NIEM Newsletter
Call for Nominations—NBAC and NC&OC Chairs
Deadline Extended to January 11, 2010
NIEM IEP Transport Is Ready Now!
By: Gary Ham
You have defined an Information Exchange Package Documentation (IEPD) in accordance with National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) guidelines. Good job! You probably put it together to support a particular point-to-point transaction between system A and system B (perhaps a CAD system talking to a GIS system or something similar). It works and you are happy. Your Information Exchange Packages (IEPs) are a great success in creating communication between two otherwise incompatible systems. Only now you find out that the same data is needed by system C, and perhaps systems D and E as well (although they may only want a specific subset of the content.) You could build more point-to-point connections, but each new system added to your network increases complexity, both in the number of connections that need to be accounted for and the governance of how and when those connections should be made. You did a good thing by defining a valuable reusable data structure, but now it is becoming a nightmare trying to manage the reuse.
The first step to simplification is what we call “separation of concerns.” The content data in your IEPD-defined data structure is the real value you are creating. The addressing information (who the content goes to and why) and the physical mechanism actually used to do the transport (direct connection, brokered messaging, radio transport, or even e-mail) can be separated from the content data without affecting the value or importance of what is inside.
Think of the IEP as a holiday package that you send to your grandchildren:
- You determine the content of the box and that it is appropriate for the child you are sending it to.
- You then wrap it up and put an address and any other information relevant to its transport on the wrapper (e.g., “fragile,” customs declaration, value declaration for insurance).
- You choose the mode of transportation (e.g., USPS, UPS, FedEx, or private courier) and then send it. Note that at least three suggested transport modes depend on the same addressing scheme, the U.S. Postal Service specifications, so choosing a standard addressing structure for the outside of the package makes it possible to choose multiple physical transport options. Your package will “get there.”
The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) Emergency Data Exchange Language Distribution Element (EDXL-DE) is a NIEM-approved external standard data “wrapper” that can be used to provide addressing and characterization for your IEP. When you wrap NIEM IEP-defined XML data as content in an EDXL-DE wrapper, the DE data structure can be used to:
- Identify the organizations and individuals who need to get the data (like the addressee on my holiday package).
- Identify the organizations that created the data (like my return address).
- Characterize the data content in such a way that transporting systems know how to handle the content without actually touching the content directly (like “fragile” and similar extra notations you put on the outside of your holiday package.)
By using the EDXL-DE, I have a wrapper for my NIEM IEP content. How do I send it? Is there a government option similar to the USPS? Is there a commercial option like UPS or FEDEX? Am I forced to select a single, high-cost “systems integrator” who will hold me for ransom to custom transport my information? In the past, most systems have been forced into the high-cost custom solution. When you use the EDXL-DE, you have choices:
- You can go with a custom system. It might be the right choice for certain high-risk data where tight control is more important than wide distribution.
- Commercial vendors are starting to develop DE-based solutions around the EDXL-DE standard that have not been there before. There are products you can use in a closed network that are very effective.
- You can choose the low-cost (free to users) government option. FEMA provides a set of Web services that is open for software used by emergency managers across the country. The Disaster Management – Open Platform for Emergency Networks (DM-OPEN) is a fully operational set of Web services that offers message brokering between systems (commercial and custom) operated by responder and emergency management organizations across the nation. Twelve different vendors at the recent NIEM National Training Event in Baltimore, Maryland, demonstrated the exchange of NIEM content wrapped in an EDXL-DE through DM-OPEN.
- You can mix or match any of the above approaches because standards let you have that kind of flexibility (which is why you went to the trouble of defining a formal IEPD in the first place.)
Figure 1 provides a summary illustration of the analogy:
- The NIEM IEP is your valuable content.
- You package it for shipment by wrapping it in an EDXL-DE XML structure that:
- Identifies you as the originator;
- Identifies your recipients, either individually or by type; and
- Characterizes the data well enough that the network knows how to handle it.
- You then route the IEP using the network(s) best able to deliver the IEP to your desired recipients.
The best choice of distribution network depends on your particular requirements. I may be a bit biased because it is the program where I currently work, but the FEMA DM-OPEN option is a very good place to start.
- The interfaces are easy to build to because they are based on well-defined Web services standards.
- The price is right. Because DM-OPEN is federal infrastructure, you pay no operational costs.
- Programmer help is available (OPEN@eyestreet.com).
- Finally, DM-OPEN comes with a set of potential interoperability partners that have already shown a willingness and capability to properly share data (http://interoperables.org).
For more information on DM-OPEN, see http://www.disasterhelp.gov/disastermanagement/ open/index.shtm. We are ready when you are!!!
Gary “Grandpa” Ham, http://grandpaham.com, is a systems engineer under contract through Eye Street Software Corporation to provide program support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Management Program Office. Special thanks to Colleen Apte for assistance with editing and illustration.
2009 NIEM Year in Review
By: Donna Roy
2009 has been a year of exciting growth and opportunity! As executive director, I have been honored to work with so many dedicated professionals, all helping to elevate NIEM to the next phase in its development. Without the collective efforts of those involved in the program, and the volunteerism nationwide, the NIEM program would not be enjoying the stellar reputation that it does today across all circles of government.
This year, we saw the release of NIEM 2.1, which represents the culmination of many important additions to the model. We are pleased to welcome three new domains into the NIEM family: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN), Family Services, and Maritime Domain Awareness. These new partners have rapidly taken to the NIEM philosophy and are in the process of using NIEM to implement cross-domain data exchanges, which before would have been exceedingly difficult. We are continuing our commitment to expanding our level of service in the areas of tools, training, and technical assistance to ensure that we, as a program, are meeting the needs of our ever-growing array of partners and stakeholders. The inaugural NIEM National Training Event was held this fall in Baltimore, Maryland, and the response was truly inspiring. In addition to hosting a range of distinguished speakers including Vivek Kundra, Vint Cerf, John Teeter, and many others, it also saw registrations from more than 680 practitioners and private industry partners. This response was especially impressive when considering the financial difficulties that so many of our partners are facing. This clearly demonstrates that NIEM has “turned the corner” as the recognized model for sharing information. The National Training Event (NTE) was also noteworthy for its use of Web 2.0 technology to bring the event worldwide, through live streaming video and Twitter feeds. Did you check out the NIEM NTE tweet book yet at http://www.niem.gov/pdf/ NIEM_2009_NTE_TweetBook.pdf?
Adoption of NIEM across various domains continues unabated, but perhaps the most noteworthy examples of success are those which are inherently intergovernmental, made possible by NIEM. One such case study this year was the use of NIEM as the reporting standard for Recovery Act data from the states. This was a union of opportunity and requirement, as the states, in particular through the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), were seeking consistent guidance across federal agencies in the format and mechanism of reporting Recovery Act results. It is important as adoption increases that the NIEM program continue to engage its strategic partners in the field to identify such opportunities for improvement.
The coming year will undoubtedly find us taking steps forward that we can scarcely predict, but some goals are certain. For one, NIEM will continue to strive toward becoming ever more user-friendly for its users. Domain independence and self-service comprise the number-one priority for development in 2010, and that will be reflected both in an open, expanded toolset, as well as in improvements to PMO-Domain relationships. We continue to implement the recommendations of the "State of NIEM" report to ensure that the program is being responsive to identified areas for improvement and expansion. Support services such as training and help desk will be strengthened with increased flexibility and additional content. And finally, we will continue to engage in strategic partnerships with new and emerging domains, to better serve all constituents with a critical business need to share information.
Leading a program such as NIEM would simply not be possible without the support of a strong Executive Steering Council. I want to personally thank Richard Spires, Vance Hitch, and Robert Boehmer for their leadership this past year. I also want to thank Justin Murphy for his steadfast support as Deputy Executive Director. And of course I need to thank the entire NIEM user community, especially the domain leaders and participants, our state and local partners, and private industry implementers. Without all of your support and input, a national program such as NIEM could not exist as it does today.
NIEM has made tremendous strides toward becoming a standard, by choice, for cross-governmental information exchange. I look forward to working with you toward bigger and even better things in the months ahead. See you all in 2010!
Sincerely,
Donna Roy, Executive Director, NIEM Program Management Office
Case Study:
NIEM Bridging Information Systems—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
E-Verify is an Internet-based system operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It works within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA), to provide a means for employers to verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees. E-Verify compares the information of newly hired employees taken from Form I-9 (the paper-based employment eligibility verification form used for all new hires) against more than 425 million records in SSA’s database and more than 60 million records in DHS’s immigration databases. In 96.1 percent of cases, work eligibility is automatically verified. To participate in E-Verify, an employer must register online, complete training, and accept the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that details the responsibilities of SSA, DHS, and the employer.
The challenge USCIS faced was connecting with internal and external data sources to increase the percentage of employment eligibility cases that are verified within seconds through the use of E-Verify. To meet this challenge, the USCIS designed, developed, and implemented a departmentwide Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) to address problems involving multiple data sources from internal and external entities that do not share common data architecture. (The ESB is an information medium that allows dissimilar systems to share data.) The E-Verify system was developed in compliance with DHS standards for information exchange according to the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) and the Information Exchange Package Documentation (IEPD) development process and was based on the deployment of a NIEM-conformant Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA).
USCIS successfully implemented the ESB-enabled USCIS data sharing with other DHS components and external agencies. Current connections include, for example, DHS’s Customs and Border Protection and SSA. Future expansion plans include the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and individual state Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs).
Read the complete case study at www.niem.gov.
NIEM FAQ:
Is NIEM Only a Federal Standard?
No, NIEM focuses on cross-domain information exchanges among communities of interest across all levels of government—local, state, tribal, and federal. Take a look at the NIEM Adoption and Use Case Studies to see examples of NIEM in use in federal, state, and local projects, as well as the NIEM Adoption and Use map online.
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Share Your NIEM Experiences!
Share your passion for NIEM and promoting information sharing with more than 2,300 subscribers—write for NIEM News! As we prepare the editorial calendar for calendar year 2010, we invite you to submit your article ideas (title and short description) to the NIEM Program Management Office (NIEM PMO) at NIEMPMO@niem.gov.
Also, ideas for NIEM adoption and use case studies are needed. NIEM adoption and use case studies are great ways to help others understand and use NIEM. It is important, as we advocate the use of NIEM for information sharing, that we also share how NIEM is being used and highlight NIEM success stories. We need your help in collecting and developing these case studies for a variety of uses and among various levels of government and private industry.
Do you have any real-world examples of your work highlighting NIEM in action that might work as a case study? If so, we would like to hear from you! Please send your ideas to Andrea Walter at andrea.walter@ijis.org. Case studies are simple write-ups that focus on the challenge, the solution, and the results.
NIEM Training and Events
January 26–28, 2010, Ashburn, Virginia
For more information, please visit http://www.niem.gov/month.php.
Did You Miss the 2009 NIEM National Training Event?
Eastern Regional NIEM Practical Implementer’s Course
Please visit www.NIEM.gov for access to the full agenda of audio/visual recorded keynote and track sessions, which are available for playback.
