DOD to issue new architecture policy

The Defense Department will issue in late September or early October a new policy for designing, building and implementing new business functions, platforms and systems.

DOD Architecture Framework Version 1.0 will provide program managers with guidelines on how to use data to write and budget for their requirements, and how to buy systems and ensure they work together, said Truman Parmele, the department's architecture framework director, said Sept. 10 at the E-Gov Enterprise Architecture 2003 Conference.

Defense leaders hope the common approach to creating architectures will standardize future mission and system design, improve data sharing between them and increase communications between the services, Parmele said. They believe accomplishing these goals will lead to new business functions, platforms and systems that emphasize the strength of integrated capabilities rather than disparate products, he said.

Parmele described architectures as "the fundamental organization of a system embodied in its components, their relationship to each other and to the environment, and the principles guiding its design and evolution." DOD Architecture Framework 1.0 will include three volumes: definitions and guidelines, product descriptions and an architecture guidance deskbook.

Defense officials 18 months ago chose John Stenbit as their chief information officer. Stenbit, who is retiring soon, was elected to spearhead the effort because his office administers all department business systems, Parmele said. The increasing use of information technology to perform the department's human resources and warfighting functions gave further credence for the CIO office to lead the effort, Parmele said.