Designing Information‑Intensive Enterprises: Definitions, Best Practices, and MITRE SE Roles

Definition: An enterprise is a network of inter‑dependent people, processes, and supporting technologies that is not fully controlled by any single entity. An information‑intensive enterprise relies heavily on networked information systems for successful operation. Designing such enterprises focuses on managing uncertainty and inter‑dependency, involving the design of both the enterprise and its supporting systems to build an effective, efficient network that meets overall goals.

Keywords

Architecture

Change

Composable

Design patterns

Information‑intensive

Innovation

Task assurance

Open systems

Uncertainty

MITRE SE Role and Expectations

MITRE System Engineers (SE) are expected to develop enterprise solutions that balance local innovation with global development. Their solutions should (1) provide customized innovations that meet local end‑user needs and (2) interoperate, respond to, and co‑evolve with a changing environment.

Context

Success increasingly depends on information. When the right information is unavailable at the needed time, an enterprise’s mission and outcomes become less effective, efficient, or successful.

An enterprise comprises many components and pieces of information that must be combined to achieve task success. Data, business rules, applications, communications, and sensors need to be created or composed into capabilities within the constraints of enterprise architecture, design, existing systems, and task‑assurance requirements. Examples include:

For homeland security, communication capabilities must support first responders as well as state, local, and tribal partners.

In the Department of Defense, cybersecurity threats require careful consideration and vetting of open capabilities and emerging technologies such as social networks.

In air‑traffic management, public‑trust demands may drive commercial rules related to free flight and the use of unmanned systems in national airspace.

For modernization efforts like the IRS and VA, questions arise about how and when to insert new technologies and capabilities given the readiness of operating organizations.

Best Practices and Lessons Learned

Information as capital. Treat enterprise data and information as long‑term capital assets and emphasize data strategy in your work.

Data interoperability. Adopt designs that ensure data can interoperate across the enterprise to enable cross‑enterprise capabilities.

Adapt to enterprise cycles. Recognize both long‑term sponsor cycles (budget, requirements, contracts, implementation) and short‑term operational cycles; adjust systems engineering accordingly.

Consider capability lifespan. Understand the potential lifespan of required functions, design engineering approaches that accommodate future use, and employ composable strategies and design patterns to create immediate capabilities that remain reusable.

Don’t discard “one‑off” ideas. While reusability is emphasized, sometimes a faster, cheaper, single‑use solution is the prudent choice; balance reuse value with the need for expedient, disposable capabilities.

Articles Under This Topic

The following articles aim to help MITRE staff working in engineering information‑intensive enterprises:

Architecture used by sponsors for various purposes – supports operational understanding, system design and implementation, and provides building blocks for enterprise capabilities. Joint architecture helps manage scale and complexity of cross‑enterprise engineering.

Design patterns in software are not concrete code parts but best‑practice templates – MITRE SE may encounter and use them when developing or reviewing interfaces between system components or higher‑level cross‑system boundaries.

Composable on‑demand functions (CCOD) – describes a evolving strategy that enables rapid assembly of capabilities to meet end‑user needs, often allowing users to create custom views or perspectives.

Open systems approach enhances rapid capability creation in information‑intensive systems – provides a historical view of open‑source software (OSS), its rapid evolution, relationship to engineering information‑intensive enterprises, and best practices for applying open‑system technologies.

Privacy systems engineering – offers guidance on embedding privacy into the system‑engineering lifecycle and leveraging technology to protect privacy.

Additional Resources

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