Proposed Semantic Web Technologies for EPA Pilot: Building a KnowledgeCentric Organization

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Proposed Semantic Web Technologies for EPA Pilot
Building a Knowledge-Centric Organization

• Briefing for the EPA Enterprise Architecture Team
• and Portfolio Managers
• August 28, 2003, 2-3 p.m.

2
Background

• A recent GAO study concluded that 85 of
  Enterprise Architecture work is shelfware that
  needs to be made actionable.
• The CIO Councils (CIOC) XML Web Services Working
  Group does pilot projects to assist the CIOCs
  Architecture and Infrastructure Committee, the
  eGov Initiatives and Lines of Business, and
  agencies with operationalizing the Federal
  Enterprise Architecture.
• The EPA CIOs staff requested assistance with an
  integrated pilot for the next big thing beyond
  the Exchange Network, namely Semantic Web
  Services.
• The Enterprise Architecture Team and Portfolio
  Managers requested a briefing and discussion of
  the relationship/impact on their planning for the
  Target Architecture (see next two slides).

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Uniting EPAs Architecture

• Office of Environmental Information Delivers
  Central Services (see next slide)
• Limited Central Services FY 2003
• Central Data Exchange, Geospatial, and System of
  Registries (e.g. FRS, SRS, etc.).
• Proof of Concept FY 2004
• Shared Data Dictionaries, Portal, Identity
  Management, Framework for Business Warehouses,
  Analytical Tools (e.g. Business Objects, SAS,
  etc.)
• Fully Functional Central Services FY 2005
• Restructure Operational Systems (e.g. establish
  specialty portals, apply data standards and
  metadata to organize the data, use technology
  standards and common practices for system
  development, etc.).

John Sullivan, EPA Enterprise Architecture and
Sequencing Plan, August 7, 2003
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Uniting EPAs Architecture
Business Warehouse Framework (with multiple
warehouses)
Integrated by Web Services with a Data Registries
EPA Central Services
System of Access and Decision Tools
ID Mgt. Access Control
Portal (CDX)
Program/Regional ODSs Modernized for Integration
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Overview

• 1. History
• 2. Upcoming Events
• 3. Future Briefing Items
• 4. Discussion

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1. History

• Summer 2001- present
• XML Web Services Training and Pilots for EPA
  Program Offices, Webmasters, Regions (3, 5, and
  7), Central Data Exchange, etc.
• http//web-services.gov/xmlpilot.htm
• Summer 2002-present
• Member of the Exchange Networks Technical
  Resources Group (TRG).
• http//web-services.gov/xmlpilot.htm
• http//web-services.gov/

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1. History (continued)

• March 20, 2002
• XML Web Services Repository/Distributed Content
  Network and VoiceXML
• The CIO Council Showcase of Excellence, Special
  Innovation Award, Presented to the Environmental
  Protection Agency, Natural Language Interface to
  Web Content, By the Federal Leadership Council
  (Mark Forman and the Quad Council), In
  Association with Post Newsweek Tech Media/FOSE,
  Washington, DC.
• Mark Forman and Kim Nelson asked me to become an
  XML Web Services Evangelist to the Federal
  Government and EPA.
• This led to being asked to lead the CIO Councils
  XML Web Services Working Group and becoming a
  member of the CIO Councils Architecture and
  Infrastructure Committee.

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1. History (continued)

• October 2002 - present
• Chair, CIO Councils XML Web Services Working
  Group
• http//web-services.gov/ and http//www.sdi.gov
• Working Group Chair Recognized with Emerging
  Technology/Standards Leadership Award at the
  SecureE-Biz.Net Summit, April 1, 2003, from Mark
  Forman, Associate Director, IT and eGovernment,
  OMB, and David McClure, VP e-Gov, Council for
  Excellence in Government for ushering in new
  technology to allow us to conduct e-Business
  securely to further implement the Presidents
  Management Agenda.
• January 2003 present
• Member of the CIO Councils Architecture and
  Infrastructure Committee (AIC) and its
  Governance, Components, and Emerging Technologies
  Subcommittees (represent the later to the other
  two).

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1. History (continued)

• March 2003 present
• Asked by Bob Haycock to be the Solution Architect
  to the Business Compliance One-Stop (BCOS) eGov
  Initiative.
• Asked by Mark Forman to recommend Integrated
  Pilot Projects for the BCOS (now the Business
  Gateway) (see next slide).
• July 7th, 16th, 22nd, and 28th
• Series of presentations and discussions with OEI
  senior managers on Integrated Pilot Projects for
  EPA (see slides 11-13).
• August 2003
• Recently reassigned to the IT Policy and Planning
  Division to work directly for Mark Day, Co-Chair,
  AICs Emerging Technology Subcommittee, and with
  the Enterprise Architecture Team.

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Schematic Process Diagram
Collaboration Communities
CIO Councils Architecture Infrastructure Commit
tee (AIC) Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA)
Small Businesses Industry Advisory
Council Agencies (SBIR) E-Gov Initiatives NASCIO T
echnology Associations Venture Capitalists Etc.
(Who is missing?)
Pilots
1. XML Data Model Registry 2. XML E-Forms 3.
XML Database 4. XML Collaboration Network 5. Etc.
BCOS
XML and Component Repository
XML Documents UBR Templates Topic Maps Semantic
Web (RDF) GIDS, etc.
BCOS Business Compliance One-Stop E-Gov
Initiative
A Component is a self-contained business process
or service with predefined functionality that may
be exposed through a business or technology
interface.
UBR UDDI Business Registry UDDI Universal
Description, Discovery, and Integration
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XML Web Services Pilot Projects for the US EPA

• Presentation to Rick Otis and Mary McCaffery,
  July 7th
• VoiceXML Web Services Applications
• EPA Local Emergency Planning Committee Database.
• Digital Talking Books.
• Automated Data Verification.
• XML Web Services Applications
• EPA Facility Data.
• Accuracy Assessment and Improvement of EPA
  Facility Data.
• Semantic Technologies for eGov
• Accelerating eGov Initiatives and Agency
  Partnering with FEA-based Capabilities Manager.
• EPAs Draft Report on the Environment as a
  Semantic Web Service Pilot.

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EPA Integrated Pilot Matrix
See slide 13 for references.
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EPA Integrated Pilot Matrix References

• (1) Transition in process with Michael Daconta,
  McDonald Bradley, Ted Schall, ArborText, etc.
• (2) Proposed Semantic Web Technologies for EPA
  Pilot Building a Knowledge-Centric Organization,
  Brand Niemann, Chair, CIO Councils XML Web
  Services Working Group, and the Pilot Vendors
  Lead by TopQuadrant, Inc., July 28, 2003 DRAFT.
• (3) Repurposing EPA Documents Into Semantic Web
  Services, Michael Daconta, Chief Scientist, APG,
  McDonald Bradley, Inc., and Brand Niemann, EPA
  Office of Environmental Information and, Chair,
  XML Web Services Working Group, August 6, 2003.
• (4) Business Integration Driven by Business
  Lines A perspective on the Data Reference Model
  as it relates to Cross Agency Challenges.
  Standards Based Architecture to Support Federated
  Data Management, Industry Advisory Council (IAC)
  Enterprise Architecture SIG, May 28, 2003.
• (5) Solution Envisioning Project An Outline -
  Typical scope of a project to use the Solution
  Envisioning Process for Requirements
  Specification and Technology Selection, August 1,
  2003.
• (6) September 8th Workshop (see Announcements,
  August 5th, at http//web-services.gov).
• (7) Web Services Best Practices Workshop,
  September 24, 2000 (see Announcements, August
  5th, at http//web-services.gov).

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2. Upcoming Events

• September 4, 2003, IRMCO, On Being Open Tapping
  the Transformational Power of Collaboration,
  Standards, Components, and Code, Tony Stanco,
  Director of the Center of Open Source
  Government and Associate Director of the Cyber
  Security Policy and Research Institute at the
  George Washington University.
• September 8, 2003, Semantic Technologies for
  E-Gov Workshop at the White House Conference
  Center. Register with TopQuadrant to obtain an
  invitation due to space limitations (see slides
  16-18.)
• September 10-12, 2003, Enterprise Architecture
  eGov Conference, September 11, Session 3-2 Using
  Web Services to Support Your Enterprise
  Architecture, 115-230 p.m. Implementing
  Component-Based Government Enterprise
  Architecture with Semantic Web Services.
• September 17-19, 2003, National Entrepreneurial
  Conference and Expo, Washington Hilton Towers,
  Washington, D.C. Participation details in process.

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2. Upcoming Events

• September 24, 2003, HP Federal Services Web
  Services Best Practices Workshop (Outline) - The
  first in a series of special one-day vendor
  technical workshops on Web Services as part of
  Phase 2 of the XML Web Services for E-Gov Pilots,
  at the White House Conference Center. Register
  with HP Federal Services to obtain an invitation
  due to space limitations (see slide 19).
• September 29, 2003, XML Authoring and Editing
  Forum (FREE), 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., hosted at Booz
  Allen Hamilton Inc., 8283 Greensboro Drive,
  McLean, Virginia 22102. Registration for Vendors
  and Attendees. See http//xml.gov for details.
• September 30, 2003, Collaboration Expedition
  Workshop 28 and XML Web Services Working Group
  Meeting. Agendas in process. XML Web Services
  Working Group graduates all pilots and itself -
  come join the celebration!

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One-Day Conference at the White House Conference
Center
Semantic Technologies for e-Government White
House Conference Center, Washington D.C.,
September 8th, 2003
Keynotes Capability Cases GalleryPanel Sessions
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Semantic Technologies for eGovernment Conference

• Agenda Highlights
• Part 1. W3C Standards, Data Independence and
  Implementation Roadmap, Semantic Integration
  Vendor Space and Gallery, and Audience
  Participation
• Keynote "The Semantic Web" - Eric Miller,
  Activity Lead for W3C's Semantic Web Initiative.
• Invited Talk "Data Independence and the Roadmap
  to the Semantic Web", Michael Daconta, McDonald
  Bradley.
• Semantic Integration Vendor Space and Gallery
  (see next slide) Irene Polikoff and Dean
  Allemang, TopQuadrant.
• Semantic Vendors enLeague, Entopia,
  Intellidimensions, Ontoprise, Semagix, Software
  AG, and Unicorn.
• System integrators Cool Heads, McDonald Bradley,
  and TopQuadrant.
• Part 2. Solution Envisioning, Solution Owners and
  Providers, and Voices of Experience. Ralph
  Hodgson, CEO TopQuadrant and Pilot Lead
• Original Pilot and Proposed EPA Integrated Pilot,
  Ralph Hodgson.
• Panel Session "Semantic Technologies Solution
  Owners and Providers" - Robert Coyne,TopQuadrant.
• Voices of Experience (York Sure, Dr. Leo Obrst,
  Ralph Hodgson, and Professor Jim Hendler).

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Positioning of Vendors Solutions within the
Semantic Integration Space
Source TopQuadrant Semantic Integration and
Tools, July 14, 2003
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Web Services Best Practices Workshop

• Agenda Highlights
• Web Services Case Studies (930 a.m.)
• Client-business portal and major application
  integration.
• Best Practices for Web Services Development
  (1045 a.m.)
• Interoperability issues with WSDL and XML
  Schemas, design patterns architectures, and
  development and testing practices.
• Web Services Emerging Standards (115 p.m.)
• Web Services Security and Web Services
  Orchestration.
• Comparison of BPEL4WS and WSCI.
• Web Services Management (3 p.m.)
• Monitoring and metering SOAP messages, etc.

See for example http//sys-con.com/xml/articlepri
nt.cfm?id649.
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3. Future Briefing Items

• Solution Envisioning for EPA, Integrated Pilot
  Team (Led by Ralph Hodgson, TopQuadrant).
• Americas Children and the Environment Semantic
  Technologies Portal, Integrated Pilot Team (Led
  by Ralph Hodgson, TopQuadrant).
• XML and Semantic Technologies Authoring,
  Management, and Dissemination Tools, EPA (Brand
  Niemann).
• AFS/CDX Proof of Concept Pilot with Native XML
  Database Technology, Software AG (Marcia
  Espenschied).
• Implementing Component-Based Government
  Enterprise Architecture with Semantic Web
  Services, EPA (Brand Niemann).
• Web Services Best Practices Workshop, HP (Carolyn
  Rogers, Federal Services Accounts Manager).
• Central Data eXchange (CDX) Then, Now and in the
  Future, McDonald-Bradley (Michael Daconta, Chief
  Scientist, APG, McDonald Bradley, Inc., and
  senior author of "The Semantic Web A Guide to
  the Future of XML, Web Services, and Knowledge
  Management, Wiley Technology Publishing, June
  2003).

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3. Future Briefing Items (continued)
Solution Envisioning for EPA, Integrated Pilot
Team (Led by Ralph Hodgson, TopQuadrant).
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3. Future Briefing Items (continued)
Solution Envisioning for EPA, Integrated Pilot
Team (Led by Ralph Hodgson, TopQuadrant).
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3. Future Briefing Items (continued)

• Americas Children and the Environment Semantic
  Technologies Portal, Integrated Pilot Team (Led
  by Ralph Hodgson, TopQuadrant)
• Repurposing EPA Documents Into Semantic Web
  Services, Michael Daconta and Brand Niemann,
  August 6, 2003
• See Announcements, August 11th, at
  http//web-services.gov
• Also working with ArborText and other leading XML
  Tools Vendors to discuss inclusion of support for
  Semantic Technologies (RDF and OWL) and Adobes
  XMP (eXtensible Metadata Platform) in their
  products.

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3. Future Briefing Items (continued)
Americas Children and the Environment Semantic
Technologies Portal, Integrated Pilot Team (Led
by Ralph Hodgson, TopQuadrant)
Generate queries for specific databases and
systems
EPAApplications
EPA Ontologies
Decompose query and aggregate results
Ontology Server
ACE Ontology Model
Translates queries and responses
EPA Semantic Engine
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3. Future Briefing Items (continued)
XML and Semantic Technologies Authoring,
Management, and Dissemination Tools, EPA (Brand
Niemann)
XML Web Services Repository and Distributed
Content Network
Smart Graphics
XPP Web Services
Gutenberg NXT 3.5
XYEnterprise Contenta
NextPage NXT 3 and Solo
Corel XMetal
Multiple vendors providing an end-to-end solution
based on XML standards.
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3. Future Briefing Items (continued)
AFS/CDX Proof of Concept Pilot with Native XML
Database Technology, Software AG (Marcia
Espenschied)
Sample of State-generated XML documents are
delivered up via CDX Web Services and processed
by Software AGs EntireX XML Mediator, our
central hub for XML-based information exchange.
The incoming XML data is logged to Tamino as is.
The state provided data is validated against the
CDX XML Schema (AFS Schema). Additional
validations occur at Step 2, as required to
determine data validity. Submissions will only be
accepted if all data successfully passes both
validations.
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3. Future Briefing Items (continued)
Implementing Component-Based Government
Enterprise Architecture with Semantic Web Services

• Integrate content from FEAPMO, NASCIO, IAC,
  Agencies (Federal and State), etc. and across the
  three CIOC AIC Subcommittees.
• Add structure, interoperability (XML),
  interlinking and search.
• Standardize terminology (on way to Government
  Core Ontology and smart data) for machine EA
  tool processing.
• Include XML Schemas and structured data (forms).
• Show best practices of standards-based, reusable,
  interoperable components.

See http//web-services.gov
Governance, Components, and Emerging Technology
Subcommittees.
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3. Future Briefing Items (continued)

• Web Services Best Practices Workshop, HP (Carolyn
  Rogers, Federal Services Accounts Manager)
• Register for September 24th.
• Presentations will be posted afterwards.
• More to come - First in a series of special
  one-day vendor technical workshops on Web
  Services as part of Phase 2 of the XML Web
  Services for E-Gov Pilots.

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3. Future Briefing Items

• Central Data eXchange (CDX) Then, Now and in the
  Future, McDonald-Bradley (Michael Daconta, Chief
  Scientist, APG, McDonald Bradley, Inc., and
  senior author of "The Semantic Web A Guide to
  the Future of XML, Web Services, and Knowledge
  Management, Wiley Technology Publishing, June
  2003)
• Then
• Experience matters.
• Now
• You are on the right track (though progress has
  been slow).
• Current problems are fixable.
• Need aggressive champions with expertise to
  finish!
• Future
• Get to federation.
• Get to Semantic Interoperability.

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4. Discussion

• Questions and Answers
• Next Steps
• Future Briefing
• Etc.