Relatively stable state of the architecture
Gap	Difference between two plateaus

Composite Elements

Cross-layer elements that can contain elements from any layer.

Type	Description
Grouping	Logical or arbitrary grouping of elements
Location	Physical or conceptual location
AndJunction	All incoming paths must arrive (AND logic)
OrJunction	At least one incoming path must arrive (OR logic)

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Relationships

Relationship semantics

Choose the most specific type — use Association only when no other type applies.

Type	Direction	Semantics
Assignment	active → behavioural (same layer)	An active element is assigned to the behavioural element it performs. Ex: BusinessActor → BusinessProcess
Realization	lower layer → upper layer	A more concrete element implements a more abstract one. Ex: ApplicationService → BusinessService, TechnologyService → ApplicationService
Serving	provider → consumer	An element provides its capability for use by another. Ex: ApplicationService → BusinessProcess, TechnologyService → ApplicationComponent
Composition	whole → part (strong)	The part cannot exist without the whole. Ex: BusinessProcess → sub-BusinessProcess
Aggregation	whole → part (weak)	The part can exist independently. Ex: ApplicationCollaboration → ApplicationComponent
Access	behavioural → passive	A behavioural element reads or writes a passive element. Always specify access_type. Ex: ApplicationFunction → DataObject (ReadWrite)
Influence	source → target	One element influences another without structuring it (often in Motivation). Ex: Driver → Goal, Principle → BusinessProcess
Triggering	trigger → triggered	Strong causality — one behavioural element causes another. Ex: BusinessEvent → BusinessProcess
Flow	source → destination	A flow of information or material between behavioural elements. Ex: BusinessProcess → BusinessProcess (data passing)
Specialization	specialized → general	The source is a sub-type of the target. Ex: BusinessRole → BusinessRole (SeniorManager is a Manager)
Association	bidirectional or directed	Generic, untyped link. Use as a last resort.

Essential modeling rules

1. Assignment: active element → behavioural element of the same layer
2. Vertical realization: Technology realizes Application, Application realizes Business (upward direction)
3. Cross-layer serving: ApplicationService → BusinessProcess, TechnologyService → ApplicationComponent
4. Passive elements: accessed via Access only — never assigned or triggered
5. Prefer specificity: choose Assignment, Realization or Serving before Association

Special attributes

Access

• access_type: "Access" (read+write), "Read", "Write", "ReadWrite"

Association

• is_directed: true (arrow) | false (plain line)

Influence

• influence_strength: "+", "++", "-", "--" or any string

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Viewpoints

All 28 standard ArchiMate 3.1 viewpoints are supported. A viewpoint defines the audience and the element types expected in a view.

Viewpoint	Audience	Typical elements
Layered	All stakeholders	All layers — cross-cutting overview
Organization	Management, HR	BusinessActor, BusinessRole, BusinessCollaboration
Business Process Cooperation	Business architects	BusinessProcess, BusinessService, BusinessEvent
Product	Product managers	Product, BusinessService, BusinessActor
Application Structure	Application architects	ApplicationComponent, ApplicationInterface, DataObject
Application Usage	Application architects	ApplicationComponent, ApplicationService, BusinessProcess
Application Cooperation	Application architects	ApplicationComponent, ApplicationService
Application Platform	Application + tech architects	ApplicationComponent, Node, TechnologyService
Information Structure	Data architects	BusinessObject, DataObject, Artifact
Technology	Infrastructure architects	Node, Device, SystemSoftware, CommunicationNetwork
Technology Usage	Infrastructure architects	ApplicationComponent, Node, TechnologyService
Implementation and Deployment	Tech architects	ApplicationComponent, Node, Artifact
Physical	Physical architects	Equipment, Facility, DistributionNetwork
Service Realization	Solution architects	BusinessService, ApplicationService, TechnologyService
Motivation	C-level, sponsors	Stakeholder, Driver, Goal, Requirement
Stakeholder	Change managers	Stakeholder, Driver, Assessment
Goal Realization	Architects, analysts	Goal, Requirement, Principle
Goal Contribution	Architects, analysts	Goal, Outcome
Principles	Architects	Principle, Requirement
Requirements Realization	Analysts	Requirement, Constraint, WorkPackage
Strategy	C-level, strategy	Capability, Resource, CourseOfAction
Capability Map	C-level	Capability
Outcome Realization	Product owners	Outcome, Goal, ValueStream
Resource Map	Resource managers	Resource, Capability
Value Stream	Business architects	ValueStream, Capability, BusinessService
Project	Project managers	WorkPackage, Deliverable, ImplementationEvent
Migration	Change architects	Plateau, Gap
Implementation and Migration	Program managers	WorkPackage, Plateau, Gap, BusinessProcess

The GET /viewpoints endpoint and the list_viewpoints MCP tool return this list as the single source of truth.

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Open Exchange Format (AOEF)

ArchiSpark imports and exports the ArchiMate Open Exchange File format (.xml) defined by The Open Group.

The parser (oxf-parser.ts) and serializer (oxf-serializer.ts) preserve unmodified sections (metadata, organizations, viewpoints) to guarantee a lossless round-trip.

Minimal Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<model xmlns="http://www.opengroup.org/xsd/archimate/3.0/"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xsi:schemaLocation="..."
       identifier="id-model-1">
  <name xml:lang="en">My model</name>
  <elements>
    <element identifier="id-1" xsi:type="ApplicationComponent">
      <name xml:lang="en">Payment Service</name>
    </element>
  </elements>
  <relationships>
    <relationship identifier="id-r1" source="id-1" target="id-2" xsi:type="Realization"/>
  </relationships>
  <views>
    <diagrams>
      <view identifier="id-v1" xsi:type="Diagram">
        <name xml:lang="en">Application view</name>
        <node identifier="id-n1" elementRef="id-1" xsi:type="Element" x="10" y="10" w="120" h="55"/>
      </view>
    </diagrams>
  </views>
</model>

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Visual Rendering (SVG)

The rendering engine implements standard ArchiMate visual shapes:

Category	Shape
Rectangle (default)	Active structures, passive composite structures
Pill / Stadium	*Service
Chevron	*Event
Hexagon	*Function
Right arrow	*Process
Two circles	*Collaboration
Single circle	*Interface
Venn	*Interaction
Rectangle + line	DataObject, BusinessObject, Artifact
Dashed rectangle	Grouping
Filled/open circle	AndJunction, OrJunction

Background colours by layer follow the Archi reference palette:

Layer	Colour
Business	#FFFFB5 (light yellow)
Application	#B5FFFF (light cyan)
Technology / Physical	#C9E7B7 (light green)
Motivation	#CCCCFF (light purple)
Strategy	#F5DEAA (beige)
Implementation	#FFE0E0 (light pink)