Towards a Framework for Managing the Information Environment

Abstract

Whether military, commercial, or non-profit, enterprises must react to changes in their environments by leveraging available information to make effective decisions. Consequently, managing information plays a central role in any enterprise and is a major factor influencing the quality of its decisions. This paper presents a Framework that assists in understanding, planning and analyzing an enterprises Information Environment. The Framework is used to review historical approaches to information interoperability: the ability of processes and sys-tems to effectively exchange and use information services. To address shortcomings, a new information-centric approach is discussed. Its principles suggest a tiered system architecture consistent with the Frameworks structure. The collection of services needed to support an information-centric capability is characterized as an information supermarket or infomart. The Joint Battlespace Infosphere concept developed by the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board is presented as an infomart example.