DoD Architecture Framework Version 1.5 - Chief Information Officer

A federated architecture is a distributed strategic information asset base, which defines the
mission, the information and technologies necessary to perform the mission, and the transitional
processes for implementing new technologies in response to the changing mission needs. It
provides a framework for enterprise architecture development, maintenance, and use that aligns,
locates, and links disparate architectures and architecture information via information exchange
standards to deliver a seamless outward appearance to users. A federated architecture approach
recognizes the uniqueness and specific purpose of disparate architectures and allows for their
autonomy and local governance while enabling the enterprise to benefit from their content. 8
Federation is a way to organize an enterprise’s body of knowledge (architecture) about its
activities (processes), people, and things within a defined context and current/future
environment. Federation allows the architecture user a means to examine the enterprise from all
aspects of the doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and
facilities (DOTMLPF) concept. The Department has chosen this approach as the new GIG
architecture paradigm 9 and seeks to facilitate the federation of architectures by:
• Identifying a core set of metadata for all architectures that enables
discovery of architecture information
• Establishing an architecture Community of Interest (COI) to develop
information sharing agreements that make architectures accessible
throughout the enterprise
• Establishing the DoD Architecture Registry System to support linking and
discovery of federated architectures
• Semantically aligning disparate architectures to support understanding and
interoperability across communities
Both types of architectures are of value to the user. Integrated architectures enable a broader
perspective of the mission by representing architecture data elements through multiple views.
Federated architectures support decision making at program, DoD Component, mission, and
enterprise levels by linking architectures across the enterprise, providing a holistic enterprise
view that allows for the assessment of interoperability, identification of duplication and gaps, or
determination of reusability. Both integrated architectures and federated architectures support
net-centricity by enabling the semantic and structural alignment of data across disparate
architectures in a useful manner for the improved reliability and efficiency of decisions, thus,
resulting in improved mission outcomes.
1.3 FRAMEWORK OVERVIEW
An architecture framework provides guidance and rules for structuring, classifying, and
organizing architectures. An architecture description is a representation of a defined domain, as
of a current or future point in time, in terms of its component parts, how those parts function, the
rules and constraints under which those parts function, and how those parts relate to each other
and to the environment.
The architecture framework for the DoD consists of two layers: data and presentation. Figure
1-2 illustrates these layers.
8 DoD Federated Joint Architectures Working Group (FJAWG) recommendation, Dec 2005.
9 The DoD is currently developing an Enterprise Architecture Federation Strategy that further describes this approach.
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