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To facilitate efforts to transform the Federal Government to one that is citizen-centered, results-oriented, and market-based, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is developing the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA), a business-based framework for Government-wide improvement.

The FEA is being constructed through a collection of interrelated “reference models” designed to facilitate cross-agency analysis and the identification of duplicative investments, gaps, and opportunities for collaboration within and across Federal Agencies.

Federal Enenterprise Architecture Reference Models

 

A BUSINESS-DRIVEN APPROACH
In contrast to many failed “architecture” efforts in the past, the FEA is entirely business-driven. Its foundation is the Business Reference Model, which describes the government’s Lines of Business and its services to the citizen independent of the agencies and offices involved. This business-based foundation provides a common framework for improvement in a variety of key areas:

  • Budget Allocation
  • Horizontal and Vertical Information Sharing
  • Performance Measurement
  • Budget / Performance Integration
  • Cross-Agency Collaboration
  • E-Government
  • Component-Based Architectures
  • and more...

HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
On February 6, 2002 the development of a Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) commenced. Led by OMB, the purpose of this effort is to identify opportunities to simplify processes and unify work across the agencies and within the lines of business of the Federal Government. The outcome of this effort will be a more citizen-centered, customer-focused government that maximizes technology investments to better achieve mission outcomes.

FEDERAL ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (FEAMS)
The FEA maintenance and upkeep process is greatly facilitated through the use of an Internet-based automated EA repository and analysis tool - the Federal Enterprise Architecture Management System (FEAMS). In the future, agencies will be given access to FEAMS and use it in both capital planning and architecture development efforts. The Federal Enterprise Architecture reference models and related information are being stored in FEAMS. FEAMS currently includes general information on Agencies’ major information technology (IT) initiatives, and aligns the initiatives to the BRM Lines of Business they support. It is OMB’s goal that the FEAMS eventually include information on all of the capital assets in which Federal Agencies invest.