Governmentwide enterprise architecture has taken another step toward helping agencies find information quickly through a new pilot architecture called the Federal Transition Framework (FTF) that consolidates various guidance and policies into a single source.

Vendors say FTF breaks enterprise architecture down to a useful level.

The Office of Management and Budget created FTF to equip agencies with clear information to invest in information technology and incorporate new technologies into existing agency operations, said Dick Burk, chief architect at OMB.

FTF is a catalog of architectural information and guidance for cross-agency IT initiatives, such as the e-government, line of business, IP Version 6 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 initiatives. Although the catalog is sparse now, FTF is dynamic and evolving, Burk said July 13 at an industry briefing about the new project.

Specifically, the framework allows agencies to:

• Receive more consistent and detailed information about cross-agency initiatives.
• Capitalize on cost savings and service improvements.
• Speed the initiatives’ adoption to improve IT services.

“By consolidating cross-agency information on IT policy in one convenient location, agencies are able to quickly and more efficiently make decisions related to their overall mission,” Karen Evans, administrator of e-government and IT at OMB, said in the press release.

"The mission is paramount," Burk said.

Some industry vendors consider this a good step in developing enterprise architecture.

“Let’s see what happens in the next six months, in the next year, and once agencies get ahold of this,” said Ed Seidewitz, vice president of model-driven architecture services at Data Access Technologies.

Seidewitz said it is important to remember that FTF is evolving and dynamic.

The real future for FTF, as OMB and the Government Accountability Office conduct more assessments, depends on connecting enterprise architecture to actual operations, he said.