IT Planning and Management - Additional Resources

Consolidated Guidance: A-TARS Users

Synopsis

The A-TARS will address many different aspects of the technology in use and therefore may have a diverse readership. The guidelines below can be used to identify the types of readers and the information they will need when designing and producing the A-TARS descriptions.

General Guidelines

The following is some general guidance on identifying and organizing the A-TARS descriptions:

Identify the types of readers and their typical information needs. Use the conceptual model of how the A-TARS will be used to help identify these individuals. Create a guide to navigating the descriptions for each type of reader. This will guide individuals in engineering and management roles to the portion of the A-TARS that they are most likely to need. Elaborating the roles and interests helps authors write to each type of user.
Involve individuals representing the types of readers during the generation and review of A-TARS descriptions. This ensures that authors of A-TARS address users' concerns and produce usable descriptions.
Assume a level of skills and knowledge for the users and write to that level. Forward these assumptions to the Agency training group to ensure that individuals have the prerequisite skills and knowledge to use the A-TARS material. Having typical users participate in the generation and review of A-TARS descriptions helps to validate these assumptions.
Treat the descriptions as reference material. Separate normative (what readers should do) from informative (background).

Typical Users

Typical A-TARS user roles, information needs, and the portion of the reference set that may be applicable are illustrated in the Table below.

A-TARS Users and Information Needs

Role	Need	Principal A-TARS Sections
Business Strategist	Agency use of technology to leverage for business and standard business operating policies and procedures	Technology Boundaries Description Integrated Technology Description Data Sources and Business Rules Reference Set Platforms, Equipment, and Packaged Solutions Reference Set Companion Documents
Application Information System Designer	Technical requirements on which the application systems will be built and how they interoperate	Technology Boundaries Description Integrated Technology Description Services Reference Set Data Sources and Business Rules Reference Set Platforms, Equipment, and Packaged Solutions Reference Set Networking Reference Set Standards Reference Set Technical Guidelines Reference Set Companion Documents
Quality Assurance Engineer	How to verify compliance for application systems developed within the scope of the A-TARS	All parts, as needed
Application Developer	API s and guidelines for implementing, using, and deploying services	Generally, these will be tailored to the specific target environment, and these individuals will reference those tailored versions, derived from the A-TARS descriptions.
IT Purchaser	Procuring compliant IT (e.g., software, equipment, and services)	Services Reference Set Data Sources and Business Rules Reference Set Platforms, Equipment, and Packaged Solutions Reference Set Networking Reference Set Standards Reference Set
Business Partner	How to interoperate with the other partners	Services Reference Set Data Sources and Business Rules Reference Set Networking Reference Set
System Maintainer	Guidelines on how to repair, replace, or retire existing portions of the agency application systems to converge with the future vision	Generally, these will be tailored to the specific target environment, and these individuals will reference those tailored versions, derived from the A-TARS descriptions.
IT Program Office	Works with the architects to allocate and tailor Enterprise technology requirements to the fabrication projects for each plateau, estimating project costs and schedules	All parts, as necessary; tailoring ,as needed
Tester	To understand the integration and interoperability testing required	Generally, these will be tailored to the specific target environment, and these individuals will reference those tailored versions, derived from the A-TARS descriptions.
Architecture Team Member	To identify and coordinate across portions of the architectural descriptions	All parts, with a focus on the area of specialization
Enterprise Trainer	What technology skills and knowledge will be required of the users, developers, and others interacting with the technology	Technology Boundaries Description Integrated Technology Description Companion Documents Others, as needed, to support training of staff General Information, Glossary, and References
Agency Executive Management	How to leverage the technology for business value and strategic use	Technology Boundaries Description Integrated Technology Description Companion Documents, as needed

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