ADAPTING EXPERIMENTATION AND TESTING
THE VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT
Johanna Sears, director of accounting and audit for EBS-C within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller (OASA(FM&C)), addresses attendees of the Army Audit Summit, held Dec. 14, 2023, in Washington. By applying MOSA concepts, EBS-C, the Army’s flagship business system, will replace five other large legacy business systems. (Photo by Matt Leonard, OASA(FM&C))
An example of a reference architecture is the Unified Data Reference Architecture (UDRA) 1.0, co-developed by the deputy assistant secretary of the Army for data, engineering and software (DASA(DES)) within the Office of the Assistant Secre- tary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) and the Army chief data and analytics officer in close collaboration with industry. Released in March 2024, the UDRA provides the reference for moving Army capabil- ities toward data centricity. UDRA is “MOSA for data,” defining a modular data architecture that enables broader and faster sharing of data. UDRA, which we outlined in “Quarterbacking Digital Transformation” in the Winter 2023 issue of Army AL&T magazine, is in direct
support of Reform Initiative 11. (See side- bar, Page 14.)
BRINGING ARCHITECTURE TO LIFE Te concept of modularity for digital systems can be difficult to grasp, as it centers on concepts that are somewhat abstract. Let’s consider an analogy:
Tink of reference architectures as the blueprints and architecture products for a housing development. Tese documents outline various house designs, structural guidelines and zoning laws that dictate what can be built, but they allow for vari- ations in materials, interior layouts and exterior styles according to builder or homeowner preferences. Te blueprints
provide a broad framework that ensures safety and coherence but offers flexibility to meet diverse needs and tastes.
Open APIs can be likened to the stan- dard interfaces and connections within the homes, such as electrical outlets, plumb- ing connections or even the standardized fittings for fixtures and appliances. Just as electrical outlets have a standard design to allow any appliance with a corresponding plug to connect and operate, open APIs provide a standardized way for differ- ent software components or services to connect and communicate. Tese APIs ensure that regardless of the manufac- turer or developer, products or software can interact seamlessly within the system. Just as a homeowner might replace an old
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