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Eliminating the Information Exchange Bottleneck

NCJ Number
219190
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 34 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 114,116,123
Author(s)
Winfield Wagner
Date Published
May 2007
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article describes the life cycle approach for developing Information Exchange Packages (IEPs) that allow public safety agencies to exchange information.
Abstract
A problem has emerged as public agencies attempt to communicate with one another in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in 2001. Specifically, the Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM) is experiencing significant delays resulting from an inability to properly document and broadly distribute exchange design methodologies. What is needed is the development of EIPs and the accompanying artifact set, known as Information Exchange Package Documentation (IEPD) in order to reduce the time and costs associated with exchange implementation and to reduce the bottleneck effect occurring with the GJXDM. While the various technology standardization organizations evaluate acceptable IEPD methodologies, local justice and public safety agencies have taken the lead in developing their own IEPD systems. Several success stories are illustrated, such as the IEPD systems developed in New Jersey and Ohio. Based on these success stories, a best practice life cycle approach for developing IEPDs has evolved and has six main steps: (1) initialization; (2) the use of the business process model; (3) the use of the business data model; (4) standards transformation; (5) schema package development; and (6) testing and implementation. The author describes each step in turn before considering successes with this best practice model to date and the future of IEPD systems in general. Future trends in exchange information systems are expected to include: (1) expanded use of IEPD repositories that define all information exchanges with a State criminal justice system; (2) expanded use of national criminal justice programs using specific information records types; (3) use of IEPDs as a requirement of government funding; (4) establishment of IEPD methodology and documentation into the Federal Data Architecture; and (5) further expansion of the use of IEPDs in other government information domains, such as public health and transportation. Figure