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| PART II: Additional Business Case Criteria for Information Technology |
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**II. A Enterprise Architecture**

**II.A.1 Business**

*A. Is this project identified in your agency\'s enterprise
architecture? If not, why?*

**[The ANSS is identified in the USGS' Supplemental Enterprise
Architecture]{.mark} [as a Major Project]{.mark}**. The Department of
Interior (DOI) has developed its high-level Enterprise Architecture, and
is currently in the process of mid-level EA development. The Interior
Enterprise Architecture (IEA) is a federated model, with only a certain
percentage of it pertaining to cross-cutting initiatives. Only the IEA's
Bureau Supplemental Architecture applies to the Advanced National
Seismic System (ANSS), because it is bureau unique. Consequently, the
ANSS is being developed in conformance with the U.S. Geological Survey's
supplemental enterprise architecture, and with the overall IEA to the
extent possible. The USGS Supplemental Enterprise Architecture is also
still in the development stage, and will be consistent with the
Department's IEA.

*B. Explain how this project conforms to your departmental (entire
agency) enterprise architecture.*

The Interior Enterprise Architecture (IEA) is currently described in the
*DOI Common Requirements Vision* (CRV), the *Conceptual Architectural
Principles* (CAP), and the recently-completed *Technical Reference
Model* (TRM).

In terms of the **Common Requirements Vision**, the ANSS aligns with at
a number of [environmental trends]{.underline} that can impact
Interior's business and program strategies. First, within the *General
Public Facing Focus*, the ANSS responds to:

-   ET-5) Growing use of E-government services provided via a single
    point of entry that increasingly cuts across bureau boundaries.

-   ET-7) Increasing demand by elected officials and the public for easy
    electronic access to many routine government services.

-   ET-8) Increasing demand by the public and commercial enterprises for
    access to Interior information.

Within the *Interior Organization* focus, the ANSS responds to the CRV's
goals of:

-   ET-10) Increasing need for quick and easy sharing of information
    with multiple organizations (i.e., Federal, state, local and tribal
    governments, private organizations & business) collaborating on
    common goals.

-   ET-11) Continuing advancements in wireless connectivity and voice
    recognition will enable government personnel to spend more time in
    the field using a \"location-less office\" with access to
    organization-wide information resources.

Within the CRV's *Technology* focus, the ANSS implementation plan
conforms with the environmental trend toward:

-   ET-13) Increasing demand for the capture, electronic storage,
    delivery, and archiving of Interior resources.

The DOI CRV also identifies several [business strategies]{.underline} to
respond to these major environmental trends. Within these, the ANSS
implementation plan specifically addresses the following *policy focus*,

-   S-3) Utilize technology to increase efficiency and expand collection
    of natural science data and establish and maintain national Earth
    and biological science databases for use by Federal, state, and
    local land management and regulatory agencies,

by establishing at the National Earthquake Information Center
comprehensive national databases of seismic data, accessible to Federal,
state, and local agencies and to the general public. By utilizing the
web as an interface to these data, the ANSS also conforms with *the
General Public "facing" focus*,

-   S-4) Utilize and implement E-government.

Most importantly, the ANSS development effort directly addresses the
CRV's business strategy to:

-   S-6) Engage in long-term monitoring and forecasting, short-term
    prediction, real-time monitoring and communication with civil
    authorities and others during a crisis (e.g., adding earthquake
    sensor reporting in real time, forest fire monitoring, etc.)

by providing information on earthquakes and their effects useful for
public safety actions, emergency response, hazard assessment and
mitigation, and useful for education and awareness programs.

In terms of business strategies with a *technology focus*, the ANSS --by
replacing outdated, inadequate instrumentation and establishing a modern
infrastructure for improved seismic monitoring in the United
States---will:

-   S-15) Improve data management systems (e.g., policy and procedures
    relating to data standards, data privacy, data security, etc.)

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-   S-16) Encourage innovation in our products and services by keeping
    abreast of and applying new technologies and work practices.

The DOI CRV also identifies a number of *business change dri*vers,
representing business objectives or activities that must be accomplished
and done well. With these business drivers, the ANSS \--by effectively
using the internet to provide earthquake data, analysis products and
services\-- and by is designed to:

-   BD-1) Leverage the Internet to support Interior's business, as
    appropriate.

-   BD-2) Provide easy, reliable, and secure access to appropriate
    information and services for all interested parties. Assure that the
    information is complete, timely and accurate.

-   BD-5) Provide for increased sharing of information and computer
    applications/ systems for efficiency and effectiveness.

-   BD-6) Provide for increased partnerships with the private sector,
    universities, tribes, non-profits, and other government
    organizations.

-   BD-8) Improve critical business processes to make them faster, more
    reliable, flexible, and cost-effective while improving the quality
    of services that customers receive.

and will, therefore,

-   BD-9) Provide policy makers and senior managers with quality and
    essential information for decision-making.

Finally, the DOI CRV has identified twenty four Business Information
Requirements that address the above business requirements. Among these,
the ANSS will:

-   BIR-3) Provide secure and electronic access to systems and
    information (both real-time and summary) maintained by other
    Federal, State, or local partners;

-   BIR-4) Design and build applications that use web technology (when
    appropriate) to make services more accessible and easier to use;

-   BIR-9) Provide an easy and consistent user experience in accessing
    systems and information through multiple technologies;

-   BIR-10) Provide common information in consistent ways (e.g.,
    language of requestors, 'plain' languages, comprehensible);

-   BIR-19) Provide for substantial increases in data quantity and
    demand for the data.

-   BIR-21) Provide means of sharing information across organizational
    boundaries both internal (e.g., within and across bureaus) and
    external (e.g., suppliers, providers).

In terms of the Department's **Conceptual Architectural Principles**
(CAP), the ANSS development teamestablished a set of technical
implementation guidelines that conform with the Principles established
in the CAP. These guidelines are based on ANSS goals of coherent
national integration, highly dependable rapid response, uniform,
high-quality earthquake products, and widely available data sets. The
guidelines are detailed in a technical implementation plan that
describes the overall system organization of the ANSS, develops
functional specifications, technical architecture, and high-level design
elements. The document, the *[Technical Guidelines for the
Implementation of the Advanced National Seismic System, Version
1.0](http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/ofr-02-0092/)* (hereafter, *Technical
Guidelines*), establishes the initial characteristics of an Enterprise
Architecture. These are being tied into the development of the USGS
Enterprise Architecture. A summary of the characteristics of the system
in relation to the major CAP principles are as follows:

[Information is an asset (Principle 1)]{.underline}. ANSS plans to
establish and maintain an advanced infrastructure for seismic monitoring
throughout the United States that operates with high performance
standards, gathers critical technical data, and effectively provides
information products and services to meet the Nation's needs. ANSS data
is acquired from modern seismic sensors and data loggers linked to
national and regional network-recording centers. This data is critical
to ability of the ANSS to deliver the time-critical information required
by primary customers. To insure the quality and timely delivery of this
data, ANSS will include mission-critical communications links and
automatic quality assurance systems.

[Data and Information Stewardship (Principle 2)]{.underline}. The ANSS
will have a single long-term archiving system designed to insure the
long-term safekeeping of all data and derived products for future use.
Proper care will be taken to provide for the ultimate recovery of all
archived data in case of facility failure. In particular, the archiving
system will be designed to insure that the system functions through
periods of natural disasters.

[Integration (Principles 3)]{.underline}. The integration of the
regional and national operation centers is crucial to the successful
delivery of time-critical information to ANSS users. Systems and
applications must be designed and developed such that data and software
can be effectively shared across ANSS centers. All data flow, whether
within or between elements of the ANSS, should use the same interfaces,
protocols, and formats. All data access functionality must be provided
to data client processes via a standard, well-documented Application
Programming Interface (API).

[Security (Principle 5)]{.underline}. The ANSS will be a secure system,
and a *Major Application Security Plan* has been developed to ensure
security and continuity of operations (see below). The design ensures
that critical computers are secure against intrusion, denial of service
attack, and "hacking". Authentication will be used to allow data service
only to authorized clients. Rapid notifications should also be protected
against \"spoofing\".

[Information Access (Principle 9)]{.underline}. The ANSS high level
requirements for data access are:

-   Multiple data transfer mechanisms shall be supported for
    distributing continuous and non-continuous (segmented) waveforms,
    metadata, and parameters

-   A single protocol shall be supported for exchanging data between
    ANSS processing centers for the purpose of synchronizing holdings.

-   Multiple user data request mechanisms will be supported (web, email,
    interactive query)

-   Shall satisfy data distribution timeliness requirements, which are
    to be determined.

-   Timeliness requirements shall be established for:

-   Class of user (e.g. processing center, time-critical users, etc.)

-   Data requested (e.g. data type, data age, volume of data, etc.)

[Industry Proven /State of the Art Technologies (Principles
12)]{.underline}. IT solutions will use industry-proven and
"state-of-the-art" technologies in order to:

-   Avoid dependence on weak vendors.

-   Ensure robust product support.

-   Enable greater use of commercial-off-the-shelf solutions.

-   Comply with OMB Circular A-130, which requires the application of
    up-to-date information technology to take advantage of opportunities
    to promote fundamental changes in agency structures, work processes,
    and ways of interacting with the public that improve the
    effectiveness and efficiency of Federal agencies.

[Industry Standards (Principle 13)]{.underline}. Preference will be
given to products adhering to industry standards and open architectures
that support interoperability. This approach:

-   Reduces risks.

-   Reduces dependence on single vendor.

-   Enables greater use of commercial-off-the-shelf solutions.

-   Allows flexibility and adaptability in product enhancement,
    extensibility, and replacement.

Finally, because the ANSS is an essential system for national emergency
response to earthquakes, their assessment and mitigation efforts, the
system provides for*Mission-critical, Time-critical Data Delivery*.
Rapid earthquake notifications will be one of the most important
responsibilities of the ANSS and a key to the usefulness of many ANSS
products. Rapid data and product distribution is distinguished from
distribution from the archiving system primarily because of the
time-critical need for the data. The system should be capable of rapidly
generating many types of earthquake products, and each type must be
automatically delivered in standard formats via multiple mechanisms. As
part of the ANSS security plan, the USGS has established the necessary
[business continuation and recovery requirements]{.underline} (CAP
Principle 6), through the ANSS *Continuity of Operations Pl*an (Appendix
C of the ANSS *Major Application Security Plan*).

The ANSS Technical Integration Committee developed the ANSS
[Technical](http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/ofr-02-0092/) Guidelines (ver.
1.0) in 2001, somewhat in advance of the Department's completion of its
*Technical Reference Model* (TRM, August 2002; this document defines
architectural domains, working principles, the rationale for each
principle within each architectural domain, and the implications of the
principle for each domain). In terms of architecture, the ANSS Technical
Guidelines establish the overall organization of the system and its
functional design, including system attributes, data flow elements, data
distribution, delivery and system review processes. In general these
aspects of proposed ANSS architecture match closely the ten technical
architecture domains specified in the DOI Technical Reference Model. It
is planned that the ANSS Technical Integration Committee will meet later
in 2003 to review and revise version 1.0 of the ANSS Technical
Guidelines, and will at that time review the planned system architecture
in light of the DOI TRM. Also, it has been proposed that the ANSS serve
as a "testbed" for the USGS Bureau's Supplemental Enterprise
Architecture. This proposal will be reviewed when the ANSS Technical
Integration Committee meets.

*D. Briefly describe how this initiative supports the identified Lines
of Business and Sub-Functions of the Federal Business Architecture.*

This project supports the "*Services to Citizens*" Business Area of the
President's **Business Reference Model** (BRM). Specifically, it
supports the *Disaster Management* line of business. Within that line of
business, the ANSS directly supports the Sub-Functions of:

-   *Disaster Monitoring and Prediction*

-   *Disaster Preparedness and Planning, and*

-   *Emergency Response.*

It also supports the BRM's Business Area, "Support and Delivery of
Services", through the *Business Management of Information* line of
business. These relationships are described as follows:

[Business Layer.]{.underline} In support of the President's Disaster
Management line of business and the Disaster Monitoring and Prediction,
Disaster Preparedness and planning, and Emergency Response
sub-functions, the ANSS is a major USGS initiative that serves the
national needs of the earthquake monitoring, engineering, and research
communities, as well as national, state, and local governments,
emergency response organizations, and the general public. When fully
operational, the ANSS will be an advanced monitoring system consisting
of modern digital seismographs and accelerographs, a dependable and
redundant communications network, integrated data collection and
processing centers, and well-trained personnel. The ANSS will be
distributed across the United States and operate with high performance
standards, gathers critical technical data, and provide timely and
reliable earthquake products, information, and services to meet the
Nation's needs.

When implemented, the ANSS will be able to deliver, within minutes,
reports of earthquake magnitude and location as well as assessments of
the distribution and intensity of strong ground shaking to guide
emergency response efforts. This same capability can be used in a
hypothetical manner to guide emergency response drills and community
scenario planning.

Longer term, ANSS is also a mitigation tool. The data acquired by ANSS
will allow engineers and building designers to improve construction
methods to reduce earthquake risk and to build safer communities.

[Data Layer.]{.underline} The USGS has begun a technical architecture
effort, as lower-level models to the Federal E-Government BRM. This
effort will include the development of data models, first for *The
National Map,* followed by the integration of data layering for other
systems, such as this one. The ANSS has begun the effort of defining the
logical data models required for its implementation. The *Technical
Guidelines* is the first attempt to describe the ANSS data models. The
document, which will be included in the developing USGS enterprise
architecture, defines the ANSS/USGS need for information, the types of
information, and a high level technical architecture for acquiring,
distributing and archiving the data.

*[E. Was this project approved through the EA Review committee at your
agency?]{.mark}*

[An Enterprise Architecture steering committee and a Chief Architect
have been established in the Bureauand this project has been examined
and approved by both this committee and by the technical and capital
investment staff from the Bureau's Geographic Information Office
(GIO).]{.mark}

*F. What are the major process simplification/reengineering/design
projects that are required as part of this initiative?*

As noted above, extensive planning for the ANSS has been underway since
1999. The requirements for this system and the associated
simplification/reengineering/design projects that are required as part
of this initiative are outlined as follows:

-   Modernization of regional and national seismic network operations
    centers to streamline operations, improve timeliness and efficiency,
    and seamlessly integrate data from across the U.S.;

-   Modernization of data management and distribution centers to insure
    easy access and long-term stewardship of seismic data;

-   Installation of 6000 new strong motion earthquake sensors and
    telecommunication links for ground-based (3000) and
    structural (3000) sites in at-risk urban centers across the U.S.;

-   Installation of 1000 new broad-band seismic stations to augment
    regional recording capabilities;

-   Addition of 44 seismic stations to the National backbone system
    (USNSN) to improve redundancy and reliability should a regional
    reporting center be compromised by an earthquake;

-   Procurement of two small (25 element) arrays of modern portable
    seismometers for post-earthquake aftershock recording and site
    response studies.

More detailed information can be found in the following documents:

-   "Requirements for an Advanced National Seismic System," [USGS
    Circular #1188](http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1999/c1188/), 1999, 59 pp.

-   "Management Plan, Advanced National Seismic System," April 2001.

-   "Technical Guidelines for the Implementation of the Advanced
    National Seismic System -- Version 1.0." [USGS Open File Report
    02-92](http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/ofr-02-0092/), 2002, 93 pp.

*G. What are the major organization restructuring, training, and change
management projects that are required?*

This effort does not require any major re-organization within the USGS,
but it does require much closer coordination with other E-Government
partners, including the sister agencies of the National Earthquake
Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), regional network partners (e.g.,
universities), and users (e.g., emergency responders, engineers,
lifeline operators, etc.). Accordingly, one area of emphasis within ANSS
planning and development efforts to date has been the completion and
adoption of an ANSS Management Plan that addresses the coordination
needs across this broader Disaster Management community. This plan is
summarized as follows:

-   Oversight of the ANSS is governed by the ANSS Project Manager, the
    USGS Earthquake Hazards Program Coordinator, and a National Steering
    Committee comprised of key stakeholders;

-   Annual and long-range planning is accomplished first within each of
    seven ANSS regions and then is merged and revised to meet national
    priorities and budget limitations.

-   Within the regions, planning is overseeing by a Regional Advisory
    Committee (comprised of key users) and by the Regional ANSS
    Coordinator.

-   Implementation and integration of regional plans into a national
    plan is accomplished by the National Implementation Committee,
    consisting of the ANSS project manager and each of the Regional
    Coordinators.

-   Technical oversight is provided by a Technical Integration Committee
    that reports to the National Implementation Committee.

The ANSS will also require the adoption of new business process models
to align with the Presidents E-Gov initiative, the development and
adoption of systems and technical architectures, capital investment
strategies, and migration plans. Operation of existing USGS seismic
systems and network operation centers must evolve according to the
guidelines and direction developed under the ANSS and in consideration
of the President, DOI, and USGS E-Government strategies. Systems that
once operated autonomously now must work within the broad confines of
the E-Government and ANSS to integrate operations, maximize resources,
and meet priority project objectives. To accomplish these goals the
following change management projects are required:

-   Business (scientific) Process Reengineering and architecture work
    will be coordinated with the office of the GIO, the Department of
    Interior, and the Presidents E-Government task forces.

-   Process improvements and architecture products will be integrated
    into the Presidents, Interior and USGS IT strategies, in accordance
    with Clinger-Cohen and GPRA..

-   Capital Investment activities will be done in accordance with
    OMB-A-130, OMB-A-94, and OPMB-A 11.

*I. What are the implications for the agency business architecture?*

Within the USGS, the principal line of business supported by the ANSS is
the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. However, additional support will be
provided from a number of functional groups within the USGS (e.g.,
procurement, budget, finance, GIO, administration, security, & network
operations). External lines of business involved are Presidential and
DOI E-Government working groups, seismic instrument manufacturers, field
engineering services, computer manufacturers, software developers and
vendors, and communications services.

In a broader context, the ANSS is also a component of the nations
E-Government strategy for Disaster Management, through disaster
monitoring and prediction, disaster preparedness and planning and
emergency response. Full implementation and subsequent operation of the
ANSS will require further alignment of research, management and IT
services to this line of business.

**II.A.2. Data**

*A. What types of data will be used in this project?*

-   Parametric data (i.e., earthquake characteristics, such as location,
    time, magnitude, amplitude and phase information);

-   Continuous digital seismic data from individual sensors. Sampling
    rate = 100 Hz, dynamic range 144db, bandpass, 20Hz - .02 Hz.

For details, see "*Requirements for An Advanced National Seismic
System,"* [USGS Circular #1188](http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1999/c1188/).

*B. Does the data needed for this project already exist at the Federal,
State, or Local level? If so, what are your plans to gain access to that
data?*

The ANSS information products and services include:

-   Information (data and analytical products) used for immediate public
    safety and emergency response;

-   Technical data used for advancing the long-term, scientific,
    engineering and hazard assessments of areas vulnerable to future
    earthquakes; and

-   Ongoing needs for information in areas such as education and
    awareness, public policymaking, planning, design, disaster
    preparedness and risk management.

Data needed for immediate response and public safety uses are
necessarily "real-time," (earthquake recordings), must be collected at
the time of an earthquake, and do not currently exist. The ANSS will
also provide new, high-quality data for all its products and services
that do not currently exist because of either inadequate instrumentation
or lack of geographic coverage.

To obtain data from existing seismic stations for the purpose of
emergency response, as well as to obtain the available data for
long-term assessments, research, education and awareness, the USGS is
already cooperating with appropriate Federal, State, and private
institutions to collect and process these data. The ANSS *Technical
Guidelines* describes the need for standard data protocols and
mission-critical communications links in order to integrate these
existing data into the ANSS.

*C. Are there legal reasons why this data cannot be transferred? If so,
what are they and did you address them in the barriers and risk sections
above?*

There are no legal reasons why this data cannot be transferred.

*D. If this initiative processes spatial data, identify planned
investments for spatial data and demonstrate how the agency ensures
compliance with the Federal Geographic Data Committee standards required
by OMB Circular A-16.*

The seismic data acquired by the ANSS and the derived earthquake and
ground motion solutions are geospatially referenced. These data are
largely maintained in tabular form and are made available on the USGS
web site. Long term archive is currently accomplished by other
institutions (the Incorporated Research Institutes for Seismology, the
Southern California Earthquake Consortium, and the University of
California Berkeley Data Center). These data can be input into a GIS,
but are not archived or distributed in this format. Because these data
are not maintained in a GIS and are not in direct support of the
National Mapping Program, the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping
Program, or other such national surveying, mapping, or related spatial
data programs as defined in OMB Circular A-16, the data are not subject
to the FGDC standards. However, ANSS raw data and derived products are
documented and maintained such that the data can be shared with other
Federal agencies and non-Federal users. Moreover, if/when special
derived products are developed to support these Federal mapping or
surveying programs, they will be implemented to ensure compliance with
FGDC.

*E. If this initiative involves the acquisition, hansling or storage of
information that will be disseminated to the public or used to support
information that will be disseminated to the public, explain how it will
comply with your agency's Information Quality guidelines.*

**II.A.3 Application and Technology**

*A. Discuss this initiative/project in relationship to the business and
data layers of the EA. Include a discussion of hardware, applications,
infrastructure, etc.*

[Application Layer]{.underline} -- The IEA has not identified specific
applications in its architecture do date. Also, the focus of the
Interior Enterprise Architecture is on providing guidance for
information technology issues and initiatives that are Interior-wide or
multi-bureau in scope --whereas the ANSS is a bureau-specific
developmental system. Nevertheless, as described above (sec. II.B.), the
ANSS application/project is being developed in accordance with the
Conceptual Requirements Vision, the Conceptual Architecture Principles,
and the Technical Reference Model sections that are applicable to it.

*B. Are all of the hardware, applications, and infrastructure
requirements for this project included in the EA Technical Reference
Model? If not, please explain.*

The ANSS project will be aligned with both the Federal Technical
Reference Model as developed for the IEEE POSIX environment and the DOI
Technical Reference Model (as specified in the answer to question II.B.,
above).

The Applications Development architecture of the DOI TRM defines system
development and acquisition of
commercial-off-the-shelf/government-off-the-shelf (COTS/GOTS) lifecycle
techniques for the enterprise oriented to ensuring interoperability,
scalability and reusability of applications and application components
that support business information needs. One of the Development
Principles of the IEA Applications Development Architecture is that
"requirements must be thoroughly defined to determine whether it is best
to reuse, buy COTS/GOTS or build an application system." In relation to
the ongoing development of the ANSS, this goal will require careful
evaluation of the applications being developed, since many of these
applications are quite specific to earthquake location, characterization
and the prediction of ground shaking. The ANSS Technical Integration
Committee is responsible for defining network architecture of the
system, and has developed the general guidelines for a distributed,
interconnected, real-time system. However, specific recommendations are
yet to be made for ANSS-specific applications development. These will be
considered in the coming year (2003).