The modeller draws ArchiMate views on a canvas straight from the repository. Every box on a view is a real repository element, so renaming an element updates every view that uses it. You can choose a viewpoint, mark a view as baseline, transition or target, validate it, compare two views, run impact analysis, and import or export exchange files and Visio drawings. Anyone who can see the repository can look at views. Architects can draw and import. New elements and relationships drawn here wait in your change set until another architect approves them.
Compare views
Compare shows how two views differ, which is the quickest way to see what a target state changes compared with a baseline.
- Open ArchiMate modeller and choose Compare views.
- Choose the view to compare From, for example the baseline.
- Choose the view to compare To, for example the target.
- Choose Compare.
The page counts elements added, elements removed, elements unchanged, relationships added and relationships removed, then lists each one with its type. Views in the same group also link to each other from About this view.
Removed (in only)
This list shows the elements that are in the first view you chose but not in the second.
If you compared a baseline with a target, these are the things the target gets rid of. Each entry names the element and its ArchiMate type. “None” means nothing was removed. An element missing from a view is not deleted from the repository. It is simply not drawn on the second view.
Use it alongside the added list above it, and the relationship lists below, to build the full picture of a change: Relationships added and Relationships removed.
Relationships added
This list shows the relationships that appear in the second view but not in the first.
Each entry gives the relationship and its type. Use it to see how a target state changes the way elements are connected, not just which ones exist. For example, a new serving relationship between an application and a process. If nothing is listed, the second view adds no new relationships.
The elements that were added are listed above this section, and the relationships that went away are in Relationships removed.
Relationships removed
This list shows the relationships that are in the first view but not in the second.
If you compared a baseline with a target, these are the connections the target no longer has. Each entry names the relationship and its type. If you see an unexpected removal, open the target view and check whether a line was deleted by mistake, because removing a line from a view does not remove the relationship from the repository.
Compare it with Removed (in only) for elements.
Used in these views
On an element’s page, this lists every view that contains the element, each as a link to the view.
If the element is not on any view, it says so. Use it before you change or retire an element: it tells you which diagrams will be affected. To open the element’s page, select it on a view and choose Properties, usage and impact in the properties panel. Read together with Impact analysis, it answers what depends on this and where it is shown.
Impact analysis
Impact analysis shows what is connected to an element, step by step, so you can see what a change could affect.
- Open the element’s page.
- Under How far, choose between 1 and 5 steps.
- Under Direction, choose both ways, what it affects (outgoing), or what affects it (incoming).
- Read the lists, grouped by distance. Each item links to its own page.
The list stops at 250 elements, so reduce the steps if it is cut short. On a view you can also select a box and choose Show impact (3 steps) in the properties panel for a quick look.
Import a model
Import brings in a model made in another tool. It accepts an ArchiMate Model Exchange File (.xml) from Archi, BiZZdesign, Sparx or similar, or a Visio drawing (.vsdx) made with an ArchiMate stencil, up to 8 MB. Only architects can import.
- Choose the file and Read the file.
- Read the plan: elements already in the repository, new elements, elements left out, and the relationships and views.
- Open Left out, New elements or Views to check the detail.
- Choose Bring it in.
Elements that match one already in the repository (same type and name or alias) are reused, never duplicated. New elements and relationships go into a change set for approval. Views are made straight away.
ArchiMate modeller
This is the list of views. Each row shows the reference, name, viewpoint, state and when it was last updated.
- Use Search, and tick Archived to see archived views.
- Choose Compare views to compare two.
- Choose Export everything (exchange file) to download the whole model.
- Architects see Import a model and New view.
To make a view, open New view, give it a name, choose a viewpoint and a state (baseline, transition, target or not stated), add a description and choose Create the view. A viewpoint limits which element types the view may hold. Click a reference or name to open the view.
A modeller view
A view is a drawing of repository elements and the relationships between them. Choose Select to move and resize boxes and bend lines. Other tools let you draw Relationship lines, add notes and groups, and Show existing relationships to draw those the repository already has between the elements on the view. Undo, Redo and Save are there too.
The toolbar also has zoom, Validate, Download PNG, Download SVG and Download exchange file.
Removing a box from a view only removes it from that drawing, never from the repository. Views are read-only for people who cannot edit and for archived views, which an architect can restore. See Palette, Properties and About this view.
Palette
The palette is where you find things to put on the view. It appears beside the canvas when you can edit.
- Type in Search the repository and pick a Layer to narrow the list.
- Drag an element on to the canvas, or add it from the list.
- To create something new, open New element, choose a type, enter a name and choose Add to view.
A new element is proposed in your open change set and appears in the repository once another architect approves it. The type list leaves out any element types switched off in the Metamodel. The viewpoint decides which types may appear on this view.
Properties
The panel on the right of the canvas describes whatever you have selected. If nothing is selected it says to select a box or line.
- For an element it shows the name, reference, type and status, with links to Properties, usage and impact and Open in the repository, and a Show impact (3 steps) button.
- For a relationship it shows the type, the repository reference, and the two elements it joins.
- For a note or group, it lets you edit the text or title.
Use Validate under the toolbar to check the whole view for problems, such as elements the viewpoint does not allow, retired elements or boxes joined to nothing.
About this view
The card under the canvas holds the view’s description and, for architects, a few settings.
- Edit the details changes the name, viewpoint, state and description.
- Make a baseline, transition or target copy copies the view, so you can draw the next state from the current one. Choose the state, optionally name the copy and choose Copy this view.
- Archive this view hides it from the default list. An architect can restore it.
Archiving a view does not delete anything from the repository. Copies you make sit in the same group, so you can find them in Same group.
Same group
Views made as copies of each other form a group, for example a baseline, a transition and a target of the same architecture.
This list shows the other views in the group, each as a link with its reference, name and state. Beside each is a Compare link that opens Compare views with the two views already chosen. If a view has no copies, the list does not appear.
Use it to step through the states of a design, or to jump straight to a comparison.
Element and impact analysis
An element’s own page in the modeller gathers its reference, type and status, the views it appears on and its impact analysis. It also links to the element’s repository record, where you can read its properties and relationships.
To reach it, select a box on a view and choose Properties, usage and impact. Open it before you change or retire an element: see which views contain it under Used in these views, and what else it touches under Impact analysis.
If the element is waiting for approval in a change set, the page says so and names the set.
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