The metamodel gives an overview of the application layer concepts and their relationships. Many of the concepts have been inspired by the UML 2.0 standard, as this is the dominant language and the de facto standard for describing software applications.
As I mentioned before, ArchiMate core framework has 3 layers x 3 aspects:
Active Structure Concepts
The main active structure concept for the application layer is the application component. This concept is used to model any structural entity in the application layer:
- Reusable software components (part of one or more applications)
- software applications
- sub-applications
- information systems
Behavioral Concepts
Behavior at the application layer can be described in a way that is very similar to business layer behavior
Internal Behavior vs External Behavior
Also here, we make a distinction between the external behavior of application components in terms of application services, and the internal behavior of these components; i.e., application functions that realize these services.
Passive Structure Concepts
The passive concept is a counterpart of the component, which is called a data object. A data object can be seen as a representation of a business object, as a counterpart of the representation concept in the business layer.
Other ArchiMate Resources:
- The Open Group Certified ArchiMate 3 Tool
- What is ArchiMate? How to Draw ArchiMate Diagram?
- How to Draw ArchiMate 3.0.1 Diagram?
- Learning ArchiMate Tutorials
- Physical Viewpoint Guide