ArchiMate Business Behavior

Learning ArchiMate Part 7 – Business Layer Behavior Concepts

Published: November 19, 2013
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Business Layer Behavior Concepts

Based on service orientation, a crucial design decision for the behavioral part of the ArchiMate metamodel is the distinction between “external” and “internal” behavior of an organization. A behavioral concept can have both an external and internal connotation based on how it is used in a specific instance.

External behavior

External behavior is modeled by the business service concept by representing an internal function providing value to an external environment (e.g., the customer).

Internal behavior

Internal behavior is modeled by the business service concept by offering supporting functionality to processes or functions within the organization.
See the Appendix for examples of using Business Behavior Concepts

Business Behavior Concepts

Business Process – the identification of a flow of a system

A business process describes the internal behavior performed by a business role that is required to produce a set of products and services.

A business process represents a workflow or value stream consisting of smaller processes/functions, with clear staring points and leading to some result.

It is sometimes described as “customer to customer” where the customer may also be an internal customer.

Business Layer Informational Concepts 1 Business Function – groups a set of related behaviors

A business function offers functionality that may be useful for one or more business processes.

It groups behavior based on, for example, required skills, resources, application support, etc.

Where business processes of an organization may be defined based on the products and services that an organization offers, the business functions are the basis for things like assignment of resources to tasks and application support.

Business Layer Informational Concepts 2 Business Interaction – the activity related to a Business Collaboration

A business interaction is similar to a business process/function, but while a process/function may be performed by a single role, an interaction is performed by a collaboration of multiple roles. The roles in the collaboration share the responsibility for performing the interaction.

A business interaction may be triggered by, or trigger, any other business behavior element. A business interaction may access business objects. A business interaction may realize one or more business services and may use (internal) business services or application services. A business collaboration or an application collaboration may be assigned to a business interaction.

Business Layer Informational Concepts 3 Business Event – a causal activity that initiates change

Business processes and other business behavior may be triggered or interrupted by a business event. Also, business processes may raise events that trigger other business processes, functions, or interactions. A business event is most commonly used to model something that triggers behavior, but other types of events are also conceivable; e.g., an event that interrupts a process.

Unlike business processes, functions, and interactions, a business event is instantaneous: it does not have duration. Events may originate from the environment of the organization (e.g., from a customer), but also internal events may occur generated by, for example, other processes within the organization.

A business event may trigger or be triggered (raised) by a business process, business function, or business interaction. A business event may access a business object and may be composed of other business events.

Business Layer Informational Concepts 4 Business Service – customer facing delivery of a product

A business service exposes the functionality of business roles or collaborations to their environment. This functionality is accessed through one or more business interfaces. One or more business processes, business functions, or business interactions that are performed by the business roles or business collaborations, respectively, realize a business service. It may access business objects.

A business service should provide a unit of functionality that is meaningful from the point of view of the environment. It has a purpose, which states this utility. The environment includes the (behavior of) users from outside as well as inside the organization. Business services can be external, customer-facing services (e.g., a travel insurance service) or internal support services (e.g., a resource management service).

Business Layer Informational Concepts 5 A business service is associated with a value. A business service may be used by a business process, business function, or business interaction. A business process, business function, or business interaction may realize a business service. A business interface or application interface may be assigned to a business service. A business service may access business objects.

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