The ISE’s Architecture Framework Alignment Grid (“the alignment grid”) details alignment of the Project Interoperability to reference architecture frameworks to achieve operational capabilities. The Architecture Framework Alignment Grid was developed to ensure interoperability alignment and inclusion in current architecture reference models and frameworks. This grid aligns each of the Common Approach (CA) domains (Business, Data, Applications and Systems, Infrastructure, Security, and Performance) with interoperability requirements, the ISE artifact (which provides a description of how it addresses the interoperability requirements), and the corresponding architecture artifact from each of the commonly accepted architecture frameworks (FEAF, DoDAF, TOGAF, GRA, and IC PAG).
The alignment grid is designed to aid an implementer in the generation of the necessary architecture products based on the architecture framework required. The grid is sub-divided by the CA domains described above. The grid column definitions are:
The alignment grid is meant to address the gaps between business and technical stakeholders, providing architecture development guidance, artifact identification, and implementation support. It describes the minimum set of reference architectural artifacts necessary to demonstrate interoperability. The grid is also designed to aid an implementer in the generation of the necessary architecture products based on the architecture framework required. For the Architecture Alignment and Implementation Process:
NOTE: Only one architecture framework (e.g., FEAF, DoDAF, GRA, IC PAG, or TOGAF) should be selected when developing the required architecture artifacts based on the organization. Also, please see Reference Architecture Template, which includes detailed information on what to include when building or updating a reference architecture using the Project Interoperability concepts for interoperability.
| ISE Interoperability Framework: Minimum Requirements for Interoperability | ISE Interoperability Framework: Artifact Description | FEAF | DoDAF/UAF | GRA Service Specification Package v 1.0.0 | IC-related (based on ICEA PAG) | TOGAF |
| Alignment of ISE participant architecture capabilities to ISE relevant interoperability and information sharing policies and guidance | (B1) Describe the operational concept to be achieved (B2) Provide the overall vision in a strategic context for the capabilities and a high-level scope (B3) Provide a hierarchy of capabilities along with a description of the capabilities (B4) Show the planned achievement of the capabilities by time frames and what constrains/policies are being applied | Business Operating Plan Business Service Catalog Concept Overview Diagram Strategic Plan | CV-1: Vision CV-2: Capability Taxonomy CV-3 Capability Phasing or PV‑2 Project Timelines (for Portfolio Management) OV-1: High-level Operational Concept Graphic | Business Process Models Capabilities Provisioning Model | Operational Concept Description Capability Description Capability Taxonomy Enterprise Guidance Matrix | Phase A: Architecture Vision, Scope, Stakeholder Management, Communications Plan Phase B: Business Architecture, Baseline Descriptions, Business Models, Information Exchange Matrix, Business Node Activities |
| Standards and approaches for capturing business requirements and modeling business processes and information flows | (B5) Capture business requirements, preferably using standards from organizations (NIST, IEEE, ISO, etc.) that enable enterprise architecture models and analysis with regard to likewise comparisons between lines of business and organizations (B6) Describe the information exchanges and their attributes (B7) Document the data requirements and the structural business process rules | Business Process Diagram Logical Data Model | DIV-2: Logical Data Model OV-2: Operational Resource Flow Description OV-3: Operational Resource Flow Matrix OV-5b: Operational Activity Model | Enterprise Integration Patterns | Activity Business Process Diagram Operational Concept Description Logical Data Model Information Resource Flow Description Information Resource Flow Matrix | Business Process Models, Node Connectivity Diagrams, Information Exchange Matrix |
| Considerations for Information Sharing Agreements (ISAs) | (B8) Document the relevant ISAs and how these affect the exchange of information between users | Business Process Diagram | OV-2: Operational Resource Flow Description OV-3: Operational Resource Flow Matrix OV-6a: Operational Rules Model | Information Model Message Exchange Patterns | Information Resource Flow Description Operational Rules Matrix Enterprise Guidance Matrix | Activity Models, Service Levels, Boundaries and Contracts |
| Exchange Specifications and their relation to technical standards and services within a specific mission context. | (B9) Provide the exchange specifications as they relate to the services, to include applicable technical standards from accepted standards bodies (ISO, IEEE, NIST, NIEM) | Technical Standards Profile | StdV-1 Standards Profile | Service Interaction Profiles | Relevant Mandated Standards | Architecture Definitions, Architecture Requirement Specifications |
| ISE Interoperability Framework: Minimum Requirements for Interoperability | ISE Interoperability Framework: Artifact Description | FEAF | DoDAF/UAF | GRA Service Specification Package v 1.0.0 | IC-related (based on ICEA PAG) | TOGAF |
| Mechanism for identifying and categorizing candidate assets for sharing | (D1) Provide the high-level data concepts and their relationships | Knowledge Management Plan Data Asset Catalog Provider-to-Consumer Matrix | DIV-1: Conceptual Data Model | Domain Vocabulary | Conceptual Data Model | Phase C: Information Systems Architecture – Data Application Principals, Data Principals |
| Framework for capturing data elements and the relationship between them (semantics) | (D2) Document the data requirements and their relationships, as well as the structural business process rules and metadata where necessary | Logical Data Model | DIV-2: Logical Data Model | Message Definitions Mechanism | Logical Data Model | Architecture Definitions Document |
| Approach for documenting exchange patterns | (D3) Show the repeatable set of tasks that help accomplish the commonly occurring need for exchange of data/information between exchanging partners, as well as the data relationships and how the data relates to the business activities and their rules/policies | Business Process Diagram Logical Data Model Data Flow Diagram | OV-5b: Operational Activity Model DIV-1: Conceptual Data Model DIV-2: Logical Data Model OV-3: Operational Resource Flow Matrix OV-2: Operational Resource Flow Description | Message Exchange Patterns | Activity Diagram Conceptual Data Model Logical Data Model Information Resource Flow Description Information Resource Flow Matrix | Activity Model Baseline and Target Data Descriptions Information Exchange Matrix |
| Principles and roles and responsibilities for data managements and stewardship | (D4) Show organizational relationships with respect to the data and its lifecycle | Knowledge Management Plan | OV-4: Organizational Relationships Chart (along with narrative) | x | Operational Concept Description | Data Management, Data Migration, and Data Governance |
| Technical standards to design and implement information sharing capabilities in ISE systems | (D5) Provide any necessary or relevant data standards to be considered for interoperability | Technical Standards Profile | StdV-1 Standards Profile | x | Relevant Mandated Standards | x |
| ISE Interoperability Framework: Minimum Requirements for Interoperability | ISE Interoperability Framework: Artifact Description | FEAF | DoDAF/UAF | GRA Service Specification Package v 1.0.0 | IC-related (based on ICEA PAG) | TOGAF |
| Technical services supporting the common activities used for discovering, identifying, distributing, protecting, and managing information | (A1) Identify services and common activities, their service components, and the interconnections between the services, as well as the data asset being exchanged (A2) Provide a description of the data asset exchanged between services (A3) Describe the functions performed by the services and the service data flows among the service functions (A4) Describe the details of the data flows being exchanged between services and the attributes of the exchanges (A5) Describe the resource/data flows between operation activities; this will be transformed to the flows between services | Application Interface Diagram Application Communication Diagram Application Data Exchange Matrix Data Flow Diagram | SvcV-1 Services Context Description SvcV-2 Services Resource Flow Description SvcV-4 Services Functionality Description SvcV-6 Services Resource Flow Matrix OV-2: Operational Resource Flow Description | Interface Description Requirements Service Interfaces | Service Component View Interaction Diagram View Interaction Matrix Service Sequence | Phase C: Information Systems Architecture – Applications Application Portfolio Catalogue Interface Catalogue Application Organization Matrix Application Role Matrix Application Function Matrix Application Interface Diagram Application Communication Diagram Application and User Diagrams Application Location Diagrams Process Application Diagram Application Use Case Diagrams Software Engineering Diagram Software Distribution Diagrams |
| Developing service standards including service metadata, protocol standards, service oriented architecture, and standard APIs | (A6) Document the service standards to be used by the services and applications | Technical Standards Profile | StdV-1 Standards Profile | x | Relevant Standard Matrix | Application Function Matrix Application Interaction Matrix |
| ISE Interoperability Framework: Minimum Requirements for Interoperability | ISE Interoperability Framework: Artifact Description | FEAF | DoDAF/UAF | GRA Service Specification Package v 1.0.0 | IC-related (based on ICEA PAG) | TOGAF |
| External network connectivity that affects interoperability | (I1) Document the external interface connections | Network Diagram | SvcV-1 Services Context Description SvcV-2 Services Resource Flow Description | Provisioning Model | x | Phase D: Technology Architecture |
| The standards at the infrastructure-external interface and technical standards profile | (I2) List the technical standards that apply to services/solutions (I3) List of emerging standards that need to be considered along with timeframes | Technical Standards Profile Technology Forecast | StdV-1 Standards Profile StdV-2 Standards Forecast | Service Model | Relevant Standard Matrix | Environment and Location Diagrams Platform Decomposition Diagram Processing Diagram Network Computing Hardware Diagram Communications Engineering Diagram |
| ISE Interoperability Framework: Minimum Requirements for Interoperability | ISE Interoperability Framework: Artifact Description | FEAF | DoDAF/UAF | GRA Service Specification Package v 1.0.0 | IC-related (based on ICEA PAG) | TOGAF |
| Assuring proper security controls are in place to ensure the protection of information as it is exchanged within and across security fabrics | (S1) Show how the proper security controls are to be used to ensure data protection, as well as data access (S2) Event trace can provide service/system details on interactions; only provide if more detail is needed as these take some time to develop | Security Controls Catalog (Core) Certification and Accreditation Documentation | OV-5b: Operational Activity Model SvcV-10c Services Event-Trace Description DoD Information Assurance Accreditation Process | Behavior Model Service Policy and Service Contracts | Same as DoDAF artifacts | Preliminary Phase Business Rules for Handling the Data and Information Written and Published Security Policy Codified Data Information Asset Ownership Risk Analysis Data Classification |
| Implement access authorization controls to protect shared data assets | x | Security Controls Catalog | DoD Information Assurance Accreditation Process | Service Interfaces | Uses DoDAF/UAF artifacts | Disaster Recovery and Continuity Plans |