Introducing the ArchiMate Next Specification Snapshot 1 – Simplifying, Unifying, and Modernizing the Language

A Paradigm Shift in Enterprise Architecture

The ArchiMate Next Specification Snapshot 1, released in mid-2025 as a non-final working draft, marks a transformative step forward for The Open Group’s flagship enterprise architecture (EA) modeling language. Building on the solid foundation of ArchiMate 3.2, this preview version reimagines the language with a bold vision: simpler, cleaner, more flexible, and easier to learn—without sacrificing expressive power.

While not yet the final standard (expected as ArchiMate 4.0 after community feedback), this snapshot offers practitioners, tool vendors, and architects a glimpse into the future of EA modeling. With a strong emphasis on backward compatibility, conceptual unification, and visual clarity, ArchiMate Next promises to make enterprise architecture more accessible and practical than ever.

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1. Simplicity First: Cutting the Clutter

One of the most striking changes in ArchiMate Next is its aggressive simplification of the metamodel. Over years, ArchiMate accumulated redundant concepts that added cognitive load without proportional benefit. Snapshot 1 removes several of these, streamlining the language for both new learners and seasoned architects.

🔹 Key Removals & Their Impact

Element Removed	Why?	Replacement Strategy
Composition Relationship	Often confused with aggregation; rarely used meaningfully.	Use aggregation or assignment instead.
Interaction Elements (Business/Application/Technology Interaction)	Redundant with collaboration and service behavior.	Replace with Collaboration or Service.
Constraint, Contract, Gap, Representation	Niche, overlapping, and underutilized.	Use Relationships, Events, or Annotations.

💡 Example:
In ArchiMate 3.2, modeling a business process that involves an application interaction required two elements: Business Process and Application Interaction.
In ArchiMate Next, this becomes a single Process (generic) connected via a Collaboration or Service relationship—reducing diagram clutter and improving readability.

This shift makes models easier to understand at a glance, especially for stakeholders outside the EA team.

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2. Unification: Breaking Down the Layers

The traditional layered matrix (Strategy → Business → Application → Technology) has long been a cornerstone of ArchiMate. But it often led to rigid, hierarchical thinking that didn’t reflect modern hybrid environments—especially those blending human, digital, and AI-driven components.

ArchiMate Next replaces the layer concept with “Domains”—a more modular, flexible approach that better reflects real-world enterprise complexity.

🔹 Unified Behavior Elements: One for All

All behavior types—Service, Process, Function, Event—are now unified under a single, domain-agnostic Behavior element.

✅ Before (ArchiMate 3.2):

• Business Process

• Application Service

• Technology Event

✅ After (ArchiMate Next):

• Process (applies across business, application, and technology)

• Event (generic, no longer tied to implementation)

🎯 Example:
A customer onboarding workflow involving a human agent (business), a CRM system (application), and an AI-powered document validator (technology) can now be modeled as a single Process with Collaboration relationships to active structure elements across domains—no need to duplicate logic.

🔹 Generic Role: Flexibility Across Domains

The new Role is no longer limited to business contexts. It can now be assigned to any active structure element, whether human, software, or hardware.

✅ Example:
A Customer Support Agent (business role) and a Chatbot Service (technology role) can both be assigned the same Role of Customer Inquiry Handler, enabling cross-domain collaboration modeling.

🔹 Unified Collaboration

All cross-layer interactions—business-to-application, application-to-technology, etc.—are now modeled using a single Collaboration element.

🎯 Example:
A Loan Approval Process involving a Loan Officer (business), a Loan Processing App (application), and a Credit Scoring Engine (technology) is now represented as one Collaboration with all three elements as participants—no need for separate interaction elements.

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3. Visual Revolution: The Hexagonion Framework

One of the most visually striking innovations is the Hexagonion Framework—a new diagram structure replacing the classic rectangular layered matrix.

🌀 What Is the Hexagonion?

The Hexagonion is a hexagonal diagram that organizes the core architecture domains in a balanced, interconnected way. It reflects a more holistic, less hierarchical view of enterprise architecture.

🔹 Structure of the Hexagonion

Section	Content
Top (Central Hexagon)	Core domains: Business, Application, Technology (merged into a single domain)
Top Left & Right	Strategy & Motivation (goals, drivers, requirements)
Bottom Left & Right	Implementation & Migration (projects, changes, transitions)
Center	Core building blocks: Active Structure, Behavior, Passive Structure

🖼️ Visual Analogy: Think of a hexagonal hub with spokes connecting to strategic, operational, and transformational aspects—perfect for showing how decisions flow through the enterprise.

✅ Benefits of the Hexagonion

• Reduces visual hierarchy—no more “top-down” bias.

• Supports functional decomposition—ideal for modeling complex systems like DEMO transactions.

• Improves readability—especially in large-scale or cross-domain models.

• Aligns with modern EA patterns—such as value streams, digital twins, and AI integration.

🎯 Example:
When modeling a digital transformation initiative, the Hexagonion clearly shows how customer value goals (top) drive new processes (center), which are implemented via new applications and AI services (bottom), all linked through collaborations and events.

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4. Metamodel Enhancements: Smarter, More Expressive Models

Beyond structure and visuals, ArchiMate Next introduces subtle but powerful upgrades to the underlying metamodel.

🔹 Cardinalities on Relationships

Now, relationships can specify cardinalities—e.g., 1-to-many, 0..1, 1..*—to define instance-level constraints directly in the model.

✅ Before: No way to express “one customer can have many accounts” without external documentation.
✅ After: Use a Composition relationship with cardinality 1..* from Customer to Account.

🎯 Example:
A Service can now have a 1-to-many relationship with Processes, clearly indicating that one service may support multiple processes.

🔹 Path Element Revisions

• Path is now part of the Common Domain (shared across all layers).

• The relationship from Active Structure to Path is updated to Realization, reflecting that a service or process realizes a path or flow.

🎯 Example:
A Data Flow Path from a CRM to a BI tool is now a Path element, realized by the Data Export Service—making the model more semantically precise.

🔹 Standardized Colors & Viewpoints

• RGB color codes are now standardized (e.g., Business = #4A90E2, Technology = #50C878) to ensure consistency across tools and teams.

• Viewpoint mechanisms are enhanced with predefined templates (e.g., “Stakeholder Communication View”, “Migration Path View”) moved to appendices for better maintainability.

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5. Backward Compatibility: Smooth Transition Planned

The Open Group has prioritized backward compatibility—a critical factor for enterprise adoption.

✅ Migration Path from ArchiMate 3.2

Element in 3.2	In ArchiMate Next	Migration Tip
Composition	Removed	Use Aggregation or Assignment
Business Interaction	Removed	Use Collaboration or Service
Gap	Removed	Use Event or Constraint annotation
Implementation Event	Replaced	Use generic Event
Layered Matrix	Replaced	Use Hexagonion framework

🛠️ Tool Support: Major tools like Visual Paradigm Desktop are already testing support for the snapshot, with updates expected before the final release.

While custom scripts, reports, and viewpoints may require minor adjustments, the overall migration effort is expected to be minimal.

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Community Perspectives: Excitement with Constructive Critique

Early feedback from the ArchiMate community has been largely positive, though not without nuance.

✅ Positive Reactions

• Martijn Bakker (EA Consultant): “This is the simplification ArchiMate has needed for years. The Hexagonion is a game-changer for stakeholder communication.”

• Zulfikar (Enterprise Architect, Financial Services): “Removing composition and interactions reduces noise. Now I can focus on what matters—value and flow.”

• Bas van Gils (ArchiMate Forum Lead): “The unification of behaviors and roles makes hybrid human-AI models finally feasible.”

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Conclusion: A Lighter, Smarter, More Inclusive ArchiMate

The ArchiMate Next Specification Snapshot 1 is more than a revision—it’s a reboot. By removing redundancy, unifying concepts, and introducing the Hexagonion, it addresses long-standing criticisms: too complex, too verbose, too rigid.

It’s designed for:

• Newcomers who want to learn EA without drowning in terminology.

• Practitioners who need faster, clearer communication with stakeholders.

• Innovators building AI-augmented, hybrid, and real-time enterprise systems.

While not final, this snapshot signals a new era for ArchiMate—one that’s lighter, more inclusive, and deeply aligned with modern enterprise realities.

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Get Involved Today

👉 Download the Snapshot:
publications.opengroup.org/s250

👉 Try It in Your Tool:
Test models in Visual Paradigm Desktop using the draft schema.

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🌟 The future of enterprise architecture isn’t just about modeling complexity—it’s about modeling clarity. ArchiMate Next is leading the way.