Linked.Archi ArchiMate 4.0 Taxonomy

ArchiMate 4.0 Concept Scheme

Classification of ArchiMate 4.0 elements by domain and by aspect.

▼Element by Domain

Classification of ArchiMate 4.0 elements by their architectural domain — the primary organizational grouping in the ArchiMate 4.0 framework (replacing layers from 3.x).

Editorial Note: Each domain concept's skos:narrower list must match the concrete OWL classes in archimate4-onto.ttl that have the corresponding DomainElement as a superclass.

https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#ElementByDomain
- ▼Common Domain
  
  Generic, cross-domain elements shared across Business, Application, and Technology. New in ArchiMate 4.0, the Common Domain contains behavior elements (Process, Function, Event, Service) that were previously duplicated per layer, plus generic active structure elements (Role, Collaboration, Path) and composite elements (Grouping, Location).
  
  Scope Note: The Common Domain is the major structural change in ArchiMate 4.0. Process, Function, Event, and Service are now single cross-domain elements — use domain-specific assignment to indicate which domain they belong to in a given context. Role and Collaboration are also generic. When migrating from 3.2, map BusinessProcess/ApplicationProcess/TechnologyProcess to Process, and similarly for Function, Event, and Service.
  
  Editorial Note: This is the largest domain. When adding elements, verify they are genuinely cross-domain. Domain-specific elements belong in their respective domain concepts.
  
  Change Note: 4.0: New domain. Merges per-layer behavior elements into cross-domain concepts: BusinessProcess/ApplicationProcess/TechnologyProcess → Process, BusinessFunction/ApplicationFunction/TechnologyFunction → Function, BusinessEvent/ApplicationEvent/TechnologyEvent/ImplementationEvent → Event, BusinessService/ApplicationService/TechnologyService → Service. Merges per-layer active structure: BusinessRole → Role, BusinessCollaboration/ApplicationCollaboration/TechnologyCollaboration → Collaboration. Path moved here from Technology Layer. Grouping and Location moved here from generic metamodel.
  
  See Also: CommonDomainElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#CommonDomain
  - Role ↗
  - Collaboration ↗
  - Path ↗
  - Service ↗
  - Process ↗
  - Function ↗
  - Event ↗
  - Grouping ↗
  - Location ↗
- ▼Business Domain
  
  Elements specific to the business domain: actors, interfaces, objects, and products. In ArchiMate 4.0, behavior elements previously in the Business layer (BusinessProcess, BusinessFunction, etc.) have been merged into the Common Domain.
  
  Scope Note: In 4.0, the Business Domain retains only domain-specific active and passive structure: actors (who performs), interfaces (channels), objects (information), and products (offerings). Behavior is modeled using Common Domain elements (Process, Function, Service) assigned to business actors.
  
  Change Note: 4.0: BusinessRole, BusinessCollaboration moved to Common Domain as generic Role and Collaboration. BusinessProcess, BusinessFunction, BusinessInteraction, BusinessEvent, BusinessService moved to Common Domain as generic elements. Contract removed (replace with specialization of BusinessObject). Representation removed (replace with specialization of DataObject, Artifact, or Material).
  
  See Also: BusinessDomainElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#BusinessDomain
  - BusinessActor ↗
  - BusinessInterface ↗
  - BusinessObject ↗
  - Product ↗
- ▼Application Domain
  
  Elements specific to the application domain: components, interfaces, and data objects. In ArchiMate 4.0, behavior elements previously in the Application layer have been merged into the Common Domain.
  
  Scope Note: Model the software landscape: components represent deployable software units, interfaces represent APIs and integration points, and data objects represent structured data. Behavior is modeled using Common Domain elements (Process, Function, Service) assigned to application components.
  
  Change Note: 4.0: ApplicationCollaboration, ApplicationFunction, ApplicationInteraction, ApplicationProcess, ApplicationEvent, ApplicationService moved to Common Domain as generic elements.
  
  See Also: ApplicationDomainElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#ApplicationDomain
  - ApplicationComponent ↗
  - ApplicationInterface ↗
  - DataObject ↗
- ▼Technology Domain
  
  Elements specific to the technology and physical domain: nodes, devices, system software, networks, equipment, facilities, artifacts, and materials. In ArchiMate 4.0, the Technology and Physical layers from 3.x are merged into a single Technology Domain.
  
  Scope Note: Model infrastructure and physical assets in a single domain. Nodes represent compute resources, devices represent hardware, system software represents platforms, and equipment/facilities represent physical assets. The 3.x Physical layer elements are now part of this domain.
  
  Change Note: 4.0: Technology and Physical layers merged into a single domain. TechnologyCollaboration, TechnologyFunction, TechnologyProcess, TechnologyInteraction, TechnologyEvent, TechnologyService moved to Common Domain as generic elements. Path moved to Common Domain. Aggregation from Path to technology internal active structure element replaced by realization from active structure element to Path. Relationships can now have multiplicity.
  
  See Also: TechnologyDomainElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#TechnologyDomain
  - Node ↗
  - Device ↗
  - SystemSoftware ↗
  - TechnologyInterface ↗
  - CommunicationNetwork ↗
  - DistributionNetwork ↗
  - Equipment ↗
  - Facility ↗
  - Artifact ↗
  - Material ↗
- ▼Strategy Domain
  
  Elements representing strategic concepts: resources, capabilities, value streams, and courses of action.
  
  Scope Note: Use Strategy elements for capability-based planning and strategic alignment. Capabilities describe what the organization can do, value streams describe how value flows to stakeholders, and courses of action describe the plans to achieve goals. Strategy elements are realized by elements from other domains.
  
  See Also: StrategyElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#StrategyDomain
  - Resource ↗
  - Capability ↗
  - ValueStream ↗
  - CourseOfAction ↗
- ▼Motivation Domain
  
  Elements representing the context and reasons behind the architecture: stakeholders, drivers, goals, requirements, principles, and values.
  
  Scope Note: Capture the 'why' behind architecture decisions. Stakeholders have concerns, drivers motivate change, assessments analyze the current state, goals define desired outcomes, and requirements constrain the solution. Influence relationships connect motivation elements to each other and to elements in other domains.
  
  See Also: MotivationElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#MotivationDomain
  - Stakeholder ↗
  - Driver ↗
  - Assessment ↗
  - Goal ↗
  - Outcome ↗
  - Principle ↗
  - Requirement ↗
  - Meaning ↗
  - Value ↗
- ▼Implementation and Migration Domain
  
  Elements supporting planning and execution of architecture changes: work packages, deliverables, and plateaus.
  
  Scope Note: Use for roadmapping and transition planning. Plateaus represent stable architecture states (baseline, target), and work packages represent the projects that transition between them. Note: Gap and ImplementationEvent from 3.x have been removed in 4.0.
  
  Change Note: 4.0: Gap removed (replace with specialization of Assessment or Deliverable). ImplementationEvent removed (replaced by generic Event in Common Domain). Constraint removed (replace with specialization of Requirement).
  
  See Also: ImplementationAndMigrationDomainElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#ImplementationAndMigrationDomain
  - WorkPackage ↗
  - Deliverable ↗
  - Plateau ↗
▼Element by Aspect

Classification of ArchiMate 4.0 elements by their structural aspect — the vertical dimension in the ArchiMate framework (active structure, behavior, passive structure, motivation, composite).

Editorial Note: Aspect concepts group elements from multiple OWL superclasses. When the abstract class hierarchy in archimate4-onto.ttl changes, update the narrower lists here accordingly.

https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#ElementByAspect
- ▼Active Structure
  
  Elements that can perform behavior — the subjects of activity. Includes actors, components, nodes, roles, collaborations, and their interfaces.
  
  Scope Note: Active structure elements are the 'who' or 'what' that performs behavior. Internal active structure (actors, components, nodes, roles, collaborations) can be assigned to behavior. External active structure (interfaces) exposes services to the environment. In 4.0, Role and Collaboration are generic Common Domain elements usable across all domains.
  
  Editorial Note: Direct narrower list contains only elements that are ActiveStructureElement but not InternalActiveStructureElement or ExternalActiveStructureElement (i.e., Path, CommunicationNetwork, DistributionNetwork). Internal and external sub-concepts carry the rest.
  
  See Also: ActiveStructureElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#ActiveStructureAspect
  - Path ↗
  - CommunicationNetwork ↗
  - DistributionNetwork ↗
  - ▼Internal Active Structure
    
    Internal active structure elements — entities capable of performing behavior: actors, roles, collaborations, components, nodes, devices, system software, equipment, and facilities.
    
    Scope Note: The performers — connected to behavior via assignment. In 4.0, Role and Collaboration are generic Common Domain elements. Can be composed of or aggregated with other internal active structure elements.
    
    See Also: InternalActiveStructureElement
    
    https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#InternalActiveStructure
    - Role ↗
    - Collaboration ↗
    - BusinessActor ↗
    - ApplicationComponent ↗
    - Node ↗
    - Device ↗
    - SystemSoftware ↗
    - Equipment ↗
    - Facility ↗
  - ▼External Active Structure
    
    External active structure elements (interfaces) — points of access where services are exposed to the environment.
    
    Scope Note: Interfaces expose services and hide internal complexity. Typically composed by the internal active structure element they belong to. Assigned to the services they expose.
    
    See Also: ExternalActiveStructureElement
    
    https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#ExternalActiveStructure
    - BusinessInterface ↗
    - ApplicationInterface ↗
    - TechnologyInterface ↗
- ▼Behavior
  
  Elements representing dynamic behavior — processes, functions, events, services, capabilities, value streams, courses of action, and work packages.
  
  Scope Note: Behavior elements describe the 'how'. In 4.0, Process, Function, Event, and Service are cross-domain — they belong to the Common Domain and are assigned to domain-specific active structure elements. Use serving relationships to connect services to their consumers.
  
  Editorial Note: Direct narrower list contains only elements that are BehaviorElement but not in the InternalBehavior, ExternalBehavior, or Event sub-concepts (i.e., Capability, ValueStream, CourseOfAction, WorkPackage). Sub-concepts carry the rest.
  
  See Also: BehaviorElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#BehaviorAspect
  - Capability ↗
  - ValueStream ↗
  - CourseOfAction ↗
  - WorkPackage ↗
  - ▼Internal Behavior
    
    Internal behavior elements — units of activity: processes and functions.
    
    Scope Note: Internal behavior is what active structure elements actually do. Processes are sequences of steps with a defined outcome. Functions are collections of behavior grouped by criteria. In 4.0, these are cross-domain Common Domain elements assigned to domain-specific active structure. Internal behavior realizes external behavior (services).
    
    https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#InternalBehavior
    - Process ↗
    - Function ↗
  - ▼External Behavior
    
    External behavior elements (services) — explicitly defined exposed behavior.
    
    Scope Note: Services are the externally visible behavior offered to consumers. Realized by internal behavior and exposed through interfaces. In 4.0, Service is a single cross-domain element in the Common Domain. Use serving relationships to connect services to their consumers.
    
    https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#ExternalBehavior
    - Service ↗
  - ▼Event
    
    Event elements — state changes that trigger or are triggered by other behavior.
    
    Scope Note: Events represent something that happens at a point in time. Use triggering relationships to connect events to the behavior they initiate or that produces them. In 4.0, Event is a single cross-domain element in the Common Domain.
    
    https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#EventAspect
    - Event ↗
- ▼Passive Structure
  
  Elements on which behavior is performed — objects, artifacts, materials, deliverables, and resources.
  
  Scope Note: Passive structure elements are the 'what' that behavior acts upon — business objects, data objects, artifacts, materials, deliverables, and resources. They are connected to behavior via access relationships (read, write, read-write).
  
  Editorial Note: Includes Resource (Strategy) and Deliverable (Implementation and Migration) which have dual classification by aspect and by domain.
  
  See Also: PassiveStructureElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#PassiveStructureAspect
  - BusinessObject ↗
  - DataObject ↗
  - Artifact ↗
  - Material ↗
  - Deliverable ↗
  - Resource ↗
- ▼Composite
  
  Composite elements that may combine multiple aspects or domains — products, groupings, locations, and plateaus.
  
  Scope Note: Composite elements cross aspect boundaries. Products bundle services and passive structure into a customer-facing offering. Groupings are generic containers for organizing any set of elements. Locations represent physical or logical places where elements reside or behavior occurs. Plateaus represent stable architecture states used in transition planning.
  
  See Also: CompositeElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#CompositeAspect
  - Product ↗
  - Grouping ↗
  - Location ↗
  - Plateau ↗
- ▼Motivation
  
  Motivation elements — the context and reasons behind the architecture: stakeholders, drivers, goals, requirements, principles, and values.
  
  Scope Note: Use Motivation elements to capture the 'why' behind architecture decisions. Stakeholders have concerns, drivers motivate change, assessments analyze the current state, goals define desired outcomes, and requirements constrain the solution. Influence relationships connect motivation elements to each other and to elements in other domains.
  
  See Also: MotivationElement
  
  https://meta.linked.archi/archimate4/tax#MotivationAspect
  - Stakeholder ↗
  - Driver ↗
  - Assessment ↗
  - Goal ↗
  - Outcome ↗
  - Principle ↗
  - Requirement ↗
  - Meaning ↗
  - Value ↗

Linked.Archi ArchiMate 4.0 Taxonomy

ArchiMate 4.0 Concept Scheme

TTL Source