Where do the layers come from

Started by elmo, September 05, 2014, 21:38:23 PM

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elmo

Hello,

First post. Software looks amazing.

Where do the layers ( Business, Application, Technology ) actually come from ?
( I realized they are the Group element from the palette )
Are they auto generated or manually created ?
( It looks like manually created )
If they are drawn, where does that happen ?
( As noted, drag in a Group element from the palette )

Also, if they are drawn, how are they associated with the hierachy ?

Thanks.

elmo

#1
Ok. Loaded Archinsurance model. Looks like each layer in the view is a grouping element from the palette so went back and gave best guess on original question.

As for placement in the hierarchy; when I right click on any other element it offers the option to "Select in Model Tree".

When I right click on a layer/grouping element there is no such option.

So where do those grouping elements in the view fit into the model ?
Are they just visual ?

Thanks.

Phil Beauvoir

#2
Hi, and welcome to the forum.

The concept of "layering" relates overall to the ArchiMate layers of "Business", "Application" and "Technology" (or "Infrastructure"). These are conceptual layers for each domain in the enterprise. You don't necessarily have to draw each layer in a Group. The Archisurance example does do this in the layered view, I know, but this is just one way of visualising the model. Typically you will create different Viewpoints of the model depending on the sub-domain/requirements/who needs to see it.

Yes, Groups are visual elements. Or rather, they group together the instances of model elements in a view, so any "semantic" meaning as at that level.

Perhaps one of the real ArchiMate experts might explain this better than I can.  ;)

Also, grab yourself a copy of Mastering ArchiMate II.
If you value and use Archi, please consider making a donation!
Ask your ArchiMate related questions to the ArchiMate Community's Discussion Board.

elmo

Thank you Phil,

If you are the developer for Archi then nothing but praise and thanks.

Ok. Everything you say makes sense and I just need to change my own expectations.

Layers seem to be so important to the Archimate concept that I just "assumed" they would be a major logical element in a tool as opposed to simply a visual option. For instance, a folder "could" equate to a layer.

No matter; on to my next connundrum.

Thanks again.

Andrew Josey

I don't claim to be an ArchiMate expert  :) but can point you to the language specification where layers are defined.

http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/archimate2-doc/chap02.html#_Toc371945149

(mobile edition - see http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/archimate2-doc/m/chap02.html)

They are indeed an important concept of the language. The layering is tied to the conceptual
ArchiMate framework.

From the ArchiMate 2 Certification Study Guide (not intended as a plug!):

The ArchiMate modeling language defines three layers – Business, Application, and Technology – based on specializations of the core concepts . A layered view provides a natural way to look at service-oriented models. The higher layers make use of services that are provided by the lower layers.


The conceptual framework - see section 2.6 of the specification shows the layers combined with
three aspects (passive structure, behavior and active structure) as a way to organize modeling from
different viewpoints.

You can map the concepts to the framework as shown below (image taken from the study guide (c) The Open Group)




Andrew Josey