DODAF - DOD Architecture Framework Version 2.02 - DOD Deputy Chief Information Officer

DM2

DoDAF Physical Exchange Specification (PES)

PES XSD downloads:

In the support of these, EA data must be exchanged and shared. The general pattern for this exchange is shown in the figure below.

General Pattern for EA Info Sharing and Data Exchange

General Pattern for EA Information Sharing and Data Exchange

The information to be shared varies across the core processes and is determined by the information needs of specific use cases within those core processes. Notional examples of such use cases are shown in the figure below.

Notional EA Information

Notional EA Information Sharing Use Cases

Core process use case stakeholders work with EA data developers to determine what information needs to be shared when in order to support the core process. A notional example of the resultant information exchange in shown in the figure below. Note that in this case, the data presented for decisions may not be EA data, but, rather, the analysis results from analyzing EA data.

 

Notional Pattern of EA Information Sharing for Assessment Processes

When exchanging architectural data, the PES is the specification for the exchange. The PES provides an efficient and standard means to ensure that data sharing can occur in a toolset-agnostic, methodology-agnostic environment. Use of the by architects to document architectural data and information in tools, through spreadsheets, or other means, and deposit that data and organized information into federated repositories is facilitated by the common understanding underlying the use of the PES.

The DM2 PES XML schema (XSD) provides a neutral format for data exchange between EA data and data sources including:

  1. EA databases.
  2. DoD Authoritative Source Databases (e.g., DoD Information Technology Portfolio Repository [DITPR]).
  3. Unified Profile for DoDAF and Ministry of Defence Architecture Framework (MODAF) (UPDM) and SysML-based Unified Markup Language (UML) Tools.
  4. Other Information Technology (IT) and enterprise architecture Tools.
  5. Modeling and Simulation Tools that are used in EA assessments, e.g., AoA’s.
  6. Reporting Tools, e.g., for Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Instruction (CJCSI) or Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) submission.
  7. Systems Engineering Tools.
  8. Other Federal agencies (e.g., Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DoJ).
  9. Coalition partners and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
  10. Other organizations with which DoD exchanges Enterprise Architecture (EA) data (e.g., industry, States, National Government Organizations [NGO’s]).

This role is illustrated in the figure below.

Illustration of DM2 Role in Providing a Neutral Model for Data Exchange

Note that within any particular community above, there may be a data exchange format particular to that community. A particularly important case is the UPDM-SysML XML Metadata Interchange (XMI) format for data exchange of UML models. XMI provides a neutral way to exchange model data, including diagram data, between UML tools. A universal DM2 PES to XMI translation will allow UPDM-SysML tools to interoperate with the other tools and data sources used in DoD EA.

XSD

The DM2 PES eXtensible Markup Language (XML) Schema Definitions (XSDs) is auto-generated from the DM2 Logical Data Model. No additional semantics are added or changed.



There are four DM2 PES XSD’s:

  1. IDEAS Foundation, version 1.0
  2. DM2 additional foundation
  3. Classification marking (externally controlled)
  4. DM2 exchange data

The DM2 PES XSD used for data exchange has a very simple structure as shown in the figure below.

Top-Level Structure of a the DM2 PES XSD for Exchange

The IdeasData section contains all the DM2 domain data in a flat structure with elements linked together using standard XML document IDref’s. A piece of this flat structure is shown in the figure below. All of the DM2 data that is to be exchanged is contained in this section.

Sample of the IdeasData Section of the DM2 PES XSD for Data Exchange

The IdeasViews section then specifies what DoDAF views this data pertains to. A sample of this section is shown in the figure below. If a DM2 PES XML document is received and these views are indicated as being represented in the dataset, this XSD can be used to validate the document, to see that the mandatory data is present and that data that is not optional is not contained.

 

Sample of the IdeasViews Section of the DM2 PES XSD for Data Exchange

 

The PES XSD's can be downloaded here:

In-progress examples of DM2 PES XML documents are available to DM2 Working Group members on the DM2 Collaboration Site www.silverbulletinc.com/dm2.