Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework

The Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) was established in 1999 by the Chief Information Officers (CIO) in response to the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996.  The purpose of the FEAF is to facilitate shared development of common processes and information among Federal Agencies and other government agencies.

Based on the FEAF, a given architecture can be partitioned into business, data, applications, and technology architectures:

• Business architecture represents the business functions that CMS performs and the information that CMS uses.
• Data architecture defines how data is stored, managed, and used in a system.  It establishes common guidelines for data operations that make it possible to predict, model, and control the flow of data in the system.
• Application architecture consists of logical systems that manage the data objects in the data architecture and support the business functions in the Business Architecture. The applications are defined without reference to particular technologies. The applications are stable and relatively unchanging over time, whereas the technology used to implement them will change over time, based on the technologies currently available and changing business needs.
• The Technology Architecture describes current and future technical infrastructure and specific hardware and software technologies that support CMS' information systems. It provides guidance and principles for implementing technologies within the application architecture.

CMS' EA, along with DHHS operating divisions, is modeled and maintained in an interactive architectural tool called Troux Architect.  CMS' EA framework is in alignment with DHHS' EA framework that also aligns with the Office of Management and Budget's FEAF.  This federated model approach to EA maximally leverages utility and interoperability across the federal government.

For more information on FEA Assessment Framework, refer to the link on the "Related Links Outside CMS" section below.  Select the download PDF file for EA Assessment Framework Version 3.0 after click on the link.