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You are at the starting point for creating and co-creating visuals, that is what we call interactive and dynamics diagrams. Dragon1 is a modeling and visualization platform so you will be drawing models, views and visualizations. What you create will actually be presented and can be used to support decision-making by management in organizations and will guide projects in realizing solutions.

Dragon1 goes beyond the normal UML-based modeling and diagramming tools. You will bring your diagrams to life with it by adding alternative views to models and adding interactivity for viewers.

Because Dragon1 is specialized enterprise architecture software, many examples, tutorials, and lessons will focus on enterprise architecture. But know that you can also use Dragon1 as well for Project Management, Systems Design, Business Process Modeling / Analysis, and other related areas of work.

Start your journey for modeling and presenting online here today!

On this page, we introduce a set of incremental lessons as a guided introduction to build your first diagrams. The lessons presented here will make it easy for you to do so.

Every topic in this Get Started area is a lesson. It contains a step-by-step approach and all the conceptual information you need to complete it. The lessons are built on top of each other. They walk you through the process of creating visual design and management products.

As you make your way through the lessons building diagrams, you will learn about the concepts. You will gain a deeper understanding of the Dragon1 Open Enterprise Architecture Method, and familiarize yourself with the many valuable features of the Dragon1 Platform.

Get Started Game Plan

Campaign

The lessons together form a campaign, called a game plan. Everyone who has created an account automatically is subscribed to weekly personalized email notifications that report your progress on this game plan. This is at no extra cost. All for free. Of course, you can turn the notification off.

Setup and Personalize (lesson 0)

This step you can take just right after logging in for the first time. You will visit your digital workplace for the first time, select a personal background, and set up your personal channel page and all kinds of other this.

The starting point for this step is Setup and Personalize.

Dragon1 Essentials (lesson 1)

Before creating all the nice content on the platform, we advise you to first do the Essentials of Dragon1 lesson.

Especially for you we have created a Playground to explore some useful and necessary features playfully.

Creating a UML Use Case Diagram - static and dynamic - (lesson 2)

After your first exercises of the Essentials, you are ready to create your first UML Use Case Diagram. You see in the treeview on the left, pages which you can follow building your diagram.

A Use Case diagram is a very important diagram. You collect requirements from stakeholders with it. So it facilitates communication.

Use case diagrams are known for their formal uncommunicative appearance (render). But in the lesson, you will learn how to create several interactive informal views to show to your stakeholders. With that, they will understand the diagram and the consequences (impact) of their requirements better. This, one could say, is the power of Dragon1.

Screenshot of an example formal Use Case Diagram.

If you are more interested in creating a flowchart or BPMN process model, you can, as part of the game plan, follow that tutorial in the contents sections instead of creating a UML Use Diagram.

Building a Basic Architecture Diagram (lesson 3)

After creating the use case diagram, flowchart, or BPMN, you are ready to create a small architecture diagram.

We have created a separate tutorial for this lesson because of its depth.

A diagram is an architecture diagram when it shows concepts, their principles (way of working), and elements. Also, an architecture diagram needs to show stakeholders with their requirements that need the concepts, principles, and their elements as solutions.

So that you will be creating in this lesson.

Basic Architecture Diagram.

Building a Dragon1 Architecture Diagram (lesson 4)

You are ready for the real work: a Dragon1 Architecture Diagram. In these lessons, you will be building a diagram called 'The Digital Future of the City Of Atlantis'. This diagram shows the three sections that together always make up a Dragon1 Diagram: Strategy, Architecture, and Transformation. The strategy part shows the demand or need for a change. The architecture part shows the concepts, elements, and principles that make up the digital enterprise solution and the transformation part shows the program, projects, milestones, and deliverables.

Additional Filtering.

Create a click-through Process Application Landscape (lesson 5)

For full interactivity, you want popups, tracking and tracing, sound, and clickable links forward and backward to other visualizations.

dragon1 process application landscape diagram

Using the Tags.

Creating an Enterprise Architecture Blueprint (lesson 6)

Dragon1 Big Five #1, an interactive EA Blueprint poster

Once you master creating different kinds of models, views, and diagrams, you are ready for the big stuff: to create an A0-sized interactive architecture poster: Big Five #1.

Enterprise Architecture Blueprint Template.

You will be using a template to be more productive. Read all about it here.

Getting Your User License

Before you can build a diagram or play in the Playground you first need to get a user license to be able to log in to Dragon1.

There are the following options we provide for you:

And as always, be sure you read our terms and conditions before you start using Dragon1.