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Way Ahead Update

Presentation toDoD Metadata Working Group

October 20, 2011

UCore Technical Agent

Ken Fagan, DISA EE31

OutlineOutline

• Background• Requirements• Overview of Initial 4 Options• Overview of Proposed UCore Way Ahead• Summary

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BackgroundBackground

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• UCore Way Ahead Discussions– FEB through OCT 2011 UCore Council meetings

• Way Ahead Options Paper: 9 SEP 2011• Four options were considered as viable ways ahead

– Options are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and some details of their execution may overlap

• UCore Council Voting– Preliminary : 19 SEP– Follow-on: thru 12 OCT

• Discussions with:– Program Manager, Information Sharing Environment (PM ISE)– National Information Exchange Model Program (NIEM PMO)– Intelligence Community (IC CIO)

• UCore Council Meeting: 14 OCT– Hybrid Approach presented – Out for vote through 26 OCT

RequirementsRequirements

• The approach should support existing and future requirements for Identity and Access Management (IdAM) and Cross Domain Enterprise Solution (CDES) through resource tagging and attributes derived from UCore interrogatives

• The approach should include a technical refresh that aligns UCore with current versions of DDMS/IRM, security tagging, and GEOINT standards

• The approach should not preclude the development of a UCore UML profile, or parallel cooperation with the NIEM-UML effort

• The approach should position UCore to achieve interoperability with NIEM, with a long-term goal of true convergence

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Overview of Initial 4 OptionsOverview of Initial 4 Options

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Overview of Proposed UCore Way AheadOverview of Proposed UCore Way Ahead

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• Phase One: UCore-DDMS Modifications– Perform a tech refresh of schema dependencies– Formalize UCore as a set of extensible, reusable data

components (RDCs), including interrogatives, taxonomy, and relationships

– Develop “simple” UCore pattern for situational awareness– Extend DDMS to fully support UCore v2.0 Digest content

• Phase Two: True NIEM Convergence– Continue cooperation with PM-ISE, NIEM PMO, and IC CIO to

resolve issues which prevent DoD/IC from realizing the full benefits of NIEM

– Migrate UCore RDCs into NIEM– Engage in pilot activities which model the migration of a DoD

project into NIEM

Proposed UCore Way AheadProposed UCore Way Ahead

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• Risk Mitigation– DoD CIO will advocate DoD requirements through the NIEM PMO– If NIEM incorporates UCore 3.0 RDCs, UCore adopters will be NIEM compliant– If NIEM does not incorporate UCore 3.0 requirements, UCore will continue to be

maintained as a separate specification

• Governance Concerns– USMC: Need language for addressing pending UCore/NIEM convergence in

requirements– DoD CIO: No standard that competes with the UCore/NIEM Way Ahead should be

mandated (e.g., added to DISR)– USAF: No version of UCore or NIEM will be mandated or added to the DISR until it is

piloted/tested– DISA/Joint Staff: Should portfolio, COI and program specific initiatives (e.g., C2 Core)

be meeting with NIEM or should all requirements be fed through DOD CIO? • Vetting through DoD CIO is appropriate

– DOD CIO - How will the DoD vote and provide requirements to NIEM?• DoD CIO will advocate DoD requirements through the NIEM PMO

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Diagram of Proposed Way AheadDiagram of Proposed Way Ahead

Key Activities & TimelineKey Activities & Timeline

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Summary Summary

• We have narrowed down 4 initial options into a hybrid approach that attempts to address the best of each option– 2 phases, parallel path

• We are seeking consensus on the hybrid approach– UCore Council voting due 26 OCT 2011

• We are working to partner with appropriate organizations to facilitate secure information sharing across the Federal Government– DoD Components, IC CIO, PM ISE, NIEM PMO

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For additional details, please see UCore Council site @ https://www.intelink.gov/inteldocs/browse.php?fFolderId=130113

Backup Slides

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Phase 1: Tech RefreshPhase 1: Tech Refresh

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• Update to latest versions of DDMS, ISM.XML, and XLink– Investigate approaches to mitigate security change cycles

(OASIS XML Catalog?)– Evaluate suitable integration points for NTK.XML and MAT.XML

• Incorporate TSPI 1.0.1/2.0 for Where and When• Additional minor enhancements

– Add support for confidence factor– Refresh of taxonomy and relationship model

Phase 1: UCore RDCsPhase 1: UCore RDCs

• Formalize UCore as a set of extensible reusable data components

• Deprecate the ULEX message framework from UCore specification

• Develop “simple” pattern for situational awareness– Single Event/Entity per message– Comparable to UCore v1.0– Compatible with Air Force Cursor-on-Target requirements

• Provide supporting direction on RDCs as the foundation for any data exchange, conformance, and valid extension strategies

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Phase 1: DDMS EnhancementsPhase 1: DDMS Enhancements

• DDMS supports all content of UCore v2.0 Digest• Separate an external payload from core content and

metadata for greater simplicity and flexibility• Open DDMS Change Requests

– Support use of relationship RDCs and UCore extensions– Use TSPI 1.0.1/2.0 for geospatial coverage.

• Provide supporting direction on the role of the DDMS metacard– Supports discovery of a more detailed payload when needed– May contain enough actionable information as-is

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Phase 1 ResultPhase 1 Result

• The UCore “brand” still exists• What is UCore?

– UCore is a set of reusable and extensible data components modeling Who, What, Where, and When (and the relationships between them). The RDCs are modeled in a set of schemas, taxonomies, Schematron rules, and extension specifications.

– UCore is a GML application schema for situational awareness.– The RDCs are intended to be the foundation of any information

exchange or COI vocabulary.

• DDMS supports the discovery and location of payloads constructed from applicable RDCs

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Phase 2: NIEM ConvergencePhase 2: NIEM Convergence

• Continue cooperation with PM-ISE, NIEM PMO, and IC CIO to resolve issues which prevent DoD/IC from realizing the full benefits of NIEM– Address requirements through NIEM NBAC and NTAC

• Work towards UCore-NIEM convergence– Determine NIEM location for “core” elements of UCore

• Work towards DoD adoption of NIEM– Engage in pilot activities which model the migration of a DoD

project into NIEM– Use Geospatial domain as governance test case (follow-up with

NGA), understand how NIEM domains are governed, and determine scope of DoD governance

– Avoid perception of a divided DoD position

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DoD Requirements for NIEM ConvergenceDoD Requirements for NIEM Convergence

• Full usage of the GEOINT specifications including GML, NFDD, AIXM, SWE, etc.

• Support the need for agile security tagging which accommodates rapid release cycles of Intelligence specifications like ISM, NTK, and MAT– IC CIO is addressing this with NIEM PMO

• Alternatives to the Adaptor pattern for referencing external schemas

• Support for specifying genuine semantic relationships (subclass and equivalence) and domain restrictions on relationships

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Suggested Discussions for NIEM ConvergenceSuggested Discussions for NIEM Convergence

• The effect of the NIEM NDR when combined with other standards, such as GML and XLink

• Inclusion of semantics in the NIEM-UML profile• Support for OWL taxonomies• Looking beyond schema design pattern to web-

service interactions when determining future NIEM technical guidance

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Phase 2: NIEM ConvergencePhase 2: NIEM Convergence

• Evaluation is needed to determine appropriate location for UCore RDCs, either within the NIEM core or a NIEM domain

• Resolution of issues and successful pilot activities will provide a better understanding of what large-scale DoD NIEM adoption will require

• Ultimately, DoD would become a NIEM participant, and address future UCore requirements within the NIEM framework

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Phase 2 ResultPhase 2 Result

• The UCore “brand” no longer exists• UCore RDCs exist within NIEM as true NIEM

constructs• COIs would evaluate NIEM as the first choice for their

information exchanges• COIs adopting NIEM would use NIEM tools to develop

information exchanges from components in the NIEM core and supporting domains

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AcronymsAcronyms

• AIXM: Aeronautical Information Exchange Model• CDES: Cross Domain Enterprise Solution• CoT: Cursor on Target• DCGS: Distributed Common Ground System• DDMS: DOD Discovery Metadata Specification• DIL: Disconnected, Intermittent, and Low Bandwidth• GEOINT: Geospatial Intelligence• GML: Geography Markup Language• IdAM: Identity and Access Management• IEPD: Information Exchange Package Documentation• IRM: Information Resource Metadata• ISM: Information Security Marking• ISO: International Organization for Standardization• MAT: Multi Audience Tearline• M2M: Machine to Machine• NBAC: NIEM Business Architecture Council• NDR: Naming and Design Rules• NFDD: National System for Geospatial-Intelligence (NSG) Feature Data Dictionary• NIEM: National Information Exchange Model• NTAC: NIEM Technical Architecture Council• NTK: Need-to-Know• OGC: Open Geospatial Consortium• OMB: Office of Management and Budget• OMG: Object Management Group• OWL: Web Ontology Language• PM-ISE: Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment• SAR: Suspicious Activity Report• SWE: SensorWeb-Enablement• ULEX: Universal Lexical Exchange• UML: Unified Modeling Language

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