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Effective sharing of information, one of the key drivers
behind the push for e-government and a critical goal
of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, requires
an integrated information technology (IT) infrastructure
throughout the government.
Each agency's enterprise architecture (EA) is the strategic
knowledge base that stores critical information about
the agency—how its mission is linked to its business
processes and how these in turn are linked to the information
and systems that support them—and then makes that
information available to decision-makers when they need
it.
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The centralized knowledge base contained by the EA:
- supports e-Government
planning
- helps integrate mission critical functions, processes,
people, and facilities
- promotes the sharing, re-use, and standardization of information
and technology
- facilitates systems integration and interoperability
- helps identify opportunities for consolidating IT services
Given these benefits, it is no surprise that EA is a primary
intergovernment initiative and is at the top of the "to
do" list of every Federal Chief Information Officer.
ICF International has helped organizations improve their information
management capabilities since the 1980s. Our enterprise solutions and information
technology experience spans a number of generations—from
mainframe computers to PCs and minis. Our projects have covered
the entire range of IT issues from strategy through systems
development and implementation. ICF International's ASPIRE® method for EA combines a variety of expertise with processes
and tools into an integrated package designed to meet client's
specific needs.
Our Approach
At ICF International, we understand the challenge of creating
an adaptable, responsive EA that provides the structure for
managing organizational knowledge and making sound IT investments.
 A
well-designed EA provides the underlying framework (through
models and methods) that describes the organization's mission
and supporting business processes, the technologies necessary
for support, and the transitional processes to ensure that
technology investments are aligned with the organization's
mission. By relating these elements and making them explicitly
accessible, the EA provides a foundation for organizational
learning and promotes strategic decisions consistent with
your organization's mission and direction.
Using ICF International's ASPIRE® method and drawing from our extensive information management
experience, we can help model your current architecture, identify
its strengths and weaknesses, and plan for the future in a
dynamic environment.
Our ASPIRE® method is based on ICF International's
four-part organizational model that recognizes the integral
relationship of each organization's unique mission, culture,
business processes, and capital infrastructure in implementing
an effective EA.
Our Services
ICF International helps government managers design their EA
as well as the supporting programs, processes, and tools critical
to ensure that the EA can be effective within the context
of the organization's culture. ICF International begins by defining
an agency's expectations, including anticipated business value.
We assess available information and technological resources
to support an EA, define an approach, select the appropriate
products, and modify them as necessary for adaptation to your
unique environment and circumstances. We work closely to integrate
the EA prototype with your IT governance process, particularly
your capital planning investment control and portfolio management
processes.
ICF International also helps with transition planning, education
and training programs, documentation assistance, and other
services needed to ensure that the EA works within your organizational
culture. We help you build the necessary processes to ensure
that the EA is continually updated as your organization evolves.
Learn more about our IT
services and solutions and our Change
Management services.
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SELECTED PROJECTS |
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DETAILS OF SELECTED PROJECTS |
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Decision-Making
Enterprise Architecture, U.S. Federal Law Enforcement
Agency
For a large federal agency, ICF International developed
an EA as a "context for decision-making"
in response to mandates from the Clinger-Cohen Act.
ICF International worked with the architecture team
to agree on evaluation criteria and reviewed EA
documentation in both the federal and private sectors.
We analyzed and selected a tool to document the
architecture and built a prototype—from strategy
to implementation. We modeled the entire architecture
and developed a technology approval process that
used the EA as the context for decision-making.
The agency now uses the EA regularly in evaluating
new IT projects.
Modernization Effort, U.S.
Department of Energy
ICF International worked with a large engineering
firm to build a "to-be" model of an
EA to replace its outdated architecture. The modernization
effort included new telecommunications, server,
and desktop technologies, and new application
software for budgeting, financial management,
and personnel management. All technology decisions
of the firm are now evaluated in light of its
architecture, which is updated as new components
are added.
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Consolidation
Architecture, U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Agency
ICF International is helping a federal agency implement
an EA to provide a single point of information about
business activities and computer systems and to
support IT planning and decision-making. We are
helping the agency inventory its current information
systems and develop an "as is" model of
the existing IT infrastructure. A set of "use
scenarios" have been developed to set the objectives
of the EA and to guide its integration with other
IT governance processes evolving within the agency.
As part of the project, ICF International is defining
the business processes and changes required for
the agency to attain the required benefits from
the EA and will identify future steps for integrating
the agency's EA with other external stakeholders
with whom the agency must share information effectively.
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