Architecture Layer: Application

Component Diagram

Purpose: The purpose of the Component Diagram is to specify the structure of and dependencies among the different components that make up a system.

Core concerns: The Component Diagram template enables you to model a system’s Components, Classes, Interfaces, Packages, Artifacts and Ports. They can be connected by Dependency, Interface Realization, Component Realization, Usage, Generalization or a generic Connector. Below, you can see an example of a simple Component Diagram consisting of Components connected by Dependencies.

ComponentDiagram

Using the properties dialogue, you can identify extensions such as Stereotype, Constraints and Tagged values:

Relation to other templates: The Component Diagram is part of the Application domain and shows how a system is structured. To model how users interact with a system you should use a Use Case Diagram, to model how interactions with the system through processes you should use the Sequence Diagram template. To model the structure of an application landscape you should use the Application Architecture Diagram.

Properties and metadata: The Component Diagram can for example retain the following information:

  • A description of the diagram
  • Link to the owner of the diagram
  • Link to the one responsible for the diagram
  • Audits (auto generated information regarding its current state and access rights)
  • Associated documents, diagrams and other objects
  • Inherent Risk detailing risk considerations
  • Governance information detailing information about the published diagram and who has been involved in the approval of the diagram

The above picture shows the properties dialogue window for the Component Diagram where you can view and edit the diagram’s properties in QualiWare Lifecycle Manager.

Communication Diagram

Purpose: The purpose of the Communication Diagram template is to document interactions between objects or parts, focusing on sequenced messages.

Core concerns: The Communication Diagram template is a simplified UML 2.0 alternative to the UML Collaboration Diagram. It enables you to model Lifelines and Annotation, which can be connected by messages.

Below you can see a simple example of a Communication Diagram:

CommunicationDiagram_1

Relation to other templates: Usually, Communication Diagrams would be modeled using information from Class Diagram, Sequence Diagram, and Use case diagram. It is related to the other UML interaction diagrams: Sequence Diagram, Interaction overview diagram and Timing Diagram.

While the Communication Diagram show much of the same information a Sequence Diagram does, the Communication Diagram conveys which elements each one interacts with better, while sequence diagrams show the order in which the interactions take place more clearly.

Other UML diagrams that QualiWare support include: Activity Diagram, Communication Diagram, Deployment Diagram, , Composite Structure Diagram, State Diagram, Package Diagram, Component Diagram, Composite structure Diagram, and Object Diagram.

Properties and metadata: The Communication Diagram ­­­­can for example retain the following information:

  • A description of the diagrams
  • Link to related sequence diagram
  • Extensions (Stereotype, Constraints and Tagged values)
  • Audits (auto generated information regarding its current state and access rights)
  • Associated documents, diagrams and other objects
  • Inherent Risk detailing risk considerations
  • Governance information detailing information about the published diagram and who has been involved in the approval of the diagram

The above picture shows the properties dialogue window for the Communication diagram, where you can view and edit the diagram’s properties in QualiWare Lifecycle Manager.

For more information: about the UML, please visit the Object Management Group’s Website, where you can find the complete specification.

Class Diagram

Purpose: The primary objective of the Class Diagram template is to visually represent and document the structural components of a system utilizing the Unified Modeling Language (UML). Displayed below is an example of a straightforward Class Diagram:

ClassDiagram_2

Core concerns: The Class Diagram effectively captures the various classes within a system, their attributes, operations, and the relationships between classes and other objects, such as packages. This comprehensive representation enables a clear understanding of the system’s structure, promoting efficient communication among stakeholders and facilitating system design and maintenance.

Example: In the Class Diagram below, the relationships between the classes “Customer” and “Internet User” and the packages “WEB-API”, “Reservation Control”, “GUI” (Graphical User Interface), and “Database” are illustrated. This example highlights the connections among different components and provides a visual overview of how they interact within the system:

ClassDiagram_1

Relation to other templates: The Class Diagram presents a detailed structural view of information. It can for example be a decomposition of an Information System which typically is presented in an Application Architecture Diagram. If a Class Diagram becomes too complex or large, a Package Diagram, where the classes are grouped into Packages, could be modelled instead.

Properties and metadata: The Class Diagram can for example retain the following information:

  • A description of the diagram
  • Link to the owner of the diagram
  • Link to the one responsible for the diagram
  • Audits (auto generated information regarding its current state and access rights)
  • Extensions regarding constraints and tagged values
  • Associated documents, diagrams and other objects
  • Inherent Risk detailing risk considerations
  • Governance information detailing information about the published diagram and who has been involved in the approval of the diagram

In the picture below you can see the Class Diagrams properties dialogue window, where the information can be viewed and edited:

 

Application Usage Viewpoint : Archimate

Purpose: Designing, deciding

Concerns: Consistency and completeness, reduction of complexity

Scope: Multiple layer/Multiple aspect

The application usage viewpoint describes how applications are used to support one or more business processes, and how they are used by other applications. It can be used in designing an application by identifying the services needed by business processes and other applications, or in designing business processes by describing the services that are available. Furthermore, since it identifies the dependencies of business processes upon applications, it may be useful to operational managers responsible for these processes.

Abstraction Level
Coherence

Layer
Business and application layers

Aspects
Behavior, active structure, passive structure

ApplicationUsageViewpoint_1

Application Functionality Context

Purpose: The purpose of the Application Functionality Context template is to document the in which Activities and/or Business Processes a given Application Functionality is used.

Core concerns: The Application Functionality Context template can be used to create graphical views showing where Application Functionalities are used. The template enables you to model Application Functionalities, Activities and Business Processes. The Business Processes and Activities are connected to Application Functionalities using Functionality Usage.

Below, you can see an example of an Application functionality contest diagram, where the context for the DocCom – Create and Store Document functionality is shown:

The diagram shows which Business Processes use the Application Functionality as well as which Information System delivers it.

Relation to other templates: To map applications hardware, the Application Architecture Diagram or Infrastructure Diagram template should be used. The Application Functionality Context template graphically connects functionalities of Information Systems to the Processes and Activities in which they are used. It offers an additional view to Application Architecture Diagrams, Workflow Diagrams, Business Process Diagrams and Business Process Networks.

Properties and metadata: The Application Functionality Context template ­­­­can for example retain the following information:

  • A description of the diagram
  • Audits (auto generated information regarding its current state and access rights)
  • Associated documents, diagrams and other objects
  • Inherent Risk detailing risk considerations
  • Governance information detailing information about the published diagram and who has been involved in the approval of the diagram

The above picture shows the properties dialogue window for the Application Functionality Context template where you can view and edit the diagram’s properties in QualiWare Lifecycle Manager.

Technology Viewpoint : Archimate

Concerns: Stability, security, dependencies, costs of the infrastructure
Purpose: Designing
Scope: Single layer/Multiple aspect

The technology viewpoint contains the software and hardware technology elements supporting the Application Layer, such as physical devices, networks, or system software (e.g., operating systems, databases, and middleware).

Technology Usage Viewpoint : Archimate

Concerns: Dependencies, performance, scalability
Purpose: Designing
Scope: Multiple layer/Multiple aspect

The technology usage viewpoint shows how applications are supported by the software and hardware technology: the technology services are delivered by the devices; system software and networks are provided to the applications. This viewpoint plays an important role in the analysis of performance and scalability, since it relates the physical infrastructure to the logical world of applications. It is very useful in determining the performance and quality requirements on the infrastructure based on the demands of the various applications that use it.

Service Realization Viewpoint : Archimate

Concerns: Added-value of business processes, consistency and completeness, responsibilities
Purpose: Designing, deciding
Scope: Multiple layer/Multiple aspect

The service realization viewpoint is used to show how one or more business services are realized by the underlying processes (and sometimes by application components). Thus, it forms the bridge between the business products viewpoint and the business process view. It provides a “view from the outside” on one or more business processes.

Layered Viewpoint : Archimate

Concerns: Consistency, reduction of complexity, impact of change, flexibility
Purpose: Designing, deciding, informing
Scope: Multiple layer/Multiple aspect

The layered viewpoint pictures several layers and aspects of an Enterprise Architecture in one diagram. There are two categories of layers, namely dedicated layers and service layers. The layers are the result of the use of the “grouping” relationship for a natural partitioning of the entire set of objects and relationships that belong to a model. The technology, application, process, and actor/role layers belong to the first category. The structural principle behind a fully layered viewpoint is that each dedicated layer exposes, by means of the “realization” relationship, a layer of services, which are further on “serving” the next dedicated layer. Thus, we can easily separate the internal structure and organization of a dedicated layer from its externally observable behavior expressed as the service layer that the dedicated layer realizes. The order, number, or nature of these layers are not fixed, but in general a (more or less) complete and natural layering of an ArchiMate model should contain the succession of layers depicted in the example given below. However, this example is by no means intended to be prescriptive. The main goal of the layered viewpoint is to provide an overview in one diagram. Furthermore, this viewpoint can be used as support for impact of change analysis and performance analysis or for extending the service portfolio.

All core elements and all relationships are permitted in this viewpoint.