Approach To NEA V0.3

e-Government Program (Yesser)
Approach To NEA
Version 0.1
Date:7/1/2013
The Approach To NEA
Document Description
Document Title The Approach To NEA

Document version 0.1
Document Status Draft
Author NEA Team
NEA Decision Under Review
Versioning
Version Date Description of changes made
0.1 7/1/2013 Draft document
0.2 9/11/2013 Team Review
0.3 9/20/2013 Addressing the aspect of pertinence.
Document Validation
Version Authors Review by Date Status
0.1 MUHAMMED YASEEN 7/1/2013 DRAFT
0.2 MUHAMMED YASEEN NEA TEAM 9/11/2013 DRAFT
0.3 MUHAMMED YASEEN DR PALLAB SAHA 9/20/2013 DRAFT
Confidential e-Government Program (Yesser)

This document (either in whole or in part) cannot be modified or
reproduced without the prior written permission of the e-Government Program (Yesser)
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The Approach To NEA
References
S/No Description & Location
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The Approach To NEA
Table of Contents
1. Introduction........................................................................................................................ 5
2. 6 Pillars of NEA................................................................................................................... 6
3. Approach To NEA............................................................................................................... 7
3.1. Keeping NEA Current....................................................................................................7
3.2. NEA Cycles................................................................................................................... 7
3.3. NEA At Agency.............................................................................................................. 8
4. NEA Processes – Plan Do Review.....................................................................................9
4.1. NEA Processes – Plan Do Review Detailed..................................................................9
5. Primary Activities.............................................................................................................13
6. Reference Model Lifecycle...............................................................................................14
6.1. Reference Model Creation Steps.................................................................................14
7. References........................................................................................................................ 16

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The Approach To NEA
1. Introduction
The document describe the approach used for NEA to meet NEA objectives and to maintain
NEA artifacts that assists in delivering the NEA Value.
The document is divided following sections
1. 6 Pillars of NEA
2. The overall approach to NEA
3. The NEA Process that is aimed at delivering value and coherence in e Government
through identifying valuable initiatives and guide in successful implementation.
4. The Primary NEA activities that the NEA Team will engage in
5. The reference model lifecycle, that will address the lifecycle of the reference models and
their usage.

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The Approach To NEA
2. 6 Pillars of NEA
The NEA at a high level consists of 6 pillars, and is depicted in the following figure, each of
these 6 pillars are given a next level of detail in the overview section (3) of this document.
1. Legislative, Strategic, Governance and Management constituents.
2. The EA lifecycle which deals with Methodology, Modeling and value generation.
3. The guidelines that covers the approach, framework, best practices, tools and repository
etc.
4. Catalogue of government services, reference models, Maturity Model, YEFI.
5. The federation arm of NEA which interfaces NEA with the different agencies.
6. The national infrastructure to be utilized effectively by all government agencies, this
includes GSN, GSB and Portals ( Saudi & Yesser ), National Applications.
Legislation
Strategy
Management & Governance
Building Blocks Information

EA Lifecycle NEA Guidelines
Base
NEA Vision Reference Models

Methodology NEA Principles Metamodal
Modeling NEA Standards Maturity Models
Value Generation NEA Best Practices YeFI
Federation
Segment
Segment
Segment
Agency/
Agency/
……………
……………
Agency/
……………
….
….
….
Shared National Infrastrcuture
Figure 1- Pillars of NEA

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The Approach To NEA
3. Approach To NEA
The Approach to NEA covers three distinct iterative cycle, the cycle for keeping NEA current,
the cycle of using NEA to deliver value and address business pain points and lastly but not the
least the cycle of aligning the government with NEA.
1.1. Keeping NEA Current

Enterprise Architecture practice is an evolving and improving field, hence it is imperative that
NEA embraces currency and leverage the ongoing developments and advancements in the
field.
There are various constituents that build up NEA which are described in the 6 Pillars section
above. Apart from the advances in the field there would be changes to NEA influenced by
changes in Legislation or strategy of Yesser from the top side, the aspect of federation with
agencies would also influence changes in NEA from the bottom side.
These changes could possibly impact NEA Vision, Mission, Objectives, the building blocks
information base, Approach, NEA guidelines, Governance Mechanisms, Federation etc.
The Top side influences could happen once in 5 years, which are dependent on update of
national action plans and strategy updates. The bottom side influences could happen once in 6
months or a year based on NEA to Agency engagement. The changes to reference model
would be happening in a six month cycle, the cycle is explained in later sections.
Since the advances in the EA Field cannot be predicted for its occurrence, the 6 months cycle
of assessment should take cognizance of significant advances in the field.
Based on these change factors NEA team would perform an assessment of the change needed
via feedback channels and implement the necessary changes to the NEA Constituents
appropriately.
1.2. NEA Cycles

The lifecycle for NEA which includes Collect Agency EA, Assess NEA and Update NEA,
touches upon the NEA Pillars. This cycle is triggered once in every six months and addresses
the aspect of keeping NEA current and in consumable form.
The Plan, DO and Review cycle is designed to ensure that the NEA objectives are met, the
section 4 describes in detail about Plan, Do and Review cycle..

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The Approach To NEA
Plan
NEA
Update Objectives Collect
NEA Agency EA
Road Map
Government
Services
Plan
Alig
EA
nN
Agency
te
da
EA
Road Map
Up
Services
Re
vie
DO
w
Assess
NEA
Figure 2 NEA Cycle
1.3. NEA At Agency

NEA Permits room for agencies to choose their own EA Methodology however irrespective of
the methodology used they should be adhering to Guidelines, Objectives and Reference models
prescribed by NEA.
However, NEA recommends the usage of YeLAF at the agency level as NEA alignment is
tailored into YeLAF.

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The Approach To NEA
4. NEA Processes – Plan Do Review

The Plan Do Review cycle for NEA starts with new business initiation, the new business is
realized and made operational. Once the new initiative or business is operational the
performance and efficiency envisaged for the business is benchmarked with planned
expectations, this feedback is incorporated back in to the program management to ensure the
required level of excellence. The following figure represents the high level ‘Plan Do Review’
Cycle.
PLAN DO Review
Analyze and
Identify Analyze Organize Invest Execute Operate Measure
Report
New Business Strategic Alignment Utilize Shared Assets,

Program Performance and Efficiency
Initiation and Budget and IT Portfolio Resources and
Management Analysis and Feedback
Justification Management Services
Figure 3 Plan Do Review High Level
1.4. NEA Processes – Plan Do Review Detailed
The primary NEA Processes is the set of processes that utilize the NEA Constituents to deliver
value and achieve the vision and objectives of NEA.
The PLAN phase concerned with identifying e-Government needs at a National level, analysis
and formulation of a plan to address the need in an efficient way.
The DO phase is concerned with the mobilization, execution and operation of the plan
envisaged in the Plan Phase.
The REVIEW phase is concerned with measuring and monitoring the results of plan based on
the expected matrices and then reporting back for improvement.
The following figures illustrates the various aspects of primary NEA Processes

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The Approach To NEA
PLAN DO Review
Analyze and
Identify Analyze Organize Invest Execute Operate Measure
Report
Formulate
Identify Measure
Analyze & Collaborative Define funding Operate With Analyze and
Organization & Execute the Performance
Validate Planning team strategy and new provide
Stakeholders to Plan against
Needs and Launch Make decision capabilities feedback
Engage Metrics
Planning
Engage Sponsor Refine Vision
Analyze Obtain
& Asses for
Opportunities Resources and
Stakeholder Performance
to Leverage Validate Plan
Needs and Outcome
Formulate Case Determine

Analyze As IS ,
to Address whether to
Plan the To Be
Needs leverage
Identify and Formulate

Engage Integrated Plan
Governance and Roadmap
Initiate
Execution
Governance
Figure 4 PLAN DO REVIEW
STEPS 1 : IDENTIFY
Purpose: The purpose of this step is to identify and assess what needs to be achieved,
understand the major drivers for change, and then define, validate, and prioritize the operational
realities of the mission and goals with leadership, stakeholders, and operational staff. During
this step, the leadership, stakeholder, and customer needs and the operational requirements
are validated so that ultimately, all stakeholder groups a working towards the same, well
understood, validated outcome. Initial performance metrics are created to begin focusing the
measurement of success to be consistent across stakeholder groups. In this step, “leadership”
can range in levels of scope from an executive leader over an international challenge to a
functional leader who has identified steady state improvements that may include services,
systems, or infrastructure. An additional purpose of this step is to identify and engage
appropriate governance.
Architect’s Role: In this step, architects facilitate a direct collaboration between leadership and
stakeholders as they work together to define, validate, and prioritize their needs, and build a
shared vision and understanding. In doing so, the architects analyze stated needs in the
context of overarching drivers to help aid decision makers in their assessment of whether stated
needs are feasible and realistic. Since these needs shape the scope and strategic intent for
planning, it is imperative that leadership and stakeholders agree on the needs before work
begins on subsequent planning steps. In addition to identifying needs, architects work with
leadership and stakeholders to establish target performance metrics that will ultimately be used
to determine if the planned performance has been achieved. Once needs are identified and
validated, architects support leadership in identifying and initiating appropriate governance.
Who makes the decisions and when those decisions will be made is important to the timing and
buy-in of recommendations for change.

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The Approach To NEA
Outcome: At the end of Step 1, the key outcomes are (1) identified and validated needs, (2) an
overarching set of performance metrics, and (3) a determination of who (governance) will
ultimately oversee and approve recommended changes to meet those needs.
STEPS 2: ANALYZE
Purpose: The purpose of this step is to identify external organizations and service providers
that may have already met, or are currently facing needs similar to the ones identified in Step 1,
and then to analyze their experiences and results to determine if they can be applied and
leveraged or if a partnership can be formed to address the needs together. In alignment with
“Shared First” principle, it is at this point that the planners consult both internal and external
service catalogs for pre-existing services that are relevant to the current needs. In some
instances, an entire business model, policy, technology solution, or service may be reusable to
address the needs defined in Step 1 –an important benefit in these cost-constrained, quickly
evolving times. Based on this analysis, leadership and stakeholders determine whether or not
they will be able to leverage the experiences and results from other organizations.
Architect’s Role: Architects facilitate the research of other organizations and service providers
to assess whether they have similar needs and whether these organizations have already met
these needs or are currently planning to meet these needs. The architects lead the assessment
of the applicability of the other organizations’ experiences and results and help to determine
whether there are opportunities to leverage or work together to plan. Once these organizations
and their needs and experiences have been identified and assessed, the architect formulates a
set of findings and recommendations detailing the applicability and opportunity for leverage.
These findings and recommendations are submitted to leadership who engages governance
with this information as appropriate.
Outcome: At the conclusion of Step 2, the architects, leadership, and stakeholders have a
clear grasp on the experiences and results of other organizations, and the leadership and / or
governance have determined whether or not they can leverage these experiences for their own
needs. In some instances, another organization may be currently planning for similar needs and
a partnership can be formed to collectively plan for these needs. The decision to leverage or not
leverage has a significant impact on the planning activities in Step 3. For instance, if the
organization determines that its can leverage policies and systems from another organization in
order to meet its own needs, these policies and systems become a critical input to planning in
Step 3.
STEPS 3: ORGANIZE
Purpose: The purpose of this step is to develop the integrated plan for the adjustments
necessary to meet the needs identified in Step 1. Recommended adjustments could be within
any or all of the architecture domains: strategy, business, data, applications, infrastructure, and
security. The integrated plan defines what will be done, when it will be done, how much it will
cost, how to measure success, and the significant risks to be considered. Additionally, the
integrated plan includes a timeline highlighting what benefits will be achieved, when their
completion can be expected, and how the benefits will be measured. It is during this step that
analysis of current capabilities and environments results in recommended adjustments to meet
the needs identified in Step 1. Also during this step, the formal design and planning of the target
capabilities and environment is performed. In addition to the integrated plan, the full
complement of architecture, security, records, budget, human capital, and performance
compliance documents is developed based on the analysis performed in Step 3. The end
outcome is an integrated set of plans that can be considered and approved by leadership and
governance.

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The Approach To NEA
Architect’s Role: Architects lead the development of the architecture by applying a series of
analysis and planning methods and techniques. Through this process, the architects plan for
each of the architecture domains (strategy, business, data, applications, infrastructure, and
security) and produce data as well as artifacts to capture, analyze, and visualize the plans for
change. Most important is the architect’s efforts to synthesize the planning into
recommendations that can be considered and approved by leadership and governance. During
the creation of the architecture, architects facilitate interaction with other planning disciplines
(e.g. budget, CPIC, security) so that each discipline’s set of plans is integrated into a cohesive
set of recommendations to meet the needs stated in Step 1. Throughout these efforts,
architects maintain the integrated plan and roadmap to reflect the course of action that has
been determined through these planning activities.
Outcome: At the end of Step 3, leadership and stakeholders will possess an integrated set of
plans and artifacts defining what will be done, when it will be done, what benefits will be
achieved and when, and an estimate of cost. This set of plans should be synthesized into
discrete decision-making packages for leadership and governance that are appropriate given
political, and organizational constraints.
STEPS 4: INVEST, EXECUTE, OPERATE

Purpose: The purpose of this step is to mobilize the investment plan, followed up by execution
and operation.
The mission is operated with the new capabilities planned in Step 2 and implemented during
this step.
Architect’s Role: Most important is the architect’s efforts in this phase is to facilitate
interaction with other planning disciplines (e.g. budget, CPIC, security) so that each discipline’s
set of plans is integrated into a cohesive set of recommendations to meet the needs stated in
Step 1.
Outcome: At the end of step 4, the finances, resources are taken care of to operate with new
capabilities.
STEPS 5: MEASURE, REPORT

Purpose: The purpose of Step 5 is to measure performance outcomes against identified
metrics and report them to the stakeholders.
Architect’s Role: The architects may not be the keeper of the actual performance data, but
they need to leverage available performance data to assess whether the implemented
capabilities achieve planned performance metrics. Feedback from this step can feed into future
planning efforts as well as immediate planning and implementation adjustments as necessary.
Feedback may also necessitate more immediate changes in plans that may need to be
considered by governance, including configuration management.
Outcome: At the end of Step 5, the new capabilities as planned in Step 3 and implemented in
Step 4 will be operational. The key outcome of this step is measured performance outcomes
against identified metrics.

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The Approach To NEA
5. Primary Activities
The Primary activities are those set of activities that would help the and support the
implementation and adoption of NEA at the agency level.
The primary activities of NEA are 1. Capability Building; 2. Building and maintaining Maturity
Model, Metamodel & Reference Model; 3. Providing Tools & Repository for EA; 5. Legislation to
promote EA practices in e Government
Figure 5 Primary Activities

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The Approach To NEA
6. Reference Model Lifecycle

The NEA reference models MUST be used by government agencies while building their EA
blueprint, the way it would be done by the agencies is to incorporate the reference models into
their EA methodology.
The reference models are intended to provide the common language of communication that
would facilitate to target and improve coherence in the government of Saudi Arabia. Reference
models primarily provide Taxonomy and standardized approach towards capturing, developing
and consuming specific information.
Reference models for NEA are demarcated as Tier one and Tier two reference models, Tier
One reference models are expected to be the ones that deliver most value and hence more
effort would be concentrated around them. Tier Two reference models are used as supporting
reference models and would be given an adequate effort.
TIER ONE REFERENCE MODELS
1. Performance Reference Model

2. Business Reference Model
3. Data Reference Model
TIER TWO REFERENCE MODELS
1. Solution Reference Model

2. Technology Reference Model
3. Security Reference Model
1.5. Reference Model Creation Steps
STEPS 1: ASSES
Purpose: The purpose of Step 1 is to Assess the reference model against the NEA Goals and
objectives to ensure relevant elements within the reference model that supports achievements
of goals and objectives has been captured. This is applicable in terms of the category of
information captured and the level of detail of the information being captured. Another important

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The Approach To NEA
factor is the ease of adoption and utilization of the reference models across the agencies. This
activity is comprised of and not limited to promoting agency elements used at broader level to
the national level.
Architect’s Role: The architects role is to refer back to the metamodel, the reference model
content and documentation to asses on the category and level of information being captured to
meet the specific purpose of a given reference model.
Outcome: Assessment report and recommendations.
STEPS 2: UPDATE
Purpose: The purpose of Step 2 is to incorporate the recommendation from step 1, into the
existing reference models, meta models and relevant documentation. This is to be followed up
by verification, testing and approval of the updated content from the NEA Stakeholders.
Upon the final approval the reference models are published into the Repository for
consumption.
Architect’s Role: Updating of reference models and documentation, verification, testing and
obtaining buy in from the NEA Stakeholders.
Outcome: Updated Reference Model/Metamodel/ Documentation published in repository
STEPS 3: PROPAGATE
Purpose: The purpose of STEP 3 is to make available the latest reference models/Meta Model
and its related documentation to be consumed by the agencies in their EA practices..
Architect’s Role: Architects would be concerned with evangelizing the artifacts and facilitating
the adoption of the reference models in the agencies by working with appropriate stake holders.
Outcome: Adoption of latest reference models/ Metamodels at the agency level and the
corresponding alignment of agency artifacts.
STEPS 4: FEEDBACK
Purpose: Ensure gathering of feedback on the censurability, utility and effectiveness of the
reference models and meta model at the agency and national levels in meeting NEA objectives.
Architect’s Role: Engage with Agencies, through defined processes and channels to gather
relevant feedback.
Outcome: Collated feedback, to be used in assessment phase.

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The Approach To NEA
7. References
Christiansen, P. E., Gotze, J. (2007) Trends in Governmental Erterprise Architecture: Reviewing
National EA Programs – Part 1. Journal of Enterprise Architecture, vol. 3, no. 1, 8-18.

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e-Government Program (Yesser)

Document Title The Approach To NEA

0.3 MUHAMMED YASEEN DR PALLAB SAHA 9/20/2013 DRAFT

Confidential e-Government Program (Yesser)

Confidential e-Government Program (Yesser)

Confidential e-Government Program (Yesser)

Confidential e-Government Program (Yesser)

Management & Governance

Building Blocks Information

NEA Vision Reference Models

Shared National Infrastrcuture

Figure 1- Pillars of NEA

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1.1. Keeping NEA Current

1.2. NEA Cycles

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Figure 2 NEA Cycle

1.3. NEA At Agency

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4. NEA Processes – Plan Do Review

New Business Strategic Alignment Utilize Shared Assets,

Figure 3 Plan Do Review High Level

1.4. NEA Processes – Plan Do Review Detailed

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Formulate Case Determine

Identify and Formulate

Figure 4 PLAN DO REVIEW

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STEPS 4: INVEST, EXECUTE, OPERATE

STEPS 5: MEASURE, REPORT

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Figure 5 Primary Activities

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6. Reference Model Lifecycle

TIER ONE REFERENCE MODELS

1. Performance Reference Model

TIER TWO REFERENCE MODELS

1. Solution Reference Model

1.5. Reference Model Creation Steps

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Outcome: Updated Reference Model/Metamodel/ Documentation published in repository

Confidential e-Government Program (Yesser)

Confidential e-Government Program (Yesser)

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