DOD ARCHITECTURE TRAINING Phase I: A Competency Framework For the DoD Architect April 16, 2008 Walt Okon OASD(NII)/DoD CIO A&I Directorate

2 ARCHITECTURE IS KEY A B1B2B3 C D1D2D3  Architecture is a key enabler for interoperability, transformation, IT management, and decision making  Its significance at the enterprise and capability/systems level is highlighted in the following: –Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 –OMB Circular A-130 –E-Government Act of 2002 –CJCS Instruction F –DoD Directive –DoD Instruction

3 ARCHITECTURE CHALLENGES  Interoperability  GAO , 31 JAN 2007 –Highlighted the importance of architecture in addressing high risk areas that cut across various organizations (DoD, FAA, Federal, NASA)  GAO T, 07 FEB 2008 –Experience has shown that investing in IT without defining investments in the context of an architecture often results in systems that are duplicative, not well integrated, and unnecessarily costly to maintain and interface –GAO reports have identified program-level weaknesses relative to architecture alignment, economic justification, performance management, requirements management, and testing

4 IMPROVING DOD’S ARCHITECTURE  Guidance –DoDAF v2.0 –Federated Architecture Strategy  Tools –DoD Architecture Registry System (DARS) –DoD IT Standards Registry (DISR) –Type II – Technical Direction  Education and Training –DoD Architecture Training Effort

5 EDUCATION AND TRAINING “Acquiring the right knowledge and skills relevant to the challenges of the 21st century will receive new emphasis in recruitment, retention, training, assignments, career development and advancement…The combination of joint, combined and interagency capabilities in modern warfare represents the next step in the evolution of joint warfighting and places new demands on the Department’s training and education processes.” Quadrennial Defense Review Report of 2006

6 DOD ARCHITECTURE TRAINING  The expanded application of architecture and its significance in achieving joint capabilities and efforts result in the need for qualified architects  This need spawned the following questions from the field: –Does the DoD have a pool of qualified architects? –What are the competencies of an architect? –Is there a core body of knowledge? –What education and training courses exist?  The Architecture & Interoperability Directorate kicked off an effort to address these questions

7 EVOLUTION OF THE EFFORT  DoD Enterprise Architecture Conference 2007 –Conducted a panel discussion on Architecture Training  Interviews with the Services and Joint Staff –Conducted interviews with the Services and Joint Staff to gather data regarding current gaps, redundancies, and issues with architecture education and training  Workshops –Conducted four workshops open to combatant commands, services, agencies, and academic institutions to identify the competencies of a DoD Architect  Industry Town Hall Meeting –Conducted a meeting with industries to capture their thoughts on our findings from the workshops  White Paper –Developed a white paper based on the findings

8 FINDINGS - STAKEHOLDERS  Architecture stakeholders do not have a full appreciation of how to leverage the benefits of architecture. –There is a need for closer evaluation of the architecture workforce to determine composition and areas of improvement. –Executive-level seniors are not appropriately prepared to use architectures for decision making purposes or enterprise-level management. –The architecture discipline is applicable to more than just compliance.

9 FINDINGS – NO STANDARD  There is no standard or incentive to encourage the professional growth of architects in the DoD. Expectations have not been consistently established for the development, analysis, and management of architectures. –A career path for architectures does not exist in current personnel systems. –A baseline for the varying levels/experience of architects does not exist. –Architecture analysis does not occur consistently across the DoD. –Architecture information is not applied consistently toward the DoD decision support processes. –There is a need for the improved integration and federation of architectures. –Information management is not effectively represented by architecture. –The sharing of architecture data is not enforced.

10 FINDINGS – NO VISIBILITY  The architecture community lacks visibility into the opportunities afforded by the current education and training environment. Various programs and courses exist that address different aspects of architecture; however, few are aware of their existence or value. –Current architecture courses do not sufficiently cover architecture basics, the gap between the different levels of architecture, or the gap between architecture development and usage. –Current certification and accreditation programs are not governed, allowing anyone to provide certification. This often results in certified architects who do not possess the appropriate knowledge or skills.

11 RECOMMENDED WAY AHEAD  Short-Term Goals –Obtain statistics on the composition of the architecture workforce. These statistics will be used to determine the impact of any recommendations prior to moving forward. –Perform appropriate analysis to validate the identified gaps and any additional gaps that may exist. –Assess existing competencies for adequacy (i.e., Clinger-Cohen Competencies). –Review position descriptions, job opportunity announcements, and contract language to determine if they would benefit from a standard (i.e., competency framework). –Investigate the need for a framework that captures the knowledge, skills, abilities, and functions an architect in the DoD is expected to exhibit to ensure success at every stage in an architecture life cycle. –Develop a web-based workspace to enable the visibility of the architecture education and training environment. Afford users the ability to self-govern this environment through student reviews and ratings.

12 RECOMMENDED WAY AHEAD  Long-Term Vision –Pave the way for architect careers to promote the recruiting and retention of DoD architects. Establish incentives and architecture specialties as appropriate through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Job Family Standards and through Military Occupational Specialties (MOS). –Formalize a competency framework for those architecture specialties that require specific skills and experience. –Investigate the requirement for certification across architecture specialties to substantiate the skills and experience of architects working in the DoD. –Work with DoD-affiliated academic institutions to enhance their curricula to accommodate the architecture requirements of the DoD. –Explore other avenues for workforce development (i.e., active supervision, performance management, mentoring, group instruction).

13 ACCOMPLISHMENTS  WHITE PAPER - Phase I: A Competency Framework for the DoD Architect –Proposes a way forward for enhancing the architecture workforce –Provides collected data on the competencies of an architect  Architecture Education and Training DKO Site –Provides links to various education and training opportunities –Does not endorse any particular program or course  OPM Job Family Standard Review –Reviewing Job Family Standards for appropriate insertion of architecture specialties  Clinger-Cohen Core Competency Review for Enterprise Architecture –Reviewing the competencies to ensure adequacy against findings  GENERAL AWARENESS

14 WHITE PAPER OUTLINE  Preface  Introduction  Purpose, Scope, and Approach  Findings  Recommended Way Ahead  The DoD Architect Competency Framework –A culmination of input gathered through research, interviews, and workshops on the standard knowledge, skills, and abilities DoD Architects should obtain at varying levels of maturity.

15 DKO SITE  URL -

16 OPM JOB FAMILY STANDARD  0800 Engineering and Architecture Group –SECTION: Official Titling Provisions –RECOMMENDATION: New Specialty or Parenthetical Title – Information Technology (IT) Architecture –DESCRIPTON: Work primarily involving the planning, designing, and documentation of integrated large-scale systems-of-systems and/or integrated complex enterprise processes to ensure interoperability across technical and procedural channels.  2200 Information Management –SECTION: GS-2210 Information Technology Management Series –RECOMMENDATION: New Specialty – Enterprise Architecture –DESCRIPTION: Work that involves the planning, designing, and management of IT integration and IT transformation efforts to ensure alignment with strategic vision and goals.

17 CLINGER-COHEN COMPETENCIES  Enterprise Architecture –Enterprise architecture functions and governance –Key enterprise architecture concepts –Enterprise architecture development and maintenance –Use of enterprise architecture in IT investment decision making –Interpretation of enterprise architecture models and artifacts –Data management –Performance measurement for enterprise architecture –Provides collected data on the competencies of an architect

18 POCs  Walt Okon – Government Lead  Charles Thornburg – Project Manager  Jennifer Lee – Architecture Training Lead  Tinisha McMillan – Analyst