Why is it important to maintain “Control and Oversight” in the Enterprise
Why is it important to maintain “Control and Oversight” in the Enterprise
Architecture Process? Please refer to “Practical Guide to Federal Enterprise Architecture”, Figure 3, page 9.
A Practical GuidetoFederal Enterprise ArchitectureChief Information Officer CouncilVersion 1.0February 2001
iiiFebruary 2001PrefaceAn enterprise architecture (EA) establishes the Agency-wide roadmap to achieve an Agency&s missionthrough optimal performance of its core business processes within an efficient information technology(IT) environment.Simply stated, enterprise architectures are ±blueprints² for systematically andcompletely defining an organization&s current (baseline) or desired (target) environment.Enterprisearchitectures are essential for evolving information systems and developing new systems that optimizetheir mission value.This is accomplished in logical or business terms (e.g., mission, business functions,information flows, and systems environments) and technical terms (e.g., software, hardware,communications), and includes a Sequencing Plan for transitioning from the baseline environment to thetarget environment.If defined, maintained, and implemented effectively, these institutional blueprints assist in optimizing theinterdependencies and interrelationships among an organization&s business operations and the underlyingIT that support operations.The experience of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and GeneralAccounting Office (GAO) has shown that without a complete and enforced EA, federal agencies run therisk of buying and building systems that are duplicative, incompatible, and unnecessarily costly tomaintain and integrate.For EAs to be useful and provide business value, their development, maintenance, and implementationshould be managed effectively.This step-by-step process guide is intended to assist agencies in defining,maintaining, and implementing EAs by providing a disciplined and rigorous approach to EA life cyclemanagement.It describes major EA program management areas, beginning with suggestedorganizational structure and management controls, a process for development of a baseline and targetarchitecture, and development of a sequencing plan.The guide also describes EA maintenance andimplementation, as well as oversight and control.Collectively, these areas provide a recommendedmodel for effective EA management.BackgroundReflecting the general consensus in industry that large, complex systems development and acquisitionefforts should be guided by explicit EAs, Congress required Federal Agency Chief Information Officersto develop, maintain, and facilitate integrated systems architectures with the passage of the Clinger-CohenAct1in 1996.Additionally, OMB has issued guidance that requires agency information systemsinvestments to be consistent with Federal, Agency, and bureau architectures.Other OMB guidanceprovides for the content of Agency enterprise architectures.2Similarly, the Chief Information OfficerCouncil, the Department of the Treasury, the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST), andGAO, have developed architecture frameworks or models that define the content of enterprisearchitectures.31Public Law 104-106, section 5125, 110 Stat. 684 (1996).2OMB Circular A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources, November 30, 2000.3Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework,Version 1.1, Federal Chief Information Officers Council, September1999;Treasury Enterprise Architecture Framework,Version 1,the Department of the Treasury, July 3, 2000; theNational Institute of Standards and Technology&s Enterprise Architectural Model, referenced in NIST SpecialPublication 500-167,Information Management Directions: the Integration Challenge; and Strategic InformationPlanning: Framework for Designing and Developing System Architectures(GAO/IMTEC-92-51, June 1992).
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