This year the Federal government will be undertaking one of the most significant transformations in history. The new Administration comes to town with major policy objectives to reshape how the Federal Government addresses crises in areas such as health care, financial management and the environment. They will have a limited amount of time to make their mark and will need to move quickly. But how will they know that their goals are synchronized and in harmony with current agency investment strategies? The answer is through Enterprise Architecture.
EA is the primary planning tool for aligning investments and programs with desired outcomes. It provides a structured approach for communicating objectives, analyzing business processes and their results, and developing a plan for getting from here to there. The use of EA is mandated in the Federal government in the IT arena, but it has the ability to support much more. The EA Shared Interest Group (SIG) assists the Federal government in improving the practice of EA, communicating its value, and applying it to improve government’s delivery of services.
EA SIG Theme for 2011: To leverage EA in support of strategic, performance-driven change.
EA SIG – Mission:
The EA SIG provides an objective, vendor-neutral and ethical forum to address Enterprise Architecture issues of common interest to government and industry. Our ultimate goal is to help government leaders develop approaches to address the challenges they face in delivering quality products and services to citizens. We are closely aligned with the CIO Council Architecture & Infrastructure Committee (AIC) and the Federal Enterprise Architecture Program Management Office (FEA PMO). We are results focused and driven by pragmatic considerations. We consider the linkage of EA to other management disciplines (strategic planning, budgeting, performance management, portfolio management, etc.) to be of primary importance and strive to collaborate closely with our fellow management disciplines.
EA SIG – What We Do:
The EA SIG follows an informal process for initiating, vetting and developing projects. In support of the AIC and FEA PMO, who identify strategic issues around which to focus, we prepare 1-page statements of the problem (“SnipIT”), hold forums to discuss and debate them, prepare Requests for Assistance (RFA) for a government leader to sponsor, conduct research & prepare white papers and briefings.
We are assisted by our Government Advisory Panel (GAP) – senior government leaders who help us interpret the AIC and the FEA PMO priorities and prepare our agenda for the upcoming year. Quarterly we review our accomplishments with the GAP to obtain their feedback and to plan for the next steps.
EA SIG – How to Join:
If you are interested in contributing to this exciting forum and working with your government and industry peers to advance and apply EA in the Federal setting, we encourage you to speak to any of the EA SIG representatives or just register online on the IAC Portal. The EA SIG offers you the opportunity to have an impact on how your government operates and provides a forum for interacting with government leaders – particularly Chief Architects – as well as industry experts. The results are enriching in both directions. As with most things, what you get out of it corresponds directly to what you put into it.
To join the EA SIG, please email: jshaw@actgov.org
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