Enabling the Mission
From PGFSOA Wiki
Architecture and Infrastructure Committee,
Federal Chief Information Officers Council
In collaboration with the
The American Council for Technology / Industry Advisory Council’s
Enterprise Architecture Shared Interest Group (EA-SIG)
Presents:
A Practical Guide to Federal Service Oriented Architecture - Version 1.2, Work in Progress, June 2008
First Draft published: February 2008
Intended Audience
This document is intended for chief architects, chief information officers (CIOs), program executives, and other individuals in federal agencies who are responsible for leveraging information technology (IT) assets to assist in achieving maximum mission performance in pursuit of agency business objectives. The purpose of this document is to aid in understanding service oriented architecture (SOA) in its three major dimensions (enterprise, architecture, and infrastructure) and how these new service oriented best practices can be used to extend Enterprise Architecture, not replace it. This Guide provides specific guidance for adopting and exploiting this new paradigm for transforming business through agile, reusable, software development in conjunction with effective use of its supporting technology infrastructure.
Based on the information in this document, chief architects and CIOs can become leaders capable of developing and effectively explaining the SOA business case for business stakeholders to inform and guide them in understanding and supporting the investment philosophy they are being asked to champion. Leaders should be able to develop plans for implementing and exploiting a successful roadmap for SOA adoption, and leverage and shape ongoing development, modernization, and enhancement (DME) activities within their agency. In addition, individuals should be able to leverage, support, and use cross-boundary initiatives working with their peers in other agencies, in local, state, and tribal governments, as well as private sector partners.
Some of the guidance in this document is best described as a call to action for the Federal CIO community because it identifies specific areas where additional work or new cross-Government initiatives may be needed to further develop voluntary consensus standards or best practices. In keeping with a basic theme of this document -- that agencies and other stakeholders will come together via federated governance to act based on their common requirements and needs -- we expect this call to action and practical guidance to be the basis of informed decision-making, allowing Federal enterprise participants to have viable knowledge to support effective execution of investment strategies. As agencies evolve and mature their Service Orientation competencies and augment their EAs, the CIO Council will evaluate and facilitate SOA-enhanced EA based on the shared assessment of the requirements and needs.
