New to Business Architecture

1. Introduction

Business architecture is a discipline that helps organisations understand how they operate, deliver value, and respond to change. It does this by modelling the organisation’s structure, strategy, capabilities, information, stakeholders, and more in a way that supports decision-making and alignment.

The Orthogramic Metamodel is a structured approach to business architecture that enables consistent modelling across all these areas. It defines the types of things that should be described—like capabilities, value streams, policies, and organisation units—and how they relate to each other. It is designed to be used by business leaders, strategists, analysts, and architects alike.

Unlike traditional, narrative approaches, the Orthogramic Metamodel is designed for clarity, reusability, and automation. It is open, digital, and platform-neutral.

2. What the Orthogramic Metamodel includes

The Metamodel defines domains—categories of knowledge that help describe how a business works. Each domain is supported by a structured data model (called a JSON schema) to ensure consistency.

3. Why structure matters

In many organisations, documentation is inconsistent, fragmented, and locked in different formats. The Orthogramic Metamodel provides a consistent structure that allows documentation to be:

• Comparable – different business units can be assessed using the same approach

• Searchable and analysable – structured data supports analysis, dashboards, and automation

• Interoperable – data can flow between tools and teams without manual translation

By using the Orthogramic Metamodel, teams can create a shared language for describing how the business works and ensure that architecture is not a niche technical activity, but part of everyday decision-making.

4. Where to start

You don’t need to model everything at once. Start small and focus on areas where better clarity will support better decisions. Good entry points include:

a. Capabilities

Describe what your organisation does, not how it does it. Capabilities are stable over time and help you link strategy to operations.

Examples:

• Customer Relationship Management

• Safety Reporting

• Asset Maintenance Planning

→ See the Capabilities schema Capabilities

b. Organisation

Structure your teams into organisational units and roles, and link them to the capabilities they own or use. This provides clarity about responsibility and collaboration.

→ See the Organisation schema Organization

c. Value Streams

Model how value is delivered from start to finish. Value streams help you see the big picture and understand where multiple units collaborate.

→ See the Value Stream schema Value stream

5. Understanding relationships

Orthogramic doesn’t just describe domains—it also describes how they relate. For example:

• A capability may be owned by one unit but used by others.

• A policy may apply to a capability or initiative.

• A stakeholder may require certain performance outcomes or information access.

You can model these relationships directly using artefacts such as:

• Inter-unit domain relationships – show how units depend on shared capabilities, information, or services
  → View example Inter-unit domain relationships

• Strategic Response Model – define how your business reacts to external or internal triggers such as market changes or regulatory events
  → View SRM Strategic Response Model

6. What makes Orthogramic different?

7. Getting started steps

1. Choose your first domain – Capabilities , Organization , or Stakeholder are good entry points.

2. Use the schema templates to structure your descriptions.

3. Model relationships between domains to gain insights into alignment and dependencies.

4. Share with others to get feedback and build shared understanding.

5. Use the data – for reviews, planning, performance tracking, or integration with tools.