The HHS Enterprise Architecture
The HHS Enterprise Architecture provides the foundation for allocating resources of all types toward the realization of the Department’s strategic business goals and objectives. The EA is a strategic resource that helps HHS plan, invest in, and implement information technology solutions to meet business needs and help manage the IT investment portfolio. It provides a mechanism for understanding and managing complexity and change. EA products identify the alignment of organizational business and management processes, data flows, and technology. They also enable identification of capability gaps and duplication. The role of the enterprise architecture within the broader cycle of strategic planning and execution was reflected in the initial “Architect” phase of the iterative performance improvement lifecycle described by OMB, as depicted in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Performance Improvement Lifecycle
HHS EA Program vision
The HHS Enterprise Architecture is the catalyst for business and information technology transformation, bringing organization and clarity to HHS’s complex environment, and delivering stronger value to the American public for their health and human services investments.
HHS EA Program mission
The HHS Enterprise Architecture enables greater success in HHS missions by promoting the alignment of human, information and technology resources to achieve optimum performance and results
The following table provides a list of the HHS EA program goals and objective and a list of related functions and services.
Strengthen the EA Program Foundation | Enable Improved Mission and Business Outcomes | Provide a consolidated view of HHS’ enterprise |
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EA Program Management and Oversight | EA Development and Use | EA Tool Development and Maintenance |
EA Program Management EA Program Reporting EA Compliance Support EA Content Management EA Communications Management EA Governance Support EA Training Management OCIO Advisory Support for Departmental and Cross-Agency Initiatives EA Performance Measurement | Segment Architecture Coordination Segment Architecture Development (FSAM and RSAM) Segment Architecture Mentoring Support for OPDIVs EA Methodologies Development Architectural Reviews EA Training Delivery Data Architecture Methodologies and Guidance Data Governance Support Enterprise Services Profile Governance Support Technical Standards Profile | EA Repository Software Maintenance EA Repository Metamodel Maintenance EA Repository System Functionality Enhancements EA Repository Governance Support EA Repository Business Intelligence Development OCIO Collaboration Portal System Functionality Enhancements OCIO Collaboration Portal Governance Support Help Desk Support and Account Management Software Vendor Liaison |
The diagram below depicts the layers of the HHS architecture. Each layer of the architecture contains information specific to that category, and is related to other information across the architecture. The HHS EA aligns with the FEA and links to information about the FEA are provided below.
 | Strategy – identify the strategic goals and objectives for COOP and/or Pandemic |
| Business – determine what essential business activities are needed to achieve the goals and objectives and how they will be continued. | |
| Investment – represents the financial aspect of an enterprise. It includes concepts that allow the EA information to be reconciled with investment and project control information. | |
| Data – determine what data will be needed to support the business activities, and where it can be obtained. | |
| Services/Systems – identify any needed systems that will provide the services needed to support the above business activities and how they will be made available | |
| Technology – identify the technology to be used in building the system services | |
| Workforce – identify the roles and key positions needed to support the above business activities | |
| Facilities – identify the facilities needed to support the business activities above. | |
| Security and Privacy – identify the security controls that are to be in place at each layer and how they will be implemented | |
| Performance – identify measurement indicators to measure performance at all levels of the enterprise |
The HHS Enterprise Architecture functions based on the following 9 principles.
HHS EA PRINCIPLES |
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HHS EA PRINCIPLE 1 HHS is citizen-centered and business-driven, with services defined and delivered based on the needs of their consumers. (Customer Focused) |
HHS EA PRINCIPLE 2 HHS is performance-driven, measuring success in terms of mission execution and continuous improvement towards meeting HHS Strategic Goals and Objectives. (Performance) |
HHS EA PRINCIPLE 3 The HHS EA reflects a standards-based approach that promotes and facilitates technology standardization and reuse, interoperability, data sharing, and overall Departmental efficiency and effectiveness. (Standards) |
HHS EA PRINCIPLE 4 HHS develops and implements business services using a required, structured Enterprise Performance Life Cycle methodology. (EPLC) |
HHS EA PRINCIPLE 5 HHS manages information and data as enterprise assets, ensuring integrity, confidentiality, and availability, at all levels of the department. (Information Assets) |
HHS EA PRINCIPLE 6 HHS requires security and privacy practices to protect information assets from unauthorized use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. (Security/Privacy) |
HHS EA PRINCIPLE 7 HHS integrates the planning, management, and governance of all HHS OPDIV enterprise architectures into a unified EA that is aligned with the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA). (Federated Architecture) |
HHS EA PRINCIPLE 8 HHS streamlines business processes in alignment with Departmental and government-wide initiatives. (Efficiency) |
HHS EA PRINCIPLE 9 HHS evaluates investments against business requirements and service needs, with a philosophy of first Reuse, then Buy, then Build. (Reuse) |