ArchiMate Architecture Patterns

This skill provides patterns for modeling modern architectures in ArchiMate.

Microservices Architecture

Element mapping:

• Individual microservices → Application Component
• Business functionality → Application Service
• REST/gRPC endpoints → Application Interface
• Docker images → Artifact
• Kubernetes pods/namespaces → Node
• Container runtime → System Software

Basic pattern:

[Application Component: Order Service] → [realizes] → [Application Service: Order Processing]
    → [composition] → [Application Function: Validate Order]
    → [composition] → [Application Function: Process Payment]
    → [serves] → [Application Interface: Order API (REST)]

Container orchestration:

[Node: Kubernetes Cluster]
    → [composition] → [Node: Namespace]
        → [composition] → [Node: Pod]
            → [assigned to] → [Artifact: Container Image]

Key principle: Model microservices at Application Layer, not Technology Layer.

API and Integration Patterns

API Gateway:

[Technology Node: API Gateway]
    → [assignment] → [Technology Function: Request Routing]
    → [realization] → [Technology Service: API Management]
    → [serves] → [Application Component: Backend Service]

Message Queue/Event Bus:

[Application Component: Message Broker]
    → [realization] → [Application Service: Async Messaging]
    → [served by] → [Application Interface: Topic/Queue Endpoint]
[Application Component: Producer] → [flow (labeled)] → [Application Component: Consumer]

Cloud Infrastructure Patterns

IaaS:

[Technology Service: Compute Service] → [realizes] → [Node: Virtual Machine]
[Technology Service: Storage Service] → [accesses] → [Artifact: Data Volume]

PaaS:

[Technology Service: Runtime Environment] → [serves] → [Application Component: Customer App]
[Node: Container Platform] → [assigned to] → [Artifact: Application Container]

SaaS:

[Application Service: SaaS Capability] → [serves] → [Business Actor: Customer]
[Application Component: SaaS Application] → [realizes] → [Application Service]

Serverless:

[Technology Service: Lambda/Functions] → [assigned to] → [Artifact: Function Code]
[Technology Interface: API Gateway Trigger] → [triggers] → [Application Event]

Multi-cloud: Use Location elements for cloud providers/regions, Groupings for provider-specific services.

Event-Driven Architecture

Event producers/consumers:

[Application Component: Order Service] → [triggers] → [Application Event: Order Created]
[Application Event] → [flow] → [Application Component: Inventory Service]

CQRS pattern:

[Application Component: Command Service] → [accesses (write)] → [Data Object: Write Model]
[Application Component: Query Service] → [accesses (read)] → [Data Object: Read Model]
[Application Event: State Changed] → [flow] → (synchronizes models)

Event sourcing:

[Application Component: Event Store] → [accesses (write, append-only)] → [Artifact: Event Log]
[Application Process: Event Replay] → [realizes] → [Application Service: State Reconstruction]

Strategy Layer Patterns

Capability modeling:

[Goal] → [realized by] → [Capability] → [realized by] → [Business Process/Application Component]
[Capability] → [composition] → [Sub-Capability]
[Capability] → [serves] → [Value Stream Stage]

Value stream:

[Value Stream] → [composition] → [Value Stream Stages] (with flow between stages)
[Value Stream Stage] ← [served by] ← [Capability]
[Value Stream] → [realizes] → [Outcome]

Capability-to-application mapping:

[Capability: Customer Management]
    ← [realized by] ← [Business Process: Handle Customer Inquiry]
    ← [realized by] ← [Application Component: CRM System]

Data Architecture Patterns

Data lake:

[Technology Node: Data Lake Platform]
    → [serves] → [Application Service: Data Ingestion]
    → [serves] → [Application Service: Data Processing]
    → [accesses] → [Artifact: Raw Data Store]

Master data management:

[Business Object: Customer (Master)] ← [realized by] ← [Data Object: Customer Record]
[Data Object: Customer Record] ← [accessed by] ← [Application Component: MDM Platform]

Key principle: Separate conceptual (Business Object), logical (Data Object), and physical (Artifact) levels.

Security Architecture Patterns

Identity and access management:

[Application Component: Identity Provider]
    → [realizes] → [Application Service: Authentication Service]
    → [realizes] → [Application Service: Authorization Service]
    → [serves] → [Application Component: Protected Application]

Security zones: Use Location or Grouping for security boundaries (DMZ, Internal, External). Model firewalls as Technology Interface elements.

Zero-trust:

[Principle: Never Trust, Always Verify]
    → [influences] → [Requirement: Continuous Authentication]
    → [realizes] → [Application Service: Identity Verification]

Additional Resources

Reference Files

For complete pattern catalog with industry-specific patterns:

• references/patterns-catalog.md – Extended patterns: BIAN, GDPR, HL7/FHIR, EIRA
• references/application-integration.md – 10 application integration pattern alternatives