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# Exploring the business architecture

# Exploring the business architecture {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Zurich
* 
* Updated July 31, 2025
* 
* ![](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/KjaVcYksCAWNnj6Ota_jXw)**   
  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/Ntb5CWyioKNV72yIYP5lCA)**   
  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/Hp8lnAmBGzoNLg9cpRa53A)**   
  Goals are important for aligning and optimizing investments in business applications and for driving strategic outcomes.
* **[Exploring value streams](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Yk9Z0B80SemtfaAKQkyjdw)**   
  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/LVEMOZZgLK6DaDxaFWF7bA)**   
  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/cvgBM6qfwHJVbgIKwd55vw)**   
  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/s0OqnAiaYY0AVS94Bj94AA)**   
  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/wh0A27up32GN8qltC852~w)**   
  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/OsBVhtpP~XASVlGIzujBlQ)**   
  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/AtbMVsxoH16yvvl1bl7ChA)**   
  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/Cr4_C_42TrsLB8~5YoNRjA)**   
  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/dZ7PxzUn2cTII9JsargXCg)**   
  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/yTZHF_GeASgDElcM5HlUXA)**   
  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/E~BaAuJXJx_eD5IxZa8oOA "Manage business units, departments, goals, value streams, value stream stages, business capabilities, business processes, and demands in the Enterprise Architecture Workspace.")