6.3: Other Uses
[Develop] Other Uses of the EA Other Information:
The EA provides guidance and source information for requirements analysts, designers, engineers, and test planners to reference
and build upon material executing their responsibilities. The following are examples of uses of the EA outside the normal
project cycle: • Even if an agency is not involved in a major IT upgrade, the EA is a resource for managing inventory, routine
maintenance, and queries. Analysis of the baseline architecture can identify opportunities for consolidating network services,
floating or site software licenses, and economies of scale for equipment and services. • The agency can use the EA as a training
aid, drawing on its graphics and descriptive material for instruction in the business of the agency or in the technology that
is in use or planned. • Investigative initiatives and proofs-of-concepts should be performed using the EA as a reference.
The criteria for EA compliance should be considered, but not mandated, in such efforts. Non-enforcement allows pursuit of
innovations that could change the EA, but alignment and impacts of architecture deviations should be included with the results
of the experiments. • Agencies may fund small, low risk projects outside of the CPIC. Program/project managers should still
rely on the EA for guidance for the business solution, architectures, requirements, and design of their effort. Compliance
with the EA will facilitate integration into the enterprise, and the baseline architecture should be kept current with their
products. • O&M projects rely on the baseline architecture for context. The O&M priorities and decisions may be influenced
by the sequencing plan and target architectures. For example, a planner may conclude that soon-to-be-retired IT systems are
more economical with minimal O&M support.
Indicator(s):
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