Software Architecture Export

Export Your Software Architecture to Enterprise Architect

Stop re-creating your software architecture in Enterprise Architect manually.

Axivion extracts the architecture embedded in your code and exports a complete, ready-to-use model directly into Sparx Enterprise Architect.

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Make Sure Your Software Architecture Documentation Keeps Up With Your Development

In embedded and safety-critical development, architecture documentation is often the first thing to fall behind, which can even lead to consequences for compliance. Here are some of the reasons you should be using Axivion's Architecture Export feature.

Legacy Code Without Documentation

Legacy codebases were often never properly documented. Understanding the architecture requires hours of hypothesis testing and manual reconstruction.

Supplier Mandates for Enterprise Architect

Automotive suppliers are frequently required to deliver architecture models in Sparx Enterprise Architect, but have no easy way to generate them and leading to an increased workload.

Models That Drift From the Code

Architecture diagrams that exist but no longer match the actual codebase are worse than no documentation. They create false confidence in safety-critical systems.

Software architecture documentation is only useful if it reflects reality. With Axivion's Architecture Export feature, the architecture embedded in your code becomes a living, shareable model — ready to import into Sparx Enterprise Architect (EA) from day one.

No manual reverse-engineering. No documentation drift. No gap between what the architecture says and what the code does.

Axivion extracts the actual structure of your software — components, functions, attributes, information flow, and dependencies — directly from your source code. This complete architecture model can then be exported and imported into Sparx Enterprise Architect as a ready-to-use initial model.

From there, architects can modify and extend the model in Enterprise Architect, then re-import it back into Axivion to continue architecture verification against the updated design. The loop is closed: code informs the model, the model governs the code.

Step 1

Axivion_ArchitectureExport_1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Extract

Axivion analyses your source code, including legacy systems, and automatically builds an architecture model. Components, functions, attributes, dependencies, and communication links are all captured.

Export

The complete architecture model is exported in a format ready for Sparx Enterprise Architect. No manual re-entry. The exported model serves as the initial model for the project.

Maintain in EA

Architects modify, adapt, and extend the model in Enterprise Architect by adding new components, adjusting boundaries, or aligning with design intent.

Verify

The updated model is re-imported into Axivion. Every subsequent commit is automatically verified against it in your CI/CD pipeline, ensuring no violations are committed when merging.

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No More Manual Reverse-Engineering

Bi-directional Architecture Modeling with Axivion and Enterprise Architect

Join us for a live demonstration and see how Architecture Export closes the gap between your code and your architecture documentation.

Why architecture documentation drifts out of sync with the codebase
The cost of architecture violations going undetected
What Axivion's Architecture Verification does
How to export architecture

Architecture Export is primarily aimed at software architects and lead engineers working on embedded or safety-critical systems — people responsible for keeping the architecture honest across a codebase that is constantly changing.

These are professionals who already know what the architecture should look like, but spend significant time reconciling that intent with what the code actually does. They need a model they can trust, and they need it to stay current without becoming a maintenance burden in itself.

The feature is also directly relevant to quality and compliance leads in automotive or industrial contexts, where architecture documentation is not optional — it is an auditable deliverable. If your team is working toward ISO 26262, ASPICE, or a customer-specified toolchain that includes Sparx Enterprise Architect, this is the workflow that closes the gap between what Axivion verifies and what your documentation must show.

Getting started can be challenging. We are here to help.

Reach out to our architecture experts

Teams working in Enterprise Architect

While Axivion includes Gravis as a built-in modelling tool, some teams prefer Enterprise Architect for their design work. Architecture Export makes this a first-class workflow: export the current architecture from Axivion, model and adapt it in EA, and re-import when you're ready to verify against the updated design.

Supplier compliance

Automotive and other safety-critical suppliers are often contractually required to deliver software architecture documentation in Sparx Enterprise Architect. Architecture Export generates a complete, code-accurate EA model automatically — ready to submit without manual reconstruction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Architecture Export work on legacy codebases with no existing documentation?

Yes — this is one of the primary use cases the feature is designed for. Architecture Export derives the model entirely from static analysis of the source code itself. It does not require any prior documentation, existing architecture diagrams, or annotations in the code. If Axivion can analyse the code, it can extract and export an architecture model from it.

Can I control how my project structure is represented in the exported model?

Yes. Axivion allows you to define a meta model that controls how your project is mapped — for example, whether directories, files, or namespaces are represented as packages and components. Modelling granularity can be set down to the level of individual functions and variables. This configuration is done in Axivion before the export, so the resulting Enterprise Architect model reflects your intended component boundaries rather than a raw mirror of the directory structure.

Is the workflow truly bidirectional — can I modify the model in Sparx Enterprise Architect and bring it back into Axivion?

Yes. The intended workflow is: You extract architecture from source code in Axivion, then export the complete model to Sparx Enterprise Architect, where you refine and adapt the model in Enterprise Architect, and then re-import the updated model into Axivion for ongoing verification. This round-trip allows architects to work in their preferred tool while keeping the verification model current. Our support team will assist you when setting up Axivion Architecture Verification and walk you through the entire process.

Does Architecture Export replace Gravis, Axivion's built-in modelling tool?

No. Gravis remains the built-in modelling and visualisation tool within Axivion. Architecture Export is an additional output option for teams that need to work with — or deliver — architecture models in Sparx Enterprise Architect. Both Gravis and Enterprise Architect can be used as part of an Axivion workflow; the choice depends on your team's preferences and any toolchain requirements from your customers.

Is Architecture Export available as part of my existing Axivion licence?

Architecture Export is part of Axivion's Architecture Verification pack and does not require separate licencing if you are already using it. If you have only licenced Axivion Static Code Analyisis, please contact your sales representative to upgrade your licence.

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