Suppose your service team needs an overview, while a developer wants to see the dependencies. You can give them different views of the same model. When a shared element changes, both views use the updated information.
The three ideas
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Model | The saved information: elements, relationships, properties, views and presentation settings. A model has one diagram type. |
| Diagram | A visual rendering of the model using its notation and layout. |
| View | A selected perspective: membership, layout, positions, presentation and optional steps. Several views can use the same model. |
Systems and interactions
Revelation uses Systems for element records and Interactions for relationships. In a process model a system record may be a task; in an ER model it may be an entity. These panel labels do not limit the kinds of things you can model.
Each record has an ID. Names may change while relationships still refer to the same IDs. Normal table displays hide IDs; advanced JSON work must preserve them.
What an edit affects
Renaming an element changes that element wherever it appears. Moving it changes its presentation; save the view and then the model to retain your intended arrangement. Deleting a view keeps the underlying elements. Deleting an element changes the model itself.
Views and layout modes are different
Drag & Drop, Radial, Grid and Sequence are layout modes. Overview and Application services might be named views. Select them from the Layout menu. The automatic view of everything is useful when a focused view omits an element you expected to see.
One notation per model
Choose the notation before authoring. Changing a model-type property is not a semantic conversion between notations. For a separate BPMN and ArchiMate description of the same service, use separate models with meaningful names.