This document provides fusion center leaders, particularly senior technology managers, with guidance on how information, technology infrastructure, applications, performance measures, and business processes align with the core business capabilities of a fusion center, which provides a collection, analysis, and dissemination point for classified and unclassified data relevant to terrorism, potentially other crimes, and "all-hazards" intelligence approaches.
Fusion center leaders can use this document for assistance in formulating a strategic technology vision and plan for their centers, as well as to support sound investment and technology-selection decisions within such a plan. This is done largely by referencing existing guidelines and recommendations published by the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global); the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Department of Homeland Security; and the Office of the Program Manager, Information sharing Environment (PM-ISE). The document draws on the best practices of enterprise architecture, business process, information flow, and exchange identification in linking together existing fusion center planning and guidance documents. Regardless of the framework used, enterprise architecture aims to address three common concerns of a technology manager: technology planning and alignment, technology innovation, and technology standards. The planning and alignment function of enterprise architecture establishes a future vision for the technology portfolio that aligns with business strategy and ensures that technology investment decisions move the organization toward achieving this vision. The innovation function of enterprise architecture provides a mechanism for research and development into new technologies that could increase the organization's efficiency or enable new business capabilities. The technology standards function of enterprise architecture reduces unnecessary and potentially wasteful variation in the technology portfolio by establishing and enforcing best practices. Each of these functions is a necessary component in effective governance of a fusion center's technology portfolio.