I've previously asserted that Virtual Connector Ends (VCEs) should be implemented as specialized t_diagramobject items. That is, they are real diagram objects, but they are clearly identified as VCEs.
I've also mentioned the the Agent as Actor in Role paradigm. In ArchiMate, Actors can have Roles (Assignment arc) but it can't resolve the many-to-many relationships between Actors and Roles (which the Agent paradigm does).
In the Motivation Aspect, it (ArchiMate) has a Stakeholder element. I guess that if an Organisational Unit (say, OU1 is a Stakeholder in something, then you'd create a Stakeholder element named OU1. So far, so good.
However, it's not "Rocket Science" to figure out that you also have an Actor element (at least) calledOU1and it isn't the Stakeholder element OU1- whereas in real life, there is only one OU1and it IS an Organisation Unit. Sometimes, it acts as an Actor in the Role of Stakeholder (that is, Stakeholder is a Role - the specification says so) and sometimes it acts in a different role in some other context.
We're going to solve this problem by allowing the Shapescript for the Agent to respond to user requests to change its shape to look like a Stakeholder, when required.
So far, so good (again).
Let's suppose that on a given diagram the OU1is both a Stakeholder in something and an Owner of the same thing. This poses a problem. Assuming the Shapescript can draw both a Stakeholder and Owner shape, it it infeasible to draw both for the same element!
Fortunately, EA provides a remedy for this infeasibility - the Virtual Connector End. The two roles are managed by two arcs with the appropriate semantics and so we can could two VCEs, one that is rendered as a Stakeholder, the other as Owner.
Unfortunately, the current (incomplete) implementation doesn't allow you to do this. If, however, VCEs were implemented as real t_diagramobject items, which then would have individual User Specific Diagram Properties and therefore the Shapescript could react to the specifics of each diagram object.
Please, please, please can we have real t_diagramobject items for VCEs?
Thoughts?
Reported,
Paolo