The Challenge

The Air Force Distributed Common Ground System (AF DCGS) needed improved definition of its system of systems architecture, especially in the IT service management operations area.

The Solution

Noblis ESI applied ISR systems, data, and enterprise architecture experience to help the AF DCGS Chief Architect and Lead Systems Engineer adopt best practices and methods to develop and manage a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). This required delivering IT management principles and best practices, and led to recertification of joint interoperability. Our solutions include:

• Working with DoD and IC mission partner architects to normalize data models and terminology between air, space, and ground systems allowing a better common understanding of inter-dependencies and creating opportunities for collaboration and reuse.
• Planning and delivering enterprise architecture views and models in support of Open Architecture and joint interoperability certification requirements; these descriptions provided the first data update since 2009 or before.
• Collaborating with Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Force Cryptologic Office (AFCO) architects working to integrate AF DCGS capabilities; leading weekly architecture working groups to align solution designs and configurations with required federal, DoD, and Intelligence Community standards and patterns.
• Developing draft AF DCGS Service Taxonomy and Models which adopt DI2E services and extend them with AF DCGS unique services and ITIL infrastructure services.
• Helping integrate currently distributed architecture efforts on-going at multiple sites by government, FFRDC, R&D, SETA, system developer, and even academic support staff.
• Adopting proven international IT governance practices and leveraging existing lessons learned from other government agency efforts with IT governance and architecture modernization.