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sourceDocument: Australia Enterprise Architecture
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/application-portfolio-management

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    - australia

ft:locale :

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ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Enterprise Architecture

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---

# Exploring the business architecture

# Exploring the business architecture {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read  
The Business Architecture section within the Portfolio page of the Enterprise Architecture Workspace helps you in the structuring of your business functions and strategies.
* **[Exploring business units](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/IXMgo_K47v~nYaJIQGKlCQ)**   
  Business units are part of your organization that are responsible for certain operations and have their own objectives.
* **[Exploring departments](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/JjGJKAARrzNwY5P~VHpKJQ)**   
  Departments are specialized functional areas within an organization, having their own specified roles and objectives. Departments are subsets of business units.
* **[Exploring goals](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/qw7SJKbraAopuEry~v5mTg)**   
  Goals are important for aligning and optimizing investments in business applications and for driving strategic outcomes.
* **[Exploring value streams](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/gFmaIdliW0fRPOnsw~yJKA)**   
  In Enterprise Architecture, a value stream represents an end-to-end sequence of activities that delivers value in your enterprise architecture landscape. A value stream is made up of individual value stream stages, each of which represents a discrete step in that sequence.
* **[Exploring value stream stages](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ku_BCD57L2kVgLh84vgsmA)**   
  Value stream stages are a specific section within the overall value stream, encompassing a specific set of activities.
* **[Exploring business capabilities](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/dZMprHgODUDnPQALz~p5vg)**   
  A business capability is the ability of an organization to do its business activities successfully and fulfill its business goals.
* **[Exploring business processes](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Ri4HCfEHyyfWY~81wH9NLA)**   
  Business processes model how your organization performs work to achieve a business outcome. Use business processes in Enterprise Architecture Workspace to build a process hierarchy and to associate processes with supporting business applications.
* **[Exploring business process activities](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/mHgPX6lPYD5Z8vHzQB_Z7Q)**   
  Business process activities represent discrete units of work within workflows. Knowing how they differ from business processes helps you model organizational tasks accurately.
* **[Exploring demands](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/FLNDDRzfQtsFmUyNvETX0A)**   
  You can use a demand as a step to identify cost-saving opportunities on applications or capabilities and to meet the target.
* **[Exploring business actors](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/RHAGAHWKlbcXqHXBMEvLwQ)**   
  A business actor represents the entity that performs work in your organization, such as a business unit, role, or department.
* **[Exploring business roles](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/AdFOPlc8HuzP9HSakfxlfQ)**   
  A business role defines the responsibilities, rights, and duties that a business actor holds when performing specific business behavior.
* **[Exploring drivers](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/S4tdpycXtyaKO1BvrnViRg)**   
  A driver is an external or internal condition that motivates your organization to define goals and implement changes in Enterprise Architecture Workspace.
* **[Exploring stakeholders](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/PuubTXFm7FM_leTvHqjYBA)**   
  Stakeholders are individuals or teams with an interest in your enterprise architecture outcomes. Use stakeholders to identify who influences and is affected by your architectural decisions.

**Related concepts**   

* [Using business architecture](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/PnK99zPyTkAxyFqlAu4Shg "Manage business units, departments, goals, value streams, value stream stages, business capabilities, business processes, and demands in the Enterprise Architecture Workspace.")