TASK 2: CALS Data Management Tools
Final Tools Deficiency and Recommendation Report (December 16, 1994)
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Continuous Acquisition and Life-cycle Support (CALS) Integrated Weapon System Database (IWSDB) Project Task 2 team has been chartered to explore data management in the realm of CALS initiatives headed by the OSD. Data management in CALS is the creation and handling of data such that the concept of "creating data once and using it many times" is supported by allowing the integration and sharing of data across heterogeneous platforms. In support of this objective, our team has extensively researched Data Management Tools (DMTs) that will enable the creation of a shared data environment supporting CALS IWSDBs.
Microsoft Word 6.0 for Windows (301 KB)
Final Tool Assessment Report (September 12, 1994)
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Continuous Acquisition and Life-cycle Support (CALS) Integrated Weapon System Database (IWSDB) Project Task 2 team has been chartered to explore data management in the realm of CALS initiatives. Data management in CALS is the creation and handling of data such that the concept of "creating data once and using it many times" is supported by allowing the integration and sharing of data across heterogeneous platforms.
Appendix A & B
Appendix C
Preliminary Integrated Weapon System Database (IWSDB) Implementation Strategy Paper (July 5, 1994)
The goal of the Continuous Acquisition Life-cycle Support (CALS) initiative is for Government and industrial enterprises to be able to work together through the implementation of an Integrated Weapon System Database (IWSDB) supporting a weapon system throughout its life-cycle. The direct benefits would come not only from substantial reductions in product-to-market time and costs but also from significant enhancements in quality and performance. Although CALS began as primarily an United States (U.S.) defense industry and Government effort to integrate systems development, production, and support, it has come to be recognized as a leading-edge prototype for a manufacturing community "virtual enterprise" in the twenty-first century. As such, CALS has been accepted as the focus for enterprise integration in nations throughout the world.
This strategy paper is an effort to identify and characterize a scalable "create data once, and use it many times" IWSDB architecture. This architecture is capable of integrating the heterogeneous hardware and software systems to capture, store, and distribute engineering data much more efficiently. The proposed architecture is obviously not a unique solution to the CALS IWSDB; however, it is a feasible one. This paper is also an effort to provide a unified view for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) CALS development groups so that all of the individual efforts will be directed toward the achievement of a single goal.
The proposed architecture and its component systems along with their relationships are presented in Section 2.0. A series of information sharing scenarios are described in Section 3.0. The preliminary OSD CALS Open Systems standards and specifications are summarized in Section 4.0. Several implementation issues regarding the migration approach and integration of legacy data, the Standard for The Exchange of Product Model (STEP) Data, and Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange (EC/EDI) are discussed in the last section.