The document discusses the Department of Defense's (DoD) Data Reference Model (DRM) and Net-Centric Data Strategy. The DRM provides a framework to enable information sharing across agencies by abstracting data sources and decoupling applications. It shifts data architecture from entity relationship modeling to a business context approach. The Net-Centric Data Strategy aims to break down barriers to information sharing by tagging data with metadata, organizing data with taxonomies through Communities of Interest, and defining data models and structures. An example is provided of how the Blue Force Tracking Community of Interest implements the strategy by tagging its data assets and organizing them to be discoverable, interoperable, accessible, and understandable across the DoD enterprise.

1. Policy Awareness & Data
Reference Model (DRM)
Amit K. Maitra
AF CIO-Architecture
Inter-Agency DRM Working Group
March 21, 2005

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CONTEXT
 Global Environment
 Changing Technologies
 Revolutionary Moments: The Mandate
 The Current Situation
 The Solution: The DRM
 The Architecture
 The Structure
 The Tools
 Federated Data Management Approach
 The Result
 Paradigm Shift
 Concern
 Leadership at DoD
 Decisions: Net Centric Data Strategy & Community of Interest
 Processes: NCDS & COI
 Example: Blue Force Tracking

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Underlying Theme
 Fully integrated information systems for a
shared data environment

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Focus
 Information, Access, Authorization, Emerging
Technologies
 Data Accessibility, Commonality, and
Compatibility Design
 Data Dictionary
 Data Locale
 Security & Privacy Assurance

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Global Environment
 Characteristics
 Geographically distributed, dissimilar elements
of varying capabilities and responsibilities
 Data distributed to and redistributed among
system facilities, interconnected by both
private and shared public communications
networks

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Changing Technologies
A Gentle Transition From XML to Resource
Description Framework (RDF)
The purpose of RDF is to give a standard way of specifying data
“about” something
Advantage of using RDF
If widely used, RDF will help make XML more interoperable
Promotes the use of standardized vocabularies ... standardized types (classes) and standardized
properties
Provides a structured approach to designing XML documents
The RDF format is a regular, recurring pattern
Quickly identifies weaknesses and inconsistencies of non-RDF-compliant XML designs
Helps us better understand our data!
Positions data for the Semantic Web!

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Changing Technologies: Web
Ontology Language (OWL)
RDF has limited expressive
capability
-- Mostly limited to taxonomic
descriptions
The things we model have
complex relationships so we
need to capture many different
facets, or restrictions on class
and property descriptions

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Revolutionary Moments:
The Mandate
“Our success depends on
agencies working as a team
across traditional boundaries to
serve the American people,
focusing on citizens rather than
individual agency needs.” ~
President George W. Bush

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 No common framework or methodology to describe
the data and information that supports the
processes, activities, and functions of the business
 No definition of the handshake or partnering aspects
of information exchange
 Existing systems offer diffused content that is
difficult to manage, coordinate, and evolve
 Information is inconsistent and/or classified
inappropriately
 Without a common reference, data is easier to
duplicate than integrate
 No common method to share data with external
partners
 Limited insight into the data needs of agencies
outside the immediate domain
 Data and Information context is rarely defined
 Stove piped boundaries, no central registry
 Lack of funding and incentive to share
 Data sensitivity and security of data
 New laws/issues result in continuous adding of
databases that can not share data
Primary Issues and Information
Sharing Barriers
The Current Situation:
The Federal Government is less than efficient in performing its business and meeting customer needs
due to data sharing inefficiencies caused by stove-piped data boundaries
Stove-Piped Data Boundaries
“As Is State”
HaveCreated
HHS
INDUSTRY
Illustrative
Illustrative
CDC
DHS
TSA
USDA
DOI
ENERGY
LABOR
FDA INS
Denotes data and information sets within
agencies.

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The Solution: The Data Reference
Model (DRM)
Subject Area
Data Object
Data
Property
Data
Representation
Data
Classificatio
n
The DRM provides:
 A framework to enable
horizontal and vertical information
sharing that is independent of
agencies and supporting systems
 A framework to enable agencies
to build and integrate systems that
leverage data from within or
outside the agency domain
 A framework that facilitates
opportunities for sharing with
citizens, external partners and
stakeholders

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MODEL DRIVEN ARCHITECTUREMODEL DRIVEN ARCHITECTURE
A virtual representation of all physical data sources:
- Applications are to be decoupled from data sources
- Details of data storage and retrieval are to be abstracted
- Are to be easily extended to new information sources
The Architecture

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The Structure
META OBJECT FACILITYMETA OBJECT FACILITY

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The Tools

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Department of Homeland Security and
Federated Data Management Approach

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The Result: Interagency
Information Federation

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Paradigm Shift
 MDA is fundamental change
 MDA rests on MOF
 It is the best architecture for integration
 It shifts data architecture from Entity
Relationship Diagramming (ERD) to a
Business Context (Interoperability/Information
Sharing)
Business & Performance Driven ApproachBusiness & Performance Driven Approach

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Concerns
 To what extent the government agencies,
Customers, Partners are willing to participate
along the Lines of Business (LOB), thereby
underscoring the importance of working
toward a common goal: Collective Action IAW
National Security/National Interests criteria
 These need to be tested and validated
against uniquely tailored performance
indicators: Inputs, Outputs, and Outcomes

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Leadership at DoD
• Decisions
• Processes

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Decisions
“Net-Centric Data Strategy
& Communities of Interest
(COI)”

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End-User Consumer End-User Producer
B A R R I E R B A R R I E R B A R R I E R B A R R I E R
“What data exists?“
“How do I access the data?”
“How do I know this data is
what I need?”
“How can I tell someone
what data I need?”
“How do I share my data
with others?”
“How do I describe my
data so others can
understand it?”
Organization “A” Organization “B” Organization “C”
User is
unaware this
data exists
User knows this data exists
but cannot access it
because of
organizational
and/or
technical barriers
?
Processes:
The DoD Net-Centric Data Strategy aims at breaking
down barriers to information sharing…
User knows data exists and can
access it but may not
know how to make
use of it due to
lack of under-
standing of what
data represents

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The Net-Centric Data Strategy is a key enabler
of the Department’s transformation...
The Strategy describes key goals to achieving net-centric data
management…
• The Strategy (signed May 9, 2003) provides the foundation for managing the
Department’s data in a net-centric environment, including:
 Ensuring data are visible, accessible, and understandable when
needed and where needed to accelerate decision making
 “Tagging” of all data (intelligence, non-intelligence, raw, and processed)
with metadata to enable discovery by known and unanticipated users in
the Enterprise
 Posting of all data to shared spaces for users to access except when
limited by security, policy, or regulations
 Organizing around Communities of Interest (COIs) that are supported by
Warfighting, Business, Enterprise Information Environment, and
Intelligence Mission Areas and their respective Domains.

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COIs are a key ‘implementer’ of
data strategy goals…
 Tag data assets with COI-
defined metadata that enables it
to be searched (visible)
 Organize data assets using
taxonomies developed by
experts within the COI
 Define the structure and
business rules for operating with
data and information (e.g. define
data models, schema,
interfaces)
 Identify, define, specify, model,
and expose data assets to be
reused by the Enterprise as
services
Enable Data to beEnable Data to be
TrustedTrusted
Enable DataEnable Data
InteroperabilityInteroperability
Make DataMake Data
AccessibleAccessible
Enable Data to beEnable Data to be
UnderstandableUnderstandable
Make Data VisibleMake Data Visible
Key Goals Key COI Actions:

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Blue Force Tracking (BFT) COI Example
Implementation of the Data Strategy…
BFT Content Providers
BFT Service
Consumers
FBCB2/EPLRS
Tactical
Internet FBCB2
JVMF
IP/MCG
BFT
SVC
XML
SOAP
FBCB2/EPLRS
Tactical
Internet FBCB2
JVMF
IP/MCG
BFT
SVC
XML
SOAP
Air Feed
ADSI
TADIL-J
L-16
BFT
SVC
XML
SOAP
FBCB2/MTS/L-Band
Ground
Station
JVMF
MTS
BFT
SVC
RM FBCB2
XML
SOAP
MMC
Ground
Station
BFT
SVC
RM MMC
XML
SOAP
MDACT/USMC
EPLRS/
CNR IOW
VDX
IP
BFT
SVC
XML
SOAP
BFT Service
PI
CI
BFT Service
PI
CI
BFT Service
PI
CI
BFT Service
PI
CI
Web Services Info Grid
BFT Service
PI
CI
NCES
Integration
BFT Service
(www.bft.smil)
Ad/Sub
Propagation
Query
Info
Delivery
Filtering
QoS Consolidation
NCES
Service
Discovery
Security Messaging ESM
Efficient
“on-demand”info service