An Artifact represents a piece of data that is used or produced in a software development process, or by deployment and operation of an IT system.

An Artifact represents a tangible element in the IT world. It is typically used to model (software) products such as source files, executables, scripts, database tables, messages, documents, specifications, and model files.

An Application Component or System Software may be realized by one or more Artifacts. A Data Object may be realized by one or more Artifacts. A Node may be assigned to an Artifact to model that the Artifact is deployed on the Node.

The name of an Artifact should preferably be the name of the file it represents.

## Category:

Technology. Passive Structure.

## Examples:

Risk Management EJB, Jar file, Widget, Plug-in.