Relations Matrix & ArchiMate Connectors

In enterprise architecture, relationships are not arbitrary visual lines; they are strongly-typed semantic connectors governing traceability between business strategy and physical IT infrastructure.

EasyEA guarantees complete adherence to the ArchiMate 3.x specification while providing the Relations Matrix (RelationsMatrix) to audit cross-layer dependencies at enterprise scale.

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1. Supported ArchiMate 3.x Relationship Types

EasyEA natively implements The Open Group’s formal relationship types:

Category	Relationship Type	Visual Connector	Formal Semantic Purpose
Structural	Composition	Whole ◆─── Part	Strong ownership: an element consists entirely of constituent parts.
Structural	Aggregation	Whole ◇─── Part	Conceptually groups related architectural elements.
Structural	Assignment	Actor ──● Role	Allocates an active structure to a behavioral role or function.
Structural	Realization	Component ──▷ Service	Concrete physical or logical entities realize abstract services/capabilities.
Dependency	Serving	Service ──▷ Process	A capability, application, or tech service serves an active consumer.
Dependency	Access	Process ─── Data Object	Read, write, create, or delete operations on data or business objects.
Dependency	Influence	Requirement ┈▷ Goal	Positive (+) or negative (-) impact on architectural drivers or goals.
Dynamic	Triggering	Step 1 ───▷ Step 2	Temporal or sequential causal transition between behaviors.
Dynamic	Flow	System A ┄▷ System B	Information, physical matter, or energy transfer between elements.
Other	Association	Asset A ─── Asset B	Generic semantic connection without specific dependency semantics.

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2. Metamodel Semantic Validation Engine

Whenever an architect establishes a relationship (in the web modeler, via Schema-as-Code, or through desktop plugins), EasyEA checks the validity of the tuple (Source, Relationship, Target) against official ArchiMate 3.x derivation rules.

Connecting an unaligned physical node directly to a business process without intermediate layers is flagged, with EasyEA suggesting the canonical realization path: Node ➔ SystemSoftware ➔ ApplicationComponent ➔ ApplicationService ➔ BusinessProcess

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3. The Interactive Relations Matrix (RelationsMatrix)

The Relations Matrix allows teams to spot unserved processes or orphaned applications in seconds:

graph TD
    subgraph Setup["Matrix Axis Configuration"]
        R[Rows: BusinessProcess]
        C[Columns: ApplicationComponent]
    end
    Setup --> Grid["N x M Dynamic Matrix"]
    Grid --> Inspect["Direct In-Cell Inspection / Creation / Deletion"]

1. Configure Axes:
   • Assign source element types to Rows (e.g., BusinessCapability or BusinessProcess).
   • Assign target element types to Columns (e.g., ApplicationComponent).
2. Matrix Rendering:
   • Populated cells display the relationship type icon (Serving, Realization, etc.).
   • Empty cells highlight gaps where no integration or alignment exists.
3. 1-Click In-Grid Editing:
   • Click any empty cell to create a validated relationship instantly.
   • Click any active relationship cell to inspect properties, reverse directions, or delete the link.