ArchiMate®
ArchiMate® is a globally recognised modelling language developed by The Open Group, built for describing and visualising enterprise architectures. By providing a consistent framework, ArchiMate® supports effective communication among stakeholders and enables more informed decision-making across transformation initiatives.
Index
- What is ArchiMate®?
- Why Professionals Get ArchiMate® Certification
- Why Organisations Invest in ArchiMate® Certification
- Choosing an ArchiMate® Course
- ArchiMate® Courses
- Exams and Certification Process
- Related Courses: TOGAF® EA Foundation and Practitioner
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Further Learning: ArchiMate® Resources
What is ArchiMate®?
ArchiMate® is an open and independent modelling language developed by The Open Group, used to describe, analyse, and visualise enterprise architecture across business, application, and technology domains. The current version, ArchiMate® 3.2, introduces enhancements in usability, strategic modelling, and physical element representation, supporting large-scale enterprise initiatives. It works in concert with the TOGAF® Standard by providing the visual syntax to express architectures developed using TOGAF’s methodology. ArchiMate® is widely adopted across industries. It also plays a key role in frameworks like the Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN), where it models a standardised service landscape to support interoperability in complex banking environments.
Why Professionals Get ArchiMate® Certification
ArchiMate® certification demonstrates an architect’s ability to clearly model and communicate complex enterprise structures using a globally recognised standard. It is highly valued in transformation, strategy, solution architecture, and systems integration roles, enabling professionals to represent business, application, and technology layers with precision. Certified practitioners are equipped to:
- Visualise and analyse dependencies across architecture layers.
- Enhance strategic planning with structured, model-driven insights.
- Use ArchiMate® to support frameworks like TOGAF® and BIAN.
- Support agile delivery, capability mapping, and operating model design.
- Produce documentation that improves stakeholder understanding and decision-making.
- Contribute to consistent architecture practices within cross-functional teams.
- Strengthen architecture governance with formalised models.
- Increase efficiency in project delivery through shared modelling standards.
Why Organisations Invest in ArchiMate® Certification
Organisations leveraging ArchiMate® benefit from a uniform approach to modelling, improving clarity in communication and documentation across teams. This becomes especially valuable in financial organisations and banking environments using BIAN, where ArchiMate® supports the visualisation of modular banking components. Benefits include:
- Improved consistency in modelling practices across architecture teams and business units.
- Enhanced communication with stakeholders through clear, standardised visual artefacts.
- More effective architectural planning, dependency mapping, and impact analysis.
- Accelerated project delivery by reducing time spent interpreting and translating architecture models.
- Stronger architecture governance through structured and reusable model components.
- Easier onboarding and upskilling of new team members with a globally recognised framework.
- Greater value from enterprise architecture tooling through ArchiMate®-compliant modelling.
- Support for visualising modular banking components in financial institutions adopting frameworks like BIAN.
- Reduced rework and technical debt through clearer documentation of business, application, and technology interactions.
Choosing an ArchiMate® Course
We currently offer ArchiMate® as a self-paced eLearning course, providing maximum flexibility for professionals balancing study with work commitments. This accredited course includes all the resources and support needed to prepare for the ArchiMate® certification exams, which are administered through Pearson Vue.
Ideal for professionals who require flexibility, the ArchiMate® 3 Practitioner (Level 1 & 2) eLearning course provides 12 months of access to all course content, including a practice exam simulator and built-in assessment checkpoints. The expertly-developed learning platform offers guided progression and support throughout the study period. Course registration includes a free exam voucher and one free resit (if required).
For organisations, self-paced eLearning offers significant operational advantages. Teams can upskill without needing to be taken off active projects or scheduled into group sessions, reducing disruption to day-to-day delivery. Learners can work through the content at their own pace, balancing study with existing responsibilities, which is especially valuable in high-demand environments. This model is ideal for scaling architectural capability across large teams while maintaining business continuity.
ArchiMate® Courses
(10th Edition, 2023)
Learning Objectives
- Understand the core principles and structure of the TOGAF® EA framework.
- Focuses on delivering the complete knowledge base expected for first-attempt
success in the TOGAF® EA Foundation Certified exam.
Pre-Requisites
None
Exam Vouchers
One exam plus a free retake
Badge Eligibility
Activities and Group Work
- Use practice exam to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Utilises Case Study
No
TOGAF® EA – Practitioner
(10th Edition, 2023)
Learning Objectives
- Develop the skills to apply TOGAF® EA concepts in real-world architecture
scenarios. - Focuses on delivering the complete knowledge base expected for first-attempt
success in the TOGAF® EA Practitioner Certified exam.
Pre-Requisites
Completion of the TOGAF® EA – Foundation course is required
Exam Vouchers
One exam plus a free retake
Badge Eligibility
Activities and Group Work
- 10+ interactive, scenario-based practical exercises to support active learning.
- Use practice exam to identify strengths and areas for improvement
Utilises Case Study
Yes
TOGAF® EA – Foundation and Practitioner
(10th Edition, 2023)
Learning Objectives
- Understand the core principles and structure of the TOGAF® EA framework and develop the skills to apply TOGAF® EA concepts in real-world architecture scenarios.
- Focuses on delivering the complete knowledge base expected for first-attempt success in the TOGAF® EA Foundation and TOGAF® EA Practitioner Certified exams.
Pre-Requisites
None
Exam Vouchers
Two exams plus a free retake
Badge Eligibility
Activities and Group Work
- 10+ interactive, scenario-based practical exercises to support active learning.
- Use practice exam to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Utilises Case Study
Yes
TOGAF® EA – Practitioner Bridge
(10th Edition, 2023)
Learning Objectives
- Upgrade a TOGAF® 9 Level 2 certification to the latest edition.
- Discover the enhancements in the latest TOGAF® EA framework and learn to apply them.
- Focuses on delivering the complete knowledge base expected for first-attempt success in the TOGAF® EA Practitioner Bridge exam.
Pre-Requisites
TOGAF® 9 certification is required.
Exam Vouchers
One exam plus a free retake
Badge Eligibility
Activities and Group Work
- 10+ interactive, scenario-based practical exercises to support active learning.
- Use practice exam to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Utilises Case Study
Yes
TOGAF® EA – Business
Architecture – Foundation
(10th Edition, 2023)
Learning Objectives
- Gain a solid understanding of the foundational concepts in TOGAF® Business
Architecture. - Focuses on delivering the complete knowledge base expected for first-attempt
success in the TOGAF® Business Architecture Foundation Certified exam.
Pre-Requisites
None
Exam Vouchers
One exam plus a free retake
Badge Eligibility
Activities and Group Work
- 11 interactive activities and scenario based practical exercises to support active learning.
- Work together in small teams using EA Learning’s exclusive Miro board.
- Use practice exam to identify strengths and areas for improvement
Utilises Case Study
Yes
Exams and Certification Process
The ArchiMate® certification pathway consists of two exams: Part 1 (Foundation) and Part 2 (Practitioner). These exams are designed to assess both theoretical knowledge and applied modelling competence. Exams are administered via Pearson Vue and result in globally recognised credentials issued by The Open Group.
ArchiMate® 3 Part 1 Exam
- 40 multiple-choice questions
- 60 minutes
- Closed book
- Pass mark: 60%
ArchiMate® 3 Part 2 Exam
- Scenario-based with 8 questions
- 90 minutes
- Open book
- Pass mark: 65%
Related Courses:
TOGAF® EA Foundation and Practitioner
The TOGAF® EA – Foundation and Practitioner course further supports professionals with the skills to drive business transformation through structured architecture practices. Based on the 10th Edition of the TOGAF® Standard, this course delivers a thorough understanding of how Enterprise Architecture enables organisations to translate strategic goals into executable initiatives.
When combined with ArchiMate® certification, this provides participants with both foundational knowledge and practical application skills. While ArchiMate® provides the modelling language, TOGAF® delivers the framework to build, implement, and manage architectural solutions.
Frequently Asked Questions
ArchiMate® is purpose-built to support the TOGAF® Standard by providing a formal modelling language to express architectures developed using the Architecture Development Method (ADM). It enables practitioners to visualise architecture artefacts consistently across all ADM phases—enhancing traceability, decision-making, and stakeholder engagement throughout the transformation lifecycle.
ArchiMate® defines several core layers within an enterprise architecture: Business, Application, and Technology, supported by additional layers for Strategy, Motivation, Implementation & Migration, and Physical elements. Each layer includes three fundamental aspects: active structure (e.g. roles, actors, devices), behaviour (e.g. processes, functions, services), and passive structure (e.g. data objects, artefacts). This structure provides a holistic view of how an organisation operates and evolves.
Yes. ArchiMate® includes elements for modelling infrastructure, deployment, and service-oriented environments, making it suitable for representing public, private, hybrid, and multi-cloud architectures. It allows architects to visualise cloud-based services and how they interact with applications, data, and underlying technology infrastructure.
Unlike UML, which is tailored to software design, or BPMN, which focuses exclusively on business process flows, ArchiMate® is designed for enterprise-wide architecture modelling. It spans strategic, operational, and technical dimensions, enabling enterprise architects to connect business objectives with enabling systems, applications, and technologies in a unified model.
Training your team in ArchiMate® ensures a consistent modelling approach across projects, enabling clearer communication, faster decision-making, and more efficient solution design. It empowers architects and analysts to document and visualise complex architectures in a standardised format recognised globally. For organisations undertaking enterprise transformation, regulatory compliance, or large-scale system integration, having a common modelling language significantly reduces ambiguity, improves collaboration, and accelerates delivery outcomes.
The BIAN framework adopts ArchiMate® as its standard modelling notation to represent its Service Landscape. This approach provides semantic consistency when mapping banking capabilities, service domains, and API structures, facilitating composability and interoperability across complex financial ecosystems.
To earn the ArchiMate® 3 Practitioner credential, you must pass both the Part 1 (Foundation) and Part 2 (Practitioner) exams. These assessments validate your ability to interpret core language concepts and apply the framework across motivation, strategy, and layered architecture modelling scenarios.
Yes. ArchiMate® is widely applicable in roles that require precise architectural modelling, including solution architecture, business and systems analysis, digital transformation leadership, and systems integration design.
Absolutely. ArchiMate® complements the TOGAF® Architecture Development Method (ADM) by providing a coherent visual syntax for documenting architecture views throughout the ADM lifecycle. It also supports integration with frameworks such as BIAN and IT4IT™, through extensions and metamodel mappings.
