Federal Enterprise Architecture and E-Government: Issues for Information Technology Management (CRS Report for Congress)
Premium Purchase PDF for $24.95 (17 pages)
add to cart or
subscribe for unlimited access
Pro Premium subscribers have free access to our full library of CRS reports.
Subscribe today, or
request a demo to learn more.
| Release Date |
Revised April 10, 2008 |
| Report Number |
RL33417 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Jeffrey W. Seifert, Resources, Science, and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
-
Premium Revised Sept. 21, 2006 (15 pages, $24.95)
add
-
Premium May 10, 2006 (15 pages, $24.95)
add
|
Summary:
Congressional policymakers are concerned about potential inefficiencies and inefficacies in the operation of the federal government, particularly as it relates to decisions regarding information technology (IT) investments. These concerns have increased as federal IT spending has grown to approximately $70 billion annually. One approach being implemented to reduce duplicative spending and improve cross-agency collaboration is the use of enterprise architecture (EA) planning across the federal government. An EA serves as a blueprint of the business operations of an organization, and the information and technology needed to carry out these functions.
As an information technology management and planning tool, EA planning represents a business-driven approach to information technology management that emphasizes interoperability and information sharing. The Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) was started in 2002 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and continues to be developed today. The FEA is composed of five reference models: Performance, Business, Service, Data, and Technical. Each of the reference models represents specific aspects of the FEA and provides a "common language" for departments and agencies to use in developing shared technology solutions.
To focus efforts on specific areas that may yield savings, OMB has identified several "Lines of Business" (LoB), which represent non-core business functions common to many departments and agencies. Some of the current LoBs include Financial Management, Grants Management, Case Management, Human Resources Management, Federal Health Architecture, and Information Systems Security. Within each of the LoB initiatives, the longer term goal is to shift the locus of activity for these non-core business functions from being replicated by each individual department and agency, to consolidated shared service centers, or centers of excellence as they are also referred to, which serve as common service providers for the other departments and agencies. Departments and agencies are selected to serve as centers of excellence through a competitive process managed by OMB. Three other LoBs (Budget Formulation and Execution, Geospatial, and Information Technology Infrastructure Optimization) focus on the development of common practices and information standards to facilitate cross-agency interoperability and collaboration.
Some of the congressional oversight issues related to the FEA include, but are not limited to, ongoing updates of the reference models, the status of efforts to align the EAs of individual departments with the FEA, the role of the FEA in developing a second generation of e-government initiatives, and progress and implications of consolidating specific business functions across the federal government. In anticipation of an upcoming presidential administration transition, Congress may also wish to consider the broader issues of the continuity and future direction of FEA efforts. This report will be updated as events warrant.
