Information Architecture WG:Report of the Spring 2005 Meeting

April 14, 2005

Steve Hughes, NASA/JPL

Executive Summary

• US Position*– IPR and IA to come together to work on registries– Setup technical interchange meetings between agencies to

ensure contributions across IPR and IA areas– Deliver IA as a technical document (green book)– Jointly focus on development of standards and prototyping for

critical information management components• Registries• Repositories

– Need to work on scheduling meetings to ensure that the right folk are available for the appropriate meetings. (IPR and IA)

* Limited attendance and schedule conflicts have so far precluded wider review

Goals of WG 1. Define a reference end-to-end space information architecture for interoperab

ility and cross-support that encompasses both flight and ground data system operations and provides a common framework for use by standards and systems developers including

a) standard functional components for information managementb) definition of standard interfaces for information management c) standards in information representationd) standards in defining information processes

2. Define and leverage common methods for representing information architectural views; and

3. Address application layer information management issues including application protocols and data handling and ensure that they are dealt with in a clear and consistent way throughout the end-to-end system; and

4. Work with the SEA System Architecture and MOIMS WGs

Deliverables of WG

1. Identify and/or define component and interface information standards within CCSDS that are in common across areas. I.e. IPR, Reference Architecture for Space Data Systems (RASDS)

2. Identify formal representation methods, tools and approaches that will permit design, modeling, and simulation of information architectural designs.

3. Write a CCSDS space information architecture definition document (Green Book) that includes: a. a set of functional information infrastructure components;b. a set of information infrastructure interfaces for information management;c. a set of information descriptors that are capable of representing data

across the mission lifecycle;d. a set of interfaces for cross support services, application program

interfaces, and information management & access protocols.

Progress Achieved

• IA White paper was presented and discussed within the IPR WG. Issues have been identified and will be addressed by the IA WG.

• A matrix of terms from the Information Architecture (IA) and Open Archival Information System (OAIS) was prepared to allow the comparing and contrasting of key overlapping concepts, e.g. registries. Goal is to reconcile the terms.

• The Protégé ontology model for the Information Architecture was updated to reflect the latest white book updates. XMI export from model will be used to validate the information architecture model in UML.

Progress Achieved

• White book is progressing with updates that clarify its model and the relationship to model-driven standards and approaches (E.g. OMG MDA).

• Information architecture has been formally modeled and is being discussed within the document.

• The formalization of the model is clearly identifying the modeling relationships and the criticality of defining meta models for interoperability.

• It was agreed that work needs to continue to ensure that the Information Architecture adequately reconciles with the information model defined within OAIS.

Open Issues

• Few core technical issues exist with the information architecture. Largely, the green book needs to clearly define some core concepts. Coordination efforts need to be worked to ensure that the IA develops as a useful architectural model definition for other groups.

• IPR and IAWG need to have coordinated meetings to ensure that the valuable work going on in both groups is connected.

• Support by agencies considered a risk item to achieving the goals. Several efforts are down stream from the architecture creating inconsistencies between efforts.

Action Items

• IPR WG issues from review of White Paper forwarded to IA WG. – To: IPR WG (DG)– Due: Due April 2005

• Update document and revise with technical document (Green Book) status in mind.

– To: JPL IA WG Staff (CM)– Due: Due July 2005

• Develop Protégé plugin to produce MagicDraw compatible XMI format– To: JPL IA WG Staff (SH)– Due: Due Sep 2005

• Submit IA Green Book to CESG for approval as a Green Book– To: Info Arch WG– Due: Due Aug 2005

Resource Problems

• There may not be enough resource commitments from member agencies to achieve deliverables.

• It is very difficult to get the available resource together because of commitments across the groups.

Risk Management Update

• Agencies and projects implementing their own

architectures and do not choose to coordinate or adopt any interoperable standards or reference architectures for managing and sharing information.

• Languages and tools to be used in our work are still under development.

• Experience and education by agencies in modern architectural approaches (E.g. OMG MDA) may be a barrier towards forward progress.

Cross Area WG / BOF Issues

• Need on-going coordination with MOIMS Information Packaging and Registries (IPR).

• Information architecture considered an important architecture for guiding SANA development

• Work with other WGs and BOFs to coordinate architectural choices

• Coordinate architectures with SEA working groups

Resolutions to be Sent to CESG and Then to CMC

• None

New Working Items, New BOFs, etc.

• None