SI International Inc., an information technology and network solutions company, has developed and implemented an object-oriented (OO)/unified modeling language (UML)-based enterprise architecture approach for defining, designing and satisfying defense agencies' mission-critical command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) requirements. This net-centric approach to enterprise architecture employs OO/UML techniques to improve system architects' understanding of how best to integrate enterprise operations and systems for the optimal fulfillment of C4I and war-fighting capabilities requests.

Defense agencies use the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) to specify and deliver C4I and war-fighting support capabilities. DoDAF defines a common approach for Department of Defense (DoD) architecture description development, presentation and integration. The framework ensures that architecture descriptions can be compared and related across organizational boundaries, including joint operations and multinational boundaries. SI International's net-centric enterprise architecture conforms to DoDAF's three separate views — operational, systems and technical. The operational view is a description of the tasks and activities, operational elements, and information flows required to accomplish or support a military operation. The systems view is a graphical and textual description of the services, systems and interconnections that are used to satisfy operational needs. The technical view provides the minimal set of rules governing the arrangement, interaction and interdependence of system parts or elements. SI International's method includes an additional operational UML view (not described in the DoDAF) that establishes the net-centric service responsibility, while depicting the overall value of the enterprise.

Architectural methods that do not relate operational, systems, and technical views can result in the implementation of systems that are not interoperable, and fail to meet the war fighters' needs. Unlike older approaches that were developed in an era of stove-piped operational models and non-Web-based architectures, SI International's method leverages the most advanced Web-based technology and protocols available to ensure full interoperability among multiple, legacy and newly deployed systems. SI International's approach is suited to support the DoD's emphasis on promoting net-centric warfare, joint operations, and greater information sharing among military commands and units. The method creates a collaborative tool where operational stakeholders can communicate operational needs to system developers.

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