NIEM Newsletter

May 23, 2007

Harmonization of NIEM

The new release of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), version 2.0, also known as the “Harmony” release, was driven by practitioner requirements through a well-defined collaborative process and brings many great features. Some of the highlights of NIEM 2.0 are:

Improved semantic quality (harmonization) of the NIEM Core model (Universal and Common) as well as some specific components from the individual domains.
Remodeling to remove duplication, complexity, and ambiguity.
Simplification of Universal and Common components to make it easier to understand and use the model, while maintaining their identity of Universal and Common in metadata.
Domain version independence.
Integrated ~30 NCCT issues resolved by NBAC/NTAC.
Addition of five new code lists and types, and updates to existing code lists.
Migration tools, both for those using NIEM 1.0 as well as those using GJXDM 3.0.3.

While some of the structures have been simplified or otherwise changed, the basic concept of NIEM has not changed, and neither has the governance model. Specific details about NIEM concepts and the governance of NIEM can be found in the “NIEM Concept of Operations” document, available at www.niem.gov.

Tools

Subset Schema Generation Tool (SSGT)

One of the existing features of the SSGT is the ability to select a version of NEIM with which to work. Since NIEM 1.0 has been the only release until now, this feature was not used. With the release of NIEM 2.0, the SSGT becomes an important feature, especially if developers are using multiple versions of NIEM. Access this capability from the Options choice in the SSGT menu on the NIEM Schema Subset Generation Web page (http://niem.gtri.gatech.edu/iepd-ssgt/SSGT-Search.do). Be sure to save your current wantlist before using the SSGT to switch NIEM versions.

Wayfarer

Wayfarer is a tool that provides advanced searching capabilities coupled with detailed information about elements and types. It was developed by the National Center for State Courts, but is freely available to the NIEM/GJXDM Community. Though Wayfarer was originally created as an exploration tool for GJXDM, a NIEM version of Wayfarer is currently being developed. The NIEM version of Wayfarer will still offer such features as:

Detailed Element/Type Information
Advanced Searching
Graphical Interface
Element Comparison Matrix
Pseudo-Semantic Searches, for example:

search for "cop" and get EnforcementOfficial
search for "judge" and get JudicialOfficial

Migration

The NIEM Migration Assist Tool will assist with migration of both GJXDM 3.0.3 and NIEM 1.0 wantlists to NIEM 2.0. Where possible, it will provide automated conversion for simple transformations, provide options in the resulting schema for more complicated transformations, and identify other problems in the wantlist. Users will be able to upload a wantlist and download a migrated wantlist, a migrated subset, and a report detailing changes made and problems encountered. The tool will attempt to make as many migration decisions as possible.

For more complicated migration issues, the tool will provide suggestions or choices to the user as comments in the XML schemas or wantlists. The changes and the choices made will be documented in the migration report. Issues for which the tool cannot suggest solutions will be noted in the migration report. The report will also provide a summary of the migration and next steps for the user, if any manual changes are required. It is extremely important to note that this tool will not help with the migration of extension or constraint schemas.

As with any automated tool, users must review the result to ensure the mapping is appropriate, and in some instances, may need to make changes due to tool limitations.

Simplification of Universal and Common Components

NIEM was first conceptualized as separate components in three namespaces; Universal, Common, and domain-specific. This was implemented in the NIEM 1.0 release at both the technical and governance levels. Through the development of NIEM 2.0, it was discovered that keeping the concepts of Universal, Common and domain-specific separated for governance reasons works very well. However, the implementation of core across two distinct namespaces added complexity and detracted from the usability, especially as many of the changes were implemented in the new release. Further, due to the complexity of the implementation it was difficult to obtain high-quality feedback from practitioners on the semantic modeling and thus the implementation was perceived as a barrier to the further harmonization of the model. The NIEM Business Architecture Committee (NBAC) identified this issue and framed it in terms of identified and current business requirements. The NIEM Technical Architecture Committee (NTAC) discussed solution alternatives. After some discussion to clarify requirements and alternatives, the NTAC recommended combining the core namespaces. The NBAC concurred with this recommendation and the core namespaces were combined. Components will still be flagged as Universal or Common, and someone using the SSGT will be able to select and see those. However, for ease of implementation, the Universal and Common namespaces have been collapsed into one namespace, "niem_core."

Documentation

While the following documents have their own release cycles and are not tied specifically to the NIEM 2.0 "Harmony" release, there was a recognized urgency that the NDR and User Guide be produced and closely aligned with the release of NIEM 2.0.

NDR – this guide documents the criteria used in creating NIEM, and better enables users to develop NIEM-conformant exchanges. This is particularly valuable as users develop extension schemas to address needs beyond the scope of NIEM and the various representative domains.
NIEM User Guide – this guide is under construction and will be available later this year.

Harmony Release Schedule

NIEM 2.0 is scheduled to be released in early June, and the NIEM tools update (new features, support for NIEM Harmony) will be released in mid to late June.

Please continue registering your IEPDs at www.it.ojp.gov/iepd so that others will be aware of your work. This will foster opportunities for collaboration and leverage the expertise of other organizations as well as help you to avoid duplicating efforts. Please visit www.niem.gov for the most current information about NIEM.

Upcoming Events: NIEM Train the Trainer

June 13-14, 2007

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), is offering a training program for trainers and potential trainers of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) courses. This event offers a two-day course—the first day is NIEM training and the second day offers training techniques. The course will be designed to help new trainers learn how to teach the NIEM curriculum. It will also provide existing trainers with the opportunity to refresh their training methods and learn about the current NIEM curriculum. A basic knowledge of NIEM is required. It is preferable, but not required, to have attended either a Global Justice Extensible Markup Language Data Model (Global JXDM) or NIEM training class. For further information or questions about the NIEM Train-the-Trainer Course, please contact Samantha Styles at (703) 726-3697 or visit http://it.ojp.gov/documents/NIEM_train_the_trainer.pdf.

Upcoming Events: Global Justice Information Sharing Users' Conference

August 20-23, 2007

This conference is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), in partnership with the GJXDM Training and Technical Assistance Committee (GTTAC). The training will offer information on the implementation, use, and management of National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) and Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM) projects. Presentations will provide tools and techniques that will assist justice and public safety organizations in improving their ability to share information. Attendees will learn about the technology at the policy, management, operations, and technical staff levels. Sessions will be provided for each of these groups. Organizations should consider sending teams to cover the wide range of topics. For more information please visit http://it.ojp.gov/topic.jsp?topic_id=247.