Draft Breakout Session Summary, Workshop #34 (2UG)
ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE (EA) - RussellRuggiero, editor (2WG)
1. What is Enterprise Architecture (EA)? (2VV)
a. Is meant to facilitate interrelated efforts to transform the Federal Government toward one that is citizen-centered, results-oriented, and market-based. (http://www.feapmo.gov/fea.asp) (2VW)
b. A holistic representation of the "Whole", layered by core business functions. (2VX)
c. A process for planning and managing IT investments. (2VY)
d. Intended for both IT planning and business process planning. (2VZ)
e. Is a blueprint of where you are, where you'd like to be, and how to get there. (2UL)
2. What are the Main Drivers & Why is OMB Introducing It? (2W0)
a. Include: Legislation, regulations, complexity, emergencies, pace of technology, and ongoing critical needs. (2W1)
b. Include: A compliance and a value added push. (2W2)
c. Includes budget cuts that will ultimately push organizations to compliance. In addition, the OMB intends to fund organizations to collaborate. (2UM)
3. What are the Key Benefits? (2W3)
a. Provides a coherent and linear framework that may be leveraged by all Government Agencies. (2W4)
b. Improves the efficiency and quality of services offered to citizens. (2W5)
c. Improves performance, consistency, harvesting knowledge, while reducing risks and costs. (2W6)
d. Helps to bring down inter-agency barriers such as "Stovepipes" to improve bi-directional communication and collaboration. (2UN)
4. What are the Risks and Consequences? (2W7)
a. The need to distinguish between EA and IT Architectures. (2W8)
b. Few teams have senior management "Buy-In". (2W9)
c. Small Agencies fall through the cracks at OMB because they don't have time to review them. The management ignored the OMB push for developing an EA. (2WA)
d. Security: Has a current understated role in EA, and is too often dealt with as an afterthought. (2UO)
5. How to make it Work? (2WB)
a. By survey existing technologies and find out what's out there at beginning of project to help avoid "Reinventing the Wheel". (2WC)
b. By convincing senior management to view EA as a valuable and useful tool. (2WD)
c. By leveraging open-standards such as XML-based technologies that promote interoperability across unlike applications and platforms. (2WE)
d. By providing a fertile and pliable environment, which helps to discover "Grains of Sand" that turn out to be very valuable "Pearls" regarding the effort. (2UP)