Why Archimate Elements have two notations

Question

I started to pickup Archimate notation. As I dig into the documentation, I could not help noticing that most elements have two notations sitting side by side.

Take the application layer for example. Every element except Data object has two notations:

• One with a border and symbol at the top right corner
• The another one just the symbol

Are these two used interchangeably in the Archimate world? If not, how do I decide which one to use in my diagram?

Answer 1

I haven't used Archimate a lot, but in tools like Sparx EA that allow you to include Archimate elements in your models, the box notation (on the left) is the one that is used. This makes it consistent with other element types (classes, components, etc) should you need to mix-n-match.

Here's a simple made-up example of doing that - putting Archimate elements in to describe the responsibilities of the system/components:

The notation you use could depends on what you are doing - say in a presentation deck you might choose the notation on the right.

So in short, the notation might be selected for you depending on what tooling your using, and if both are - whatever suits what you are doing.

Other than that, try and find some online community or local practitioner in your area who has a lot of Archimate experience and see what they say.

Answer 2

The sharp- and round-corner rectangles are generalizations - structural or behavioral.

The added notation on the top-right corner is a specialization,e.g., collaboration (specialized behavioral element) or component (specialized structural element).

Specialization notation could be used alone without the enclosing generalizations, hence the two ways of using ArchiMate.