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March 2006 deadline looms for implementing enterprise architecture

OMB will start assessing agencies' enterprise architectures starting in October. They'll be done by March 2006. Karlu Rambhala has some thoughts on what the assessment is all about, how agencies can comply quickly, and what the benefits will be.
Written by ZDNet UK, Contributor

Writing in Federal Times, Karlu Rambhala of Avineon notes that OMB will start assessing agencies' enterprise architectures starting in October. They'll be done by March 2006. Here are the points they'll be judging. Does the architecture:

  • Enable change management?
  • Enable integration and standardization regarding interoperability, data, business logic and interface?
  • Support the technological aspects of system components, operating platforms, performance and security?

     

  • Mesh with the agency’s strategic goals?

Fortunately, this isn't exactly untrod ground, he writes.

To accelerate compliance — and a higher level of performance — agencies can borrow from the playbook of commercial enterprises that have achieved success with standardization and interoperability. For example, best practices in architecture design and software development are achieved when design efforts are focused on sound processes, repeatability, clear documentation, appropriate feedback and excellence in project management. The Treasury Department’s Financial Management Service is one agency that has followed this model through its migration from legacy systems to more functional and reusable component-based systems, which offer a measure of success for integration requirements.

 

 Ultimately, doing this work will yield great things.

Enterprise architecture has become central to every agency because it is where people, processes, data and technology come together to deliver the citizen-centered, results-oriented government outlined in the president’s management agenda. Agencies that build and take full advantage of well-designed architectures are leading the charge in delivering on the president’s vision. In the longer term, compliance means agencies will have systems that adapt by incorporating feedback into design and operations, so they are “future-proofed” against unknown challenges. Now that sounds like a transformed government.

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