Canadian Government Briefings

Keynote: Dr. Richard Soley, Chairman and CEO, Object Management Group (OMG)

Come learn about the Object Management Group (OMG), an international, open membership, not-for-profit technology standards consortium, with chairman and CEO, Dr. Richard Soley. OMG Task Forces develop enterprise integration standards for a wide range of technologies and an even wider range of industries. OMG modeling standards, including the Unified Modeling Language™ (UML®) and Model Driven Architecture® (MDA®), enable powerful visual design, execution and maintenance of software and other processes, including IT Systems Modeling and Business Process Management. OMG middleware standards and profiles are based on the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA®) and support a wide variety of industries. 

This session will cover:

• A brief history of OMG spanning nearly 30 years of producing industry and government-supported standards
• A tour of OMG standards across industries and technology domains
• How to access and use OMG open standards
• Should we contribute to standards development?
• Benefits of membership

OMG Modeling Language Standards
Ed Seidewitz, Chief Technology Officer, Model Driven Solutions
Chair of the OMG fUML and Alf Revision Task Forces, PSSM Finalization Task Force, PSCS Revision Task Force, and Model Interchange Special Interest Group

Software systems, hardware systems, business systems – the mind reels at all that we are building or modernizing today. Can we possibly handle the complexity and achieve reliability? Yes, we can, by creating models. A model is a concrete representation of the often abstract, hard-to-comprehend aspects of a system. With models, we can understand requirements, analyze problems, and design solutions, whether for a system to be built or an existing one under study. And, crucially, we can also use models to communicate within and between teams. But clear communication requires the use of a common language backed up by a common community of practice.

This is exactly what OMG modeling language standards provide: a broad suite of industry-defined languages, with extensive tooling support, for modeling all sorts of systems. The venerable Unified Modeling Language™ (UML®), still widely used for software system modeling, has spawned successor standards such as the Systems Modeling Language™ (SysML®), with rapidly growing adoption for hardware and cyber-physical system modeling, and the Unified Architecture Framework® (UAF®), the comprehensive framework for architectural modeling of systems-of-systems. For business systems, the well-known Business Process Model and Notation™ (BPMN™) has led to an expanding set of related standards, including the Case Management Model and Notation™ (CMMN™) and the Decision Management Model and Notation™ (DMN™). All these languages together provide inter-related ways of handling real-world modeling across a wide range of domains and applications.

But if you are new to this richness of standards, it is sometimes hard to know where to begin! This presentation will give you a concise overview of how these standards came to be, how they are being applied today and how they are continuing to evolve to meet growing user expectations. At the end of this presentation, you should feel comfortable with the breadth of modeling languages that the OMG has to offer, and be ready to explore them in a bit more depth in the following presentations.

Unified Modeling Language™ (UML®) and Systems Modeling Language™ (SysML®)
Ed Seidewitz, Chief Technology Officer, Model Driven Solutions
Chair of the OMG fUML and Alf Revision Task Forces, PSSM Finalization Task Force, PSCS Revision Task Force, and Model Interchange Special Interest Group

The Unified Modeling Language™ (UML®) was born out of the need for a common modeling language to express object-oriented software designs. OMG adopted the first version of UML in 1998 and then adopted UML 2.0 in 2005, a significant enhancement to the breadth and depth of the language. Today, the latest version, UML 2.5.1, is a comprehensive language for modeling requirements, design and implementation of all kinds, but particularly for software-intensive systems. UML models can be used to assure that business functionality is complete and correct, end-user needs are met, and program design supports scalability, robustness, security, extendibility, and other characteristics, before implementation in code renders changes difficult and expensive to make.

The OMG Systems Modeling Language™ (SysML®) is a general-purpose graphical modeling language for specifying, analyzing, designing, and verifying complex systems that may include hardware, software, information, personnel, procedures, and facilities. The language provides representations for system requirements, behavior, structure, and parametric constraints, which may be integrated with other engineering analysis models. SysML v1 was originally defined as a standard profile of UML, tailoring and extending a subset of UML for use by system engineers. More than ten years after its adoption, SysML has developed a strong and rapidly growing Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) user community of its own. Reflecting on the lessons learned over this time, OMG issued a request for proposals for SysML v2 in December 2017, to improve the precision, expressiveness, and usability of the language over SysML v1. An exceptionally diverse and experienced team is now working on a proposal in response to this request.

This presentation will provide an overview of both UML and SysML, and demonstrate how they are successfully applied in practice. You will also learn about the exciting work going on as these standards continue to evolve, including the expanding suite of standards defining precise, executable semantics for UML and SysML, and the broad industry effort ongoing to develop SysML v2.

Luncheon Keynote: Len Bastien, Assistant Deputy Minister Information Management and CIO, Department of National Defence (DND)
*lunch registration required

The Department of National Defence (DND) is a Canadian government department responsible for defending Canada's interests and values at home and abroad, as well as contributing to international peace and security. DND is the largest department of the Government of Canada in terms of budget as well as staff. The Department of National Defence exists to aide the minister in carrying out his responsibilities, and acts as the civilian support system for the Canadian Forces.

Mr. Bastien will discuss the Department of National Defence’s Journey to Analytics.

Unified Architecture Framework® (UAF®)
Matthew Hause, PTC Engineering Fellow; Co-chair of the OMG UAF Task Force
Graham Bleakley, PhD, Offering Manager IBM Rhapsody Toolsuite, IBM; Co-chair of the OMG UAF Task Force
Aurelijus Morkevicius, PhD, Head of Solutions Department, No Magic, Inc., Co-chair of the OMG UAF Task Force

The Unified Architecture Framework® (UAF®) specification is used for specifying systems of systems and how these evolve in the context of an enterprise to meet capabilities and map to development projects and programs. UAF was developed by a diverse group of tool vendors, end users, academia, and government representatives at the OMG. It has the full support of the US Department of Defense (DOD) and the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD). It is a DOD mandated standard. Its foundation in UML/SysML improves the integration between architectural framework modeling and system modeling to support post-acquisition lifecycle design and implementation.

This presentation provides a brief introduction to how UAF will provide a standard means of expressing DoDAF, NAF and MODAF using SysML, an overview of the UAF views and viewpoints and language concepts, and selected sample problems to demonstrate how the language can be used.

This presentation will cover the topics of:

• UAF modeling as part of the systems engineering process
• Using capability and systems models to avoid the problems of stovepipe development
• Using strategic, acquisition and systems modeling to ensure that systems deployment is in line with capability deployment requirements
• Transitioning from a system of systems to systems development
• Integrating requirements management into architecture modeling and the development lifecycle
• The future of architecture development

Unified Architecture Framework® (UAF®) Risk-Based Analytics
Dr. Nick Mansourov, CTO, KDM Analytics

The OMG System Assurance (SysA) Task Force is working on Model-based Cybersecurity Assessment (MBCA). MBCA is a risk assessment paradigm that emphasizes the use of rigorous models, analytics, and automated tools and best practices for the repeatable assessment of the cybersecurity of systems. MBCA is aligned with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and emphasizes leveraging engineering models for the purposes of risk assessment.

This presentation will discuss how to use MBCA with the Unified Architecture Framework (UAF) to identify, analyze, classify and understand cybersecurity threats and related risks. This assessment will help stakeholders determine where to focus mitigation efforts, budget and resources.

Business Process Model and Notation™ (BPMN™), Case Management Model and Notation™ (CMMN™), Decision Model and Notation™ (DMN™)
Denis Gagne, CEO and CTO, Trisotech

This presentation will introduce the core concepts, differentiation and business value of the “triple crown” of business process modeling (BPM) standards developed by OMG in recent years – the Business Process Model and Notation™ (BPMN™), the Case Management Model and Notation™ (CMMN™) and the Decision Model and Notation™ (DMN™). This session will demonstrate methods and best practices, specific roles and users, and usage in the context of government business innovation and transformation.

This presentation will cover:

• An overview of BPMN, CMMN and DMN
• The purpose of each standard
• Best practices for using the standards

Business Architecture & Architecture-Driven Modernization
William Ulrich, President, Business Architecture Guild
Co-chair of the OMG Architecture-Driven Modernization Task Force

Business architecture provides end-to-end business transparency, enabling and streamlining investment analysis, end-to-end strategy realization, stakeholder value delivery and business-driven, IT transformation. Architecture-driven modernization involves taking a holistic approach to transforming application, data and technical architectures, which includes applying a business-driven approach through business architecture. OMG has been developing industry standards for business architecture and architecture-driven modernization to support consistency of the practice and software tool availability and interoperability. This presentation will cover:

• Business architecture: what, why and how
• Business-driven IT architecture transformation
• Architecture transformation challenges, expectations and realities
• Architecture-driven modernization case studies and reference points
• A discussion of OMG standards for business architecture and architecture-driven modernization

Keynote: Teresa D’Andrea, Director, GC Digital Exchange, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

The Government of Canada has made a strong commitment to enabling interoperability, but what does that mean, and how do we make it happen? The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) has launched several key initiatives including OneGC, the Digital Exchange Platform, and API Store which all rely on the ability to share data between programs, with provinces, and with industry. This discussion will cover how TBS is approaching interoperability by providing leadership, defining standards, and ensuring that an interoperability ecosystem is available for departments and agencies to leverage.

Data Governance (Data Residency, Privacy, Provenance and Pedigree)

In a globalized world in which we need to share information across entities, while at the same time respecting confidentiality constraints and a complex web of laws and regulations, governments as well as commercial enterprises face a growing need to manage the processes, roles and responsibilities related to the handling of sensitive data. OMG has several initiatives underway to help with this challenge, and this set of three presentations will explore those efforts.

Data Residency
Claude Baudoin, Owner and Principal Consultant, cébé IT and Knowledge Management
Chair of the OMG Data Residency and Cloud Working Groups and Co-chair of the Business Modeling and Integration Task Force

Data residency consists of issues and approaches related to the location of data and metadata, and how to minimize the risk of adverse consequences due to the many laws and regulations that constrain where various types of information (financial, private, sovereign, etc.) can be stored. The OMG Data Residency Working Group published two important discussion papers in 2017: a study of Data Residency Challenges and Opportunities for Standardization, and a Data Residency Maturity Model. OMG’s intent is to develop standards to describe laws and regulations on one hand, and the sensitive nature of a dataset on the other hand, allowing tools to expose the issues one might face when moving that data from one location to another.

Data Provenance and Pedigree
John Butler, Principal, Auxilium Technology Group, LLC
Co-chair of the OMG Provenance and Pedigree Working Group

Ever wonder about the source of a seemingly legitimate post on Facebook or even in a “mainstream media” publication? How about the source of the food you’re eating? If E. coli is found in produce from a particular farm, how do we know what products to take off the shelf? How do we know that the electronic records from a business have been maintained appropriately? If they’ve been changed, who could have done it? To answer these types of questions we need to understand how each “artifact” (e.g., produce, Facebook post, New York Times article, or electronic record) was created and then handled and by whom. Understanding the source and/or process by which a piece of data was created is the lineage or “pedigree” of the data element. Understanding who has possession or custody of a data element in addition to who “owns” or has responsibility for it is the “provenance."

The OMG Provenance and Pedigree Working Group has been developing of a set of standards for tracking and exchanging information related to the provenance and pedigree of artifacts, whether they be data or physical objects.

Tagging and Labeling & Information Exchange Framework for Structured Data Environments
Michael Abramson, President and CEO, Advanced Systems Management Group (ASMG Ltd.)
Co-chair of the OMG C4I Domain Task Force and IEF Working Groups

This presentation will outline the key concepts and components for automating the data tagging and labeling process and the OMG C4I Domain Task Force efforts to address these issues in an open and non-proprietary manner.

The Information Exchange Framework™ (IEF™) is an OMG initiative to establish a family of specifications for responsible information sharing using email, file share, instant messages (chat), structured messages, and web services. This presentation will provide a brief overview of how the IEF evolved, the need for the capability, and the core services underpinning policy-driven data-centric information sharing and safeguarding in a multi-agency, intergovernmental or international operations

The presentation will provide:

• Several use-cases for the need for tagging and labeling standards
• Key elements of a tagging and labeling strategy
• “To Automate or Not-Automate?” data tagging and labeling
• Why is the OMG so interested in this topic?
• Information sharing and safeguarding (ISS) needs being addressed
• The development of open IEF specifications and architectures
• Key capabilities for an effective ISS solution
• How to make use of the existing IEF specifications and architectures
• Current Canadian and US interest in use of the IEF

Data Distribution Service™ (DDS™)
Gerardo Pardo, CTO, Real-Time Innovations, Inc.
Co-chair of the OMG DDS Special Interest Group

The Data Distribution Service™ (DDS™) is a middleware protocol and API standard for data-centric connectivity from the OMG. This presentation will cover the use cases of DDS and share example implementations of the DDS standard. DDS integrates the components of a system together, providing low-latency data connectivity, extreme reliability, and a scalable architecture required by business and mission-critical Internet of Things (IoT) applications. In a distributed system, middleware is the software layer that lies between the operating system and applications. It enables the various components of a system to more easily communicate and share data. It simplifies the development of distributed systems by letting software developers focus on the specific purpose of their applications rather than the mechanics of passing information between applications and systems.

Secure Network Communications (SNC)
Jeffrey Smith, Ph.D., Chief Systems Engineer and E2 Lead, Multi Agency Collaboration Environment, Sierra Nevada Corporation

OMG is working on a Secure Network Communications (SNC) specification. This spec. will add new technology and modeling techniques to the current Software Based Communications (SBC) standard, formerly known as the Software Communication Architecture (SCA) standard, and developed for the U.S. Department of Defense Joint Tactical Radio System for the next generation of radio systems. OMG is looking to modernize this standard and build commercial adoption. This effort is led by the OMG Secure Networking Communications (SNC) Working Group to modernize the standard with cybersecurity and networking capabilities, parametric SysML® models, automated software code generation, and High Performance Embedded Computing standard toolboxes.

System Assurance
Djenana Campara, CEO, KDM Analytics
Co-chair of the OMG Systems Assurance Task Force

The OMG System Assurance (SysA) Task Force is bound by the notion that system and software assurance is focused on the management of risk and the assurance of safety, security, and dependability within the context of system lifecycles. The fundamental goal of the SysA Task Force is a community-developed practical set of specifications/standards for industry, academia, and the government. The hypothesis is that, if the community can come to an agreement on this complex discipline’s definition and scope, the specifications/standards will come together more quickly and accelerate progress towards the goal of resilient, dependable, and robust systems.

This presentation will review the SysA supported specifications, current work-in-progress, and roadmap for the future.

CISQ Program Overview
Tracie Berardi, Director, Program Management

The Consortium for Information & Software Quality ™ (CISQ™) is an OMG program that develops standards for automating the measurement of software size, structural quality, and related measures from source code. The quality characteristic measures originally developed for enterprise IT systems are being extended into the domain of embedded and real-time software, which is critically important for measuring the quality and security of embedded software code used in device control, the Internet of Things (IoT), and safety-critical systems. CISQ supplements the ISO 25000 series of standards with automatable measures for large-scale analysis at speed.

This presentation will cover the following topics:

• Automated Function Points and Automated Enhancement Points for software sizing
• Automated Quality Characteristic Measures for Security, Reliability, Performance Efficiency and Maintainability
• Automated Technical Debt Measure
• Securing embedded and real-time software

Command, Control, Communications, Collaboration and Intelligence (C4I)
Combat Management System (CMS) System Services Standards
Simon Mettrick, AI Lead Technologist, BAE Systems
Matt Wilson, Vice President, Simventions
FACE profile for UAF
Sarah Douglass, Senior Systems Engineer, MITRE
Members of the OMG C4I Domain Task Force

This set of presentations will outline key initiatives being executed by the members of the OMG C4I Domain Task Force, including:

• FACE™ Profile for UAF: An increasing number of government and public sector organizations are seeking to architect systems based on The Open Group’s Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE™) architecture design. For this to occur, FACE models must be aligned to supporting DODAF and NAF views and viewpoints, and integrated into the broader set of organizational architectures and models. The C4I DTF is seeking to develop a FACE profile for the OMG Unified Architecture Framework (UAF™), aligning FACE concepts into the UAF’s ontological foundation and subsequently into DODAF and NAF.
• Open Architecture Radar Interface Standard (OARIS™)
• Tactical Situational (TACSIT) specifications
• NAV Interface
• Other standards efforts, including Alert Management Service (ALMAS)

Space, Satellite and Ground Systems
Brad Kizzort, Systems Engineer, Peraton
Chair of the OMG Space Domain Task Force

The OMG Space Domain Task Force is publishing industry-driven specifications to reduce the software costs of developing, deploying, and maintaining space systems. Increasing interoperability not only reduces the costs through competitive industry offerings, but increases the resiliency of space systems that are relied on for critical health, safety, and defense applications.

This presentation will cover:

• Why industry-driven space standards?
• XTCE, a lingua franca for satellite operators
• GEMS, interoperable ground equipment
• C2MS, enabling the space enterprise
• CSRM, a SysML Template for capturing architecture and requirements of a satellite mission