Sparx EA Platform

MDG Technology patterns for common EA use cases

By Ryan Schmierer  ·  July 30, 2025

Your MDG Technology is your metamodel contract. It defines what your model can represent, how elements relate, and what quality rules apply. It also directly affects how well EA GraphLink surfaces your architecture to AI tools. Better MDG = better AI output. That’s not metaphorical.

This is a reference guide. Five patterns covering the use cases we see most often. For each one: the element types, the key tagged values (with exact names and data types), the relationships that matter, and the Quick Linker configuration you’ll need.

Copy these. Adapt them to your standards. Use them.

1. Capability Map (TOGAF-aligned)

What it does: Represents capability hierarchy with decomposition, linked to business processes, applications, and the organisational units that own them. Standard TOGAF approach, but structured for AI navigation and stakeholder reporting.

Element types:

Key tagged values:

Name Type Purpose
strategic_importance Enumeration: Strategic, Important, Operational, Legacy Prioritizes capabilities for investment
maturity_level Enumeration: Nascent, Repeatable, Defined, Managed, Optimized Maturity model alignment
owner_name String Direct ownership reference (queryable)
owner_unit Reference (to OrganisationalUnit) Organizational context
value_driver String Links to business outcomes
annual_investment String Budget context (free-form; exact figures optional)

Relationships:

Quick Linker config:

Why this works: Stakeholders understand it immediately. AI tools can traverse the capability graph to answer “what apps support this capability?” and “who owns this?” without guessing. The tagged values feed directly into Kernaro Assist for stakeholder reporting and gap analysis.

2. Application Portfolio (with lifecycle attributes)

What it does: Application landscape with vendor, version, lifecycle stage, and business criticality. Links to infrastructure (nodes), capabilities (what it does), and data objects (what it uses).

Element types:

Key tagged values:

Name Type Purpose
vendor_name String Application vendor
vendor_product String Product name or SKU
current_version String Current deployed version
lifecycle_stage Enumeration: Strategic, Stable, Sunset, Retired End-of-life planning
endoflife_date Date (YYYY-MM-DD) Support cutoff date
business_criticality Enumeration: Critical, High, Medium, Low Downtime impact
owner_team String Support/operations owner
annual_cost String TCV or annual run-rate
data_classification String PII, Sensitive, Internal, Public

Relationships:

Quick Linker config:

Why this works: Portfolio planning is a constant conversation. Kernaro Assist can generate retirement roadmaps, capability gap analysis, and vendor consolidation proposals directly from this structure. The data classification tag feeds integration governance and data residency checks.

3. System Integration Map

What it does: Documents interfaces, protocols, data contracts, and message flows between applications. The closest thing you have to a system integration blueprint.

Element types:

Key tagged values:

Name Type Purpose
protocol_type Enumeration: HTTP/REST, SOAP/XML, Message Queue, Database, File Transfer, FTP, Direct Integration method
data_format Enumeration: JSON, XML, CSV, Binary, Protobuf, Avro, EDI, Proprietary Payload structure
call_frequency Enumeration: Real-time, Near-real-time, Batch Hourly, Batch Daily, Batch Weekly, On-demand, Event-driven Synchronization pattern
slaresponsetime String e.g., “< 1 second", "< 5 minutes", "24 hour batch"
sla_availability String e.g., “99.9%”, “Business hours only”
owner_name String Integration owner (usually application owner on source side)
is_deprecated Boolean Flag for sunset integrations
replacement_interface Reference (to InterfaceSpecification) Forward reference for decommissioning

Relationships:

Quick Linker config:

Why this works: Integration debt is invisible until it’s mapped. Kernaro Assist can use this to identify integration patterns (chains of integrations creating latency), flag deprecated interfaces nearing cutoff, and generate integration refactoring proposals. EA GraphLink queries on this structure answer “show me all batch integrations” or “which apps call this service?” instantly.

4. Business Process Decomposition (BPMN with organisational overlay)

What it does: BPMN subprocess hierarchy linked to roles, systems, and data. Shows who does what, with what systems, on what data.

Element types:

Key tagged values:

Name Type Purpose
process_stage Enumeration: Design, Active, Deprecated, Archived Process lifecycle
owner_role Reference (to Role) Accountable party
cycletimetarget String e.g., “5 business days”, “4 hours”
sla_definition String Service level expectation
manualefforthours Decimal Est. human effort per instance
exception_rate String e.g., “2%”, “< 1%" (typical exception frequency)
is_automated Boolean True if RPA or full system automation
automation_tool String e.g., “RPA UiPath”, “Workflow Engine”

Relationships:

Quick Linker config:

Why this works: Business process architecture is where most architecture work lives, but it’s often siloed in separate tools. By anchoring it in EA, you connect process design to application landscape and organizational structure. Kernaro Assist can generate process improvement recommendations (“this subprocess is 8 hours of manual effort but could use the existing DataObject API”) and identify automation opportunities.

5. Technology Lifecycle (standards categories)

What it does: Technology standards register showing adoption status across your organization. Tracks what’s strategic, what’s accepted, what you’re retiring.

Element types:

Stereotypes by category:

Key tagged values:

Name Type Purpose
adoption_status Enumeration: Strategic, Accepted, Tolerated, Retiring, Retired TOGAF standards alignment
standard_category String e.g., “Database Platform”, “API Framework”, “Monitoring Tool”
review_date Date (YYYY-MM-DD) When status was last assessed
nextreviewdate Date (YYYY-MM-DD) When status should be reviewed again
replacement_technology Reference (to Technology) What to migrate to (if retiring)
vendororcommunity String e.g., “Oracle”, “Apache”, “Linux Foundation”
version_range String e.g., “8.x – 12.x”, “Any” (to allow flexibility)
approval_date Date (YYYY-MM-DD) When the technology was approved
rationale String Why this technology is strategic/accepted/tolerated

Relationships:

Quick Linker config:

Why this works: Technology standards are governance, but they’re often documented in spreadsheets separate from your EA model. By anchoring them here, you make them queryable. “Which applications are using tolerated frameworks?” becomes an instant answer. Kernaro Assist can use this to generate standards compliance reports and identify deviations with business context (“app X uses Tolerated Framework Y; business criticality is Low; migration priority is Low”).

Implementation notes

Getting started:

  1. Choose the pattern that matches your highest-value use case
  2. Create the stereotypes and tagged value definitions in your MDG Technology
  3. Define the relationships (both constraints and quick linkers)
  4. Populate a pilot set of elements (one capability hierarchy, one application portfolio section, one process)
  5. Validate against your standards; iterate on the tagged value definitions

Quality checks:

EA GraphLink alignment: All five patterns translate cleanly to GraphQL queries through EA GraphLink. The better your MDG definition, the more precise your queries become. Kernaro Assist uses these queries to understand context; better definition = better AI output.

These patterns aren’t gospel. Adapt them. Your standards might use different terminology, or you might need additional attributes for your industry. The structure is what matters: clear element types, specific tagged values, explicit relationships, and governance-aligned enumerations.

Your metamodel is the foundation of everything else. Get it right, and your architecture becomes navigable to AI tools, reportable to stakeholders, and governable at scale.

Start with one pattern. Master it. Then add the others.

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