ArchiMate Application and Use
Using ArchiMate in practice
ArchiMate is used to describe, analyse, and communicate architecture. Typical applications include baseline and target architecture, gap analysis, impact analysis, and roadmapping. The Implementation & Migration layer (Work Package, Deliverable, Plateau, Gap) supports transition planning.
Traceability is the point
The value of ArchiMate comes from tracing a driver → goal → requirement → change chain, and from tracing business service → application service → infrastructure service. Exam questions often ask which element type captures a particular concern: use Requirement for a needed capability, Constraint for a restriction, Work Package for a unit of change, and Plateau for a stable state in time.
Governance and analysis
Architecture analysis uses cross-layer relationships to find impact: if a Node changes, follow Assignment and Serving links upward to see affected application services and business processes. This is the standard impact-analysis pattern.
Traps
- Confusing Plateau (a state) with Work Package (an activity of change).
- Using Goal where Outcome belongs - outcomes are measurable results.
- Forgetting that Gap represents the difference between two plateaus.
Rule of thumb
When a question describes something that must be achieved, reach for Requirement; something that must not happen, reach for Constraint; a period of change, reach for Work Package; a moment in time, reach for Plateau.