an integrated framework for evolving or maintaining existing information technology and acquiring new information technology to achieve the agency's strategic goals and information resources management goals.

Section 5125 (b) of the Act assigns the Agency Chief Information Officer (CIO) the responsibility of "developing, maintaining, and facilitating the implementation of a sound and integrated information technology architecture."

NIH addresses IT Architecture in the NIH IT Management Guide. The Information Technology Management Committee (ITMC) oversees the maintenance of the NIH IT architecture. For background information about IT architecture development at NIH, see the Report on Interoperability at the NIH from May 1997.

OMB M-97-16, Memorandum - Information Technology Architectures states the following: For the purpose of conforming to the requirements of ITMRA, a complete ITA is the documentation of the relationships among business and management processes and information technology that ensure:

• alignment of the requirements for information systems (as defined in OMB Circular A-130) with the processes that support the agency's missions;
• adequate interoperability, redundancy, and security of information systems; and
• the application and maintenance of a collection of standards (including technical standards) by which the agency evaluates and acquires new systems.

The OMB memo guidance adapts a five component model. Agencies are permitted to identify different components as appropriate and to specify the organizational level at which specific aspects of the components will be implemented. Although the substance of these components, sometimes called "architectures" or "sub-architectures" must be addressed in every agency's complete Enterprise Architecture, agencies have great flexibility in describing, combining, and renaming the components, which consist of:

• Business Processes
• Information Flows and Relationships
• Applications
• Data Descriptions
• Technology Infrastructure