BlueDolphin and ArchiMate – BlueDolphin

Understanding Enterprise Architecture with BlueDolphin and ArchiMate

BlueDolphin helps you manage all details about your business assets (objects) and their connections, forming an enterprise architecture. It uses ArchiMate, a modeling language specifically designed for enterprise architecture.

What is ArchiMate?

ArchiMate, initially created in the Netherlands by a collaborative team, is now a global standard overseen by The Open Group®. It provides a universal language to describe business processes, structures, data flows, IT systems, and infrastructure. This standardized approach ensures everyone interprets information in the same way, making communication easier with both internal teams and external stakeholders.

Using ArchiMate in BlueDolphin

BlueDolphin adopts ArchiMate as its default modeling language but also offers the flexibility to switch to another language if needed, enhancing communication within your company.

Concepts and Relationships in ArchiMate

ArchiMate relies on concepts (representations of business objects like processes, products, employees, applications, etc.) and relationships (connections between concepts defined as used by, composed of, and similar). These elements help visualize complex business architectures.

For instance, a description like: the procurement process uses the ERP ICT service, which in turn uses the Microsoft Dynamics application might seem complex. However, with ArchiMate, you can create a clear diagram to represent these dependencies easily.

Learning ArchiMate

Although ArchiMate uses icons for concepts and specific depictions for relationships, it doesn't have a steep learning curve. Basic knowledge is enough to understand and interpret diagrams.

Adding details in BlueDolphin

BlueDolphin allows you to add extra information to concepts and relationships, clarifying the connections between elements. This additional data may not appear in diagrams but is captured in user-filled questionnaires, improving the overall understanding of your enterprise architecture.

Reporting with BlueDolphin

All data within BlueDolphin, including ArchiMate visualizations, can be used for analysis and reports in various formats. BlueDolphin utilizes Jaspersoft for reporting, generating visual reports based on the defined concepts and connections in the system.