ARMY DATA STRATEGYThe purpose of this document is to communicate the Army’s vision and strategy for achieving a networked force enabled by data. The Army Data Strategy is a collection of concepts, goals and initiatives for managing data with the objective of making data, information and IT services visible, accessible, understandable, trusted and interoperable (VAUTI) throughout their life cycles for all authorized users when needed and regardless of location or access device. A good data strategy facilitates good decision makingThe Army Data Strategy seeks to enable Mission Command to gain a decisive operational advantage. The networked force requires the right data, at the right time, at the right place, limited only by policy and not by technology. This evolutionary approach focuses on the data rather than individual systems or communication networksU.S. ArmyUSA_835b814e-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e62Army Architecture Integration CenterInformation Architecture Division, HQDA CIO/G-6Common Operating Environment (COE)Relationship to Common Operating Environment (COE) and the Army Network The Army Data Strategy is aligned to and complements the JIE, COE Architecture, Army Identity and Access Management Reference Architecture Version 4.0 and the LandWarNet 2020 End-State Army Enterprise Architecture. The implementing guidance discussed in Section 4.2 complements the COE Implementation Plan and is reflected in COE cross-cutting capabilities. Central to the Army network are data and enterprise services that are specifically related to discovering, accessing and managing data/information. The Army Data Strategy provides the foundation for and implements these services.Army Data Management ProgramThe implementation guidance provided via the Army Data Management Program (ADMP) is the primary expression of and instrument for executing the Army Data Strategy. Figure 1 portrays DoD and Army influencing guidance for the ADMP, implementing guidance products developed under the ADMP, governance of the ADMP and the transition from guidance to implementation. Mission Command success requires that the ADMP guidance be integrated into the Common Operating Environment and the operational environment.Army Data ManagersArmy Directive 2009-03, Army Data Management, created the Chief Data Officer (CDO) position, the Army data steward role and the Army Data Board (ADB). The Army Data Council and functional data managers were established by the Army Data Board Charter. The Army Data Board and Army Data Council foster a collaborative governance environment for achieving Army Data Strategy goals, with active participation from across the Army.Army Chief Information OfficerArmy Chief Information Officer (CIO)/G-6 The Army CIO/G-6 is responsible for Army information management at the strategic level. The CIO/G-6 will establish and oversee the Army Data Management Program and appoint a Chief Data Officer in accordance with Army Directive 2009-03Second ArmySecond Army, in coordination with Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER), will prescribe the operational aspects of information protection and data security, including processes that enforce Army-wide compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 and Office of Management and Budget Circular A-130. ARCYBER also will identify and analyze threats to the Army global enterprise network and its enabling technologies.Army Chief Data Officer (CDO)The CDO is responsible for developing and implementing the Army Data Management Program. The CDO is the senior advisor to the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army on data issues. The CDO also chairs the Army Data Board; oversees the development and execution of the Army Data Strategy; and provides governance that underpins and supports all Army Data initiatives. The CDO oversees the activities of the Army Data Council.Army Data Board (ADB)The Army Data Board serves as the senior Army enterprise data decision body. The ADB develops coordinated Army enterprise positions on data strategy, standards and execution; serves as the senior adjudication body for Army enterprise data issues; coordinates data- sharing efforts across the Army enterprise; serves as the certification and waiver approval authority for targeted standards as delegated by the CDO; and collects and disseminates best practices and lessons learned for the data community.Army Data StewardsData stewards are subject matter experts in their area’s operational requirements and processes. Under the direction of the CDO, data stewards are responsible for enforcing federal, Army and their organization’s data standards, processes and procedures. Army data stewards serve as voting members of the Army Data Board.Army Data CouncilThe Army Data Council serves as the Army Data Board's initial adjudication forum for data topics and the development and implementation of the Army Data Strategy.Army Functional Data ManagersFDMs establish, manage and/or participate in data governance bodies for their area of responsibility that manage and execute the Army Data Management Program, Army Data Strategy and Army Information Architecture; and oversee the harmonization and adjudication process, raising any unresolved issues to the Army Data Board.... a solid foundation for sharing data, information and IT services across the Army._835b827a-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e62To communicate the Army's vision and strategy for achieving a networked force enabled by data._835b8306-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e62GuidanceThe Army Data Strategy's guiding principles are high-level data guidance that apply to all aspects of system design and development. The principles below are further discussed in the Army Information Architecture.DataPrinciple GA-01: Data are an enterprise asset. InformationInformation is enterprise currency. KnowledgeKnowledge is an enterprise resource.RepresentationsPrinciple GA-02: Data are a physical representation of information but are not the same thing as information.2EffectivenessaPrinciple GA-03: Effective decision making and effective process execution in the Army require effective information sharing.Decision MakingProcessesExecutionResponsibilityPrinciple GA-04: Information creators and managers have a responsibility and obligation to make their data visible and accessible to authorized consumers throughout the Army.ObligationVisibilityAccessAuthorizationAvailabilityPrinciple GA-05: The information that drives decision making and Army processes is available to authorized consumers regardless of their location or the time of their request.Information SharingPrinciple GA-06: Compliance with Army governance and guidance documentation will enable, facilitate and promote effective information sharing among Army information systems and meet DoD information-sharing objectives.MetricsPrinciple GA-07: The effectiveness of Army governance documentation can be measured (in part) by the cost savings that result from adopting the guidance/solutions.ClassificationPrinciple GA-08: Unclassified, sensitive or classified information must be handled according to law, regulation and policy to safeguard that data and information.SafeguardsVisibilityMake Data Visible (V)_835b8388-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e621The goal of making data visible is to enable authorized users to discover authoritative data, information and IT services. The Data Services Layer - Army (DSL-A) is a framework and set of data service interface specifications that enable the Army and supporting organizations to develop data services that expose data assets, authoritative or otherwise, to consumers across the Army. DSL-A is similar to Content Discovery & Retrieval (CDR) Specifications (see Section 4.2.3.5).PostingPost Data to Shared Spaces_835b8414-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e621.1Users and applications will migrate from maintaining private data to making data available in community and enterprise shared spaces. These shared spaces will act as repositories, where users and applications can submit or post data assets to the enterprise. The shared spaces will provide storage and serving mechanisms. Enterprise shared spaces will be maintained, secured and staged as necessary to support the Army’s missions. Data that are posted to shared spaces will be advertised via the associated metadata and will be discoverable with enterprise search tools.MetadataRegister Metadata Related to Structure and Definition_94c8db12-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e621.2To facilitate discovery, users and applications will provide discovery metadata, in accordance with the DoD Discovery Metadata Standard (DDMS), for all data assets, particularly those posted to shared spaces. The DDMS will provide a common set of structured attributes that support discovery of data assets using search tools. The initial focus of the DDMS is to aid in the discovery of data assets as a whole; hence, the discovery metadata in the DDMS will not always be required for individual records or elements.EnforcementEnforce compliance with current DoD Instructions and Army guidance regarding the registration of ADSs and creating associated metadata, including discovery metadata, for each asset. _94c8ddd8-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e621.3Data StewardsChallenge: Some data stewards choose not to register their Authoritative Data Sources and associated metadata, thereby creating data silos.AccessibilityMake Data Accessible (A) _835b8496-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e622The goal of making data accessible is to provide all credentialed consumers access to authoritative data, information and IT services via commonly supported access methods in accordance with law, policy and security controls (e.g., classification, need to know, compartmentalized controls, community of interest, etc.). It is the responsibility of the functional data owner to perform these actions for their authoritative data, information and IT services.Spaces & ServicesCreate Shared Spaces and Data Services_835b8518-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e622.1(Also Information and IT Services) Shared spaces -- virtual and actual, such as enterprise data centers -- will be created to provide a "store and serve" mechanism for data assets. Data access services are any mechanisms that help expose data that are not otherwise available to users and applications.SecurityAssociate Security-Related Metadata _94c8df2c-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e622.2Security-related metadata will be provided for each data asset as defined by the security descriptors element set within the core layer of the DDMS. Systems will control access in accordance with the asset's security-related metadata.Web ServicesDevelop and publish web services for all authoritative data sets throughout the enterprise. _94c8e044-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e622.3Challenge: Web services that allow access to exposed data do not exist.UnderstandabilityMake Data Understandable (U) _835b85a4-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e623The goal of making data understandable is to ensure that a data asset is usable by known and unanticipated authorized consumers through development and use of shared vocabularies.Data ModelsCreate Data Models_835b8630-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e623.1Data modeling encompasses procedures, methods, best practices, recommendations and subject matter expertise that support data model design, development and implementation. Data model guidance includes standardized, reusable schematic components for ubiquitous concepts (e.g., person, location, time). These concepts establish common definitions of common terms, as well as their hierarchical relationships and ontologies, to define material domains with semantic precision. They can be incorporated into data models under development, vocabularies, taxonomies, data dictionaries and glossaries.Data IntegrationEstablish Data Integration_94c8e152-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e623.2Data integration is the process of combining data from two or more data assets and producing a single unified, consistent and cohesive view of the combined data. The objective is to create a set of data that represents the same information represented by the input data sets. Data integration may also refer to a data-centric strategy; an approach or architecture that is designed to support or implement an integrated, comprehensive, consistent, enterprise- spanning data deployment/management solution; and enterprise application interoperability.Information Requirements TraceabilityIdentify Information Requirements Traceability._94c8e260-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e623.3Information requirements will describe the information needed to drive enterprise processes and capabilities. Information requirement traceability will ensure that the right information is available and can be supplied to the right end users in the Army and among mission partners.Guide, Registry & ElementsDevelop a data element guide and vocabulary registry, populated with a set of common elements. _94c8e364-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e623.4Challenge: Lack of data standardization.TrustworthinessMake Data Trusted (T) _835b86b2-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e624The goal of making data trusted consists of the following: ensure secure access; establish known pedigree and security level of data; and provide information from an approved authoritative source.SourcesIdentify Authoritative Data Sources_835b873e-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e624.1Army CommandersArmy Decisions MakersArmy PersonnelADS enable commanders, decisions makers and all Army personnel access to Army-certified (accurate, timely and high-quality) internal and external data sources containing trusted information. Reuse of registered ADS is key to improving mission effectiveness through system interoperability and to reducing the time, effort and resources required to operationally integrate Army systems.SecurityCreate Secured Availability_94c8e47c-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e624.2(Data Security and Data Access Security) Secured availability involves protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of Army information. Secured availability will provide systemic security mechanisms that are an integral part of system design, development, fielding and operations.Identity & Access ManagementIncorporate enterprise-level IdAM solution to protect trusted environments. _94c8e62a-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e624.3Challenge 1: Inconsistent, incomplete or lack of Identity and Access Management (IdAM) solution. Metadata TaggingImplement metadata tagging principles._94c8e76a-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e624.4Challenge 2: Trusted information is difficult to achieve. To help ease the difficulty of producing trusted information, effective metadata tagging principles should be employed.Data at RestStandardize DAR._94c8e896-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e624.5Challenge 3: Lack of standardized data at rest (DAR).InteroperabilityMake Data Interoperable (I) _835b87ca-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e625The goal of making data interoperable is for data providers to utilize non-proprietary, open source, industry or DoD-designated standards to ensure that data are useable across multiple systems and applications.Exchange SpecificationsComply with Information Exchange Specifications (IESs)_835b8856-eb88-11e5-8f4d-d16f72414e625.1Reuse of IESs is key to improving the effectiveness of system interoperability and reducing the time, effort and resources required to operationally integrate Army systems.Data ManagementEstablish Master Data Management/Unique Identifiers_94c8e99a-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e625.2Master data management will provide a set of processes and tools that ensure that master data are effectively controlled, updated and used within and throughout enterprise software systems. Master data are typically shared and used by different software applications across the enterprise, often as part of transaction processing. Master data provide a continuity and consistency of knowledge throughout the enterprise, and are routinely used in many existing technologies, such as data warehouses, data quality, data integration and data mapping and translation. Unique identifiers are a form of master data that enable interoperability and consistency of data assets across the Army enterprise.Information SharingEstablish Community-Based Information Sharing_94c8eac6-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e625.3Interoperability communities may provide an informal, loosely organized group of members or a formal group that is organized as a community of interest, where a member is a system, service, application or data asset that is coupled with a human representative. An interoperability community can be described as a community of members that share information frequently in collaborative pursuit of a mission. The format and meaning of data exchanged with entities outside the community are the collective responsibility of the community. This can be best accomplished through the use of industry standards.Translation & MediationEstablish Translation and Mediation_94c8ebfc-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e625.4Translation and mediation will provide a mechanism where data are translated from their original schematic format to a schematic format more suitable for the receiver through a mediating agent. Mediation involves a "third party" neutral mediating format (e.g., one governed by an IES) that acts as an intermediary between the sender and receiver. Translations are involved in the exchange of data when a mediating form is used. Mediation may involve a sequence of transformation or translation stages. Use of translation and mediation should be minimized as much as practical; industry standards can be effective in reducing the need for them.Industry StandardsIncorporate industry standard IESs._94c8ed28-ec5e-11e5-95f7-1b5072414e625.5Challenge: Non-compliant standard for or lack of Information Exchange Specifications (IESs) in developed information systems.2016-03-17http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://ciog6.army.mil/Portals/1/20160303_Army_Data_Strategy_2016.pdfOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net