archimate-architecture-patterns

name	ArchiMate Architecture Patterns
description	This skill should be used when the user asks about "ArchiMate patterns", "microservices in ArchiMate", "cloud architecture ArchiMate", "API gateway pattern", "event-driven architecture", "container architecture", "Kubernetes ArchiMate", "data architecture pattern", "security architecture", "capability mapping", "value stream", or needs to model modern architecture patterns in ArchiMate.
version	0.1.0

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