What is business architecture?
Business architecture is the part of enterprise architecture that describes what an organisation does, why it does it and how it is set up to do so: its goals, capabilities, value streams, processes, products, roles and governance. A business architecture is deliberately described independently of technology: it does not say which application or network is needed, but lays the foundation on which those choices in IT and OT are made. That makes it the bridge between strategy and execution. In the TOGAF method, business architecture is Phase B of the Architecture Development Method, and ArchiMate gives it its own strategy and business layers.
Business architecture answers the questions what, why and by whom before anyone asks with which technology.
🧱 What does a business architecture contain?
A complete business architecture consists of a coherent set of models and agreements. The main building blocks are:
| Element | Description | Typical model or artefact |
|---|---|---|
| Goals and KPIs | Strategic objectives and how performance is measured | Goal tree, balanced scorecard |
| Capabilities | What the organisation must be able to do, regardless of how or by whom | Capability map (business function model) |
| Value streams | The sequence of stages through which value is created for a customer or stakeholder | Value stream map |
| Processes | Core and supporting processes, often derived from reference models such as the Dutch GEMMA reference processes | Process model in BPMN |
| Organisation | Roles, teams, departments, chain partners and their responsibilities | Organisation model, RACI matrix |
| Products and services | What the organisation delivers to customers, citizens or internal consumers | Product and service catalogue |
| Business objects | The core concepts the organisation needs information about | Glossary, conceptual model |
| Rules and policy | Legal, ethical and policy frameworks, including laws and regulations | Principles, business rules |
These elements are only valuable together. A capability map that is not linked to goals and processes is a nice poster, but not a tool for making decisions.
🧠 What are capabilities and value streams?
Over the past fifteen years, capabilities and value streams have become the heart of business architecture. Both the BIZBOK Guide from the Business Architecture Guild and the TOGAF Series Guides on business capabilities and value streams build on them. Version 15 of the BIZBOK Guide was released in April 2026, with revised guidance on capability and value mapping.
- Capability - an ability of the organisation, such as Asset maintenance planning or Water quality monitoring. A capability describes what has to happen, not how or by which department. As a result, a capability map stays stable for years, even when departments, processes or systems change.
- Value stream - a chain of activities that delivers an outcome for a customer or stakeholder, such as Order to delivery. Each stage of the value stream is enabled by one or more capabilities.
- Capability map - usually a hierarchy of three or four levels: a manageable number of top-level capabilities (in practice often ten to fifteen), broken down to a level at which ownership and investment can be assigned.
- Heat map - colouring capabilities by maturity, risk or strategic importance shows at a glance where investment pays off most.
In ArchiMate, the strategy layer with capability, resource and course of action arrived in version 3.0 (2016); version 3.1 added the value stream element in November 2019. The current version 3.2 dates from October 2022.
🔄 How does business architecture relate to the other layers?
Business architecture sits at the top of the classic layered architecture. The other layers derive their reason to exist from the business goals and processes they support.
| Architecture layer | Relationship with business architecture | TOGAF phase |
|---|---|---|
| Information Architecture | Supports the processes and information flows from the business architecture | C (data) |
| Application Architecture | Automates business processes and functions | C (applications) |
| Technical Architecture | Provides the underlying IT/OT infrastructure for applications and data | D (technology) |
| OT Architecture | Translates production and process goals into control, networks and zones | Addition for industrial organisations |
| Governance | Determines who decides on capabilities, processes and changes | Ongoing (architecture governance) |
Without a clear business architecture, information and technical architecture often become disconnected from organisational goals. Systems are then bought because they are technically interesting, not because a capability needs them.
🔧 Which methods and notations are used?
Business architects usually combine a method, a notation and a knowledge base with reference models:
| Method or standard | Maintained by | Role in business architecture |
|---|---|---|
| TOGAF 10th Edition (April 2022) | The Open Group | Phase B of the ADM; series guides on business capabilities and value streams |
| ArchiMate 3.2 (October 2022) | The Open Group | Strategy layer (capability, value stream, resource, course of action) and business layer (actor, role, process, function, service, product) |
| BIZBOK Guide (version 15, 2026) | Business Architecture Guild | Body of knowledge for capability mapping, value stream mapping and reference models |
| BPMN 2.0 (ISO/IEC 19510:2013) | Object Management Group | Detailed process models that can be executed or simulated |
| ISA-95 (IEC 62264) | ISA and IEC | Interface between business planning (level 4) and manufacturing operations management (level 3) |
In the Netherlands, ArchiMate is the dominant notation, partly because the language was developed there between 2002 and 2004. Most Dutch government reference architectures are modelled in it.
🎯 What is business architecture used for?
| Use case | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Strategic change | Supports reorganisation, digitalisation, mergers and decentralisation by showing which capabilities change |
| Project and portfolio choices | Ensures IT and OT investments contribute to the right goals and avoids duplicate projects |
| Aligning IT/OT with policy | Prevents technology and processes from drifting apart |
| Impact analysis | Shows what changes when a process is altered, a reorganisation happens or new legislation arrives |
| Risk and continuity | Links critical processes to systems, as a basis for Business Impact Analysis and risk management |
| Sourcing and collaboration | Makes visible which capabilities you keep in-house and which you outsource to chain partners |
In large programmes, business architecture is also the language in which management and architects meet. A capability heat map tells a board more than a network diagram.
🏛 What role does business architecture play in Dutch government?
Dutch public bodies work with a family of reference architectures under NORA. Each contains a business part with business functions, processes and services:
| Framework | Audience | Business architecture role |
|---|---|---|
| NORA | All of government | Generic public values, principles and service delivery models |
| GEMMA | Municipalities | Standardised business functions and reference processes |
| WILMA | Water boards | Products, services, business functions and processes for water level management, flood defences and wastewater treatment |
| PETRA | Provinces | Links policy for the physical living environment with processes and data |
| MARIJ | Central government (historical) | Government-wide process and function models; succeeded by the EAR and later the RORA |
A municipality or water board therefore does not have to design its business architecture from scratch. It can adopt the reference model and add its own choices.
🏭 How does business architecture relate to OT?
OT is often approached purely technically, but with OT convergence the link with business architecture becomes essential. A pumping station, a traffic control system or a production line exists because a business goal requires it.
| Domain | Business goal | Processes and OT components |
|---|---|---|
| Water management | Flood safety and availability | Water level management, maintenance of pumping stations and weirs, SCADA monitoring |
| Mobility | Traffic flow and road safety | Traffic control, incident management, tunnel control |
| Energy supply | Security of supply | Grid management, fault handling, substation automation |
| Manufacturing | Delivery reliability and cost price | Order handling in ERP, execution in MES, steering on Overall Equipment Effectiveness |
In industry, ISA-95 makes the link explicit: level 4 (business planning and logistics) belongs to the business architecture, while level 3 (manufacturing operations management) turns orders into execution. The Purdue Model uses a similar division. Cybersecurity starts here too: under NIS2 and its Dutch implementation, the Cyberbeveiligingswet (Cbw), in force since 15 August 2026, an organisation must know which of its services fall within scope and which processes and systems they depend on. At its core, that is a business architecture question.
🧭 How do you set up a business architecture step by step?
- Start from strategy and the question at hand - which decision must the architecture support? A merger, a digitalisation programme or a NIS2 project each needs a different focus.
- Choose a reference model - use GEMMA, WILMA, PETRA or an industry model as a starting point instead of a blank sheet.
- Build the capability map - usually three or four levels, with short, stable noun-based names such as Maintenance planning, without department or system names.
- Map value streams - pick the three to five most important ones and link each stage to capabilities.
- Link to the other layers - record which applications, data and OT systems support each capability, preferably in ArchiMate.
- Create heat maps - assess capabilities on maturity, risk and strategic importance and turn that into a roadmap.
- Assign ownership and change management - appoint a business owner per capability and keep the model up to date with every major change.
❓ Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between business architecture and enterprise architecture?
Enterprise architecture covers all layers of an organisation: business, information, applications and technology. Business architecture is the top layer of it and describes goals, capabilities, processes and organisation. The other layers of the enterprise architecture are derived from the business architecture.
What is a capability map?
A capability map is a hierarchical overview of everything an organisation must be able to do, independent of departments, processes and systems. Because capabilities change little, a capability map is a stable framework within a business architecture. Coloured by maturity or risk, it becomes a heat map for investment decisions.
What is the difference between a capability and a process?
A capability describes what an organisation can do, for example Maintenance planning. A process describes how and in which order that happens, with roles, steps and systems. In a business architecture, one capability can be used by several processes, and one process can need several capabilities.
Which notation do you use for business architecture?
In the Netherlands, business architecture is usually modelled in ArchiMate, which has a strategy layer and a business layer. Detailed processes are often worked out in BPMN 2.0. Government reference architectures such as GEMMA and WILMA are available in ArchiMate.
Is business architecture relevant to OT and production?
Business architecture is particularly relevant to OT, because it shows which business goal an installation serves and what downtime costs. In industry, ISA-95 connects the business architecture (level 4) with manufacturing operations management (level 3). For NIS2 and the Dutch Cyberbeveiligingswet, that link helps identify essential services and critical OT systems.
Who is responsible for the business architecture?
A business architect or enterprise architect drafts the business architecture, but ownership lies with management. Each capability should have a business owner who decides on improvements and investments. An architecture board makes sure projects align with the agreed business architecture.
📌 In summary
Business architecture describes what an organisation does, why and by whom, and so forms the bridge between strategy and execution. With capabilities, value streams, processes and reference models such as GEMMA and WILMA, it gives direction to information, application, technical and OT architecture, from municipalities and water boards to factories and energy grids.