Intro to Business Architecture Terms

The Orthogramic Metamodel uses a structured set of terms to describe how an organisation works, what it delivers, and how it adapts to change. Each term is defined precisely to support clarity, automation, and traceability.

This guide introduces key terms in plain language and explains how they relate to one another in practice.

Core Terms and Definitions

Term	Definition
Domain	A category of knowledge used to describe a part of how the business operates (e.g., Strategy, Capability, Organization, Policy). Each domain has a consistent structure and schema.
Attribute	A property that describes a characteristic of a domain element (e.g., title, purpose, owner).
Element	A key part or sub-section within a domain (e.g., a Capability has Components, Processes, and a Function).
Sub-element	A further breakdown within an element that describes detailed content (e.g., a Capability Process includes Inputs, Outputs, and Performance Metrics).

For Data Engineers

These terms map to data modeling concepts you're familiar with:

• Domain → Schema /Entity Type
• Attribute → Column /Property
• Element → Nested Object /Complex Type
• Sub-element → Nested Property /Array Item

Key Domains Explained

Strategy & Governance

Domain	Primary Elements	Description
Strategy	Business Objective	High-level goals and strategic direction
Policy	Policy Attribute	Governance statements that guide decisions
Performance	KPI (Key Performance Indicator)	Measures of effectiveness and outcome achievement

Execution & Delivery

Domain	Primary Elements	Description
Capabilities	Component, Function, Process	Organisational abilities that deliver value
Value Stream	Value Stream Stage	End-to-end sequences that create stakeholder value
Initiatives	Program, Project	Discrete bodies of work that implement strategy
Services	Service Feature	Service-level components that support value delivery
Products	Product Feature	Offerings delivered to the market or stakeholders

Structural Context

Domain	Primary Elements	Description
Organization	Organisation Unit	Structural entities that perform and govern work
Stakeholder	Stakeholder Requirement	Needs, concerns, and influence of internal/external actors
Information	Information Component	Business-critical data assets and their use
People	Role, Skill, Workforce Structure	Human capability, roles, and workforce design
Technology	Application, Infrastructure, Standards	Digital assets, platforms, and architectural layers

Market & External

Domain	Primary Elements	Description
Customer	Customer Segment, Experience Attribute	Entities receiving and influencing value delivery
Channel	Distribution Network, Integration Element	Pathways for delivering products and services
Market	Market Segment, Competitive Profile	External operating environment and positioning
Supply Chain	Supplier Network, Logistics Flow	Upstream and downstream value contributors

Risk & Sustainability

Domain	Primary Elements	Description
Risk	Risk Type, Control, Mitigation	Uncertainties and controls relevant to objectives
Finance	Budget, Financial Objective	Financial planning, funding, and value tracking
Sustainability	Environmental, Social, Governance Metric	ESG considerations and impact frameworks
Innovation	Innovation Pipeline, Idea Evaluation	New thinking and emerging opportunity domains

Relationship and Structure Terms

Term	Definition
Inter-unit domain relationships	Defines how different organizational units interact with the same capability, service, or domain artefact (e.g., one unit owns a capability, another consumes it).
Relationship role	The type of connection a unit has to a domain element (e.g., owning unit, providing unit, consuming unit, custodian, governing unit).
Trigger	An external or internal event that causes the business to respond (e.g., a new regulation, customer feedback).
Rationale	A reason for action, often linked to a trigger and connected to specific strategies, initiatives, or policies.
Strategic Response Model (SRM)	A structured way to link triggers, rationales, and the organisational responses across domains.
Governance	The oversight structures and processes that ensure decisions are consistent with strategy and compliant with rules.

Terminology Bridge: Business Architecture ↔ Data Platform

If you're coming from a data platform background, this mapping will help:

Business Architecture Term	Data Platform Equivalent	Usage Context
Capability	Service /Function /Feature	What an organization can do
Value Stream	Data Pipeline /Workflow /DAG	How value flows through processes
Stakeholder	Data Owner /Steward /Consumer	Who is accountable
Information	Data Asset /Entity /Table	What data represents
Performance Indicator	Data Quality Metric /KPI	How success is measured
Initiative	Project /Sprint /Epic	How change is delivered
Organization Unit	Data Domain /Team	Where responsibility lies
Policy	Data Governance Rule /Tag Policy	What constraints apply
Service	API /Microservice /Endpoint	How capabilities are exposed
Trigger	Event /Alert /Notification	What initiates action
Rationale	Impact Assessment /Business Case	Why action is taken

Example: How Terms Relate

Let's trace through a real scenario to see how these terms connect:

1. A Trigger (e.g., regulatory change) leads to a Rationale for change
2. The Strategic Response Model defines how the business will respond—via Initiatives, Policy updates, or changes to Capabilities
3. The affected Capabilities are owned by specific Organization Units, which may be supported or influenced by others via Inter-unit domain relationships
4. Success is tracked via Performance KPIs, and relevant Stakeholders are kept informed
5. All elements are structured, versioned, and traceable via the JSON schema definitions of each domain

Schema-First Approach

Every term in the Orthogramic Metamodel is backed by a JSON Schema definition. This means:

• Validation — Ensure data conforms to expected structure
• Documentation — Self-documenting through schema metadata
• Integration — Standard format enables tool interoperability
• Automation — Programmatic access to business architecture data

{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
  "title": "Capability",
  "type": "object",
  "required": ["capabilityID", "title", "owner"],
  "properties": {
    "capabilityID": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Unique identifier for the capability"
    },
    "title": {
      "type": "string", 
      "description": "Name of the capability"
    },
    "owner": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Person or role accountable for the capability"
    }
  }
}

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Next: Apply these terms in the Getting Started Worksheet or explore the Domain documentation.