Relationship Types
DesignFoundry ships with a set of built-in ArchiMate relationship types, and content packs can add custom ones.
Built-in ArchiMate Relationships
| Type | Meaning | Direction |
|---|---|---|
serves | A provides capability to B | → |
uses | A depends on B | → |
realizes | A implements B | → |
associates | A is connected to B | ↔ |
triggers | A causes B to happen | → |
flows | A passes information to B | → |
specializes | A is a specific form of B | → |
aggregates | A is composed of B | → |
composition | A is made of B (stronger than aggregate) | → |
assignment | A is assigned to B | → |
influence | A affects B | → |
Relationship Type Properties
Each relationship type has:
- Name — Human-readable label
- Direction — Whether it flows one way or is bidirectional
- Allowed source types — Which object types can be the source
- Allowed target types — Which object types can be the target
- Visual style — Default line style, color, arrow head
Custom Relationship Types
Content packs can define additional relationship types. Once a pack is activated, its relationship types appear in the type picker alongside the built-in ones.