Case Study : United States Transportation Command
ASYNCHRONY SOLUTIONS RETAINED BY USTRANSCOM TO PROVIDE ANALYSIS AND RECOMENDATIONS FOR XML USE
Client Challenge United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) coordinates air, land and sea transportation of personnel, equipment and supplies for the Department of Defense. In order to better manage its mission-critical operations, USTRANSCOM approached Asynchrony Solutions to provide a complete understanding of XML and how it could enhance its business practices by applying XML to generate standards, methods and processes for managing data and metadata. The need for a pilot project utilizing XML systems across the enterprise to interface with a large number of systems and seamlessly integrate information originating from various sources was sought for potential future application.
In addition to offering in-depth knowledge of XML, Asynchrony Solutions provided a model that demonstrated the ability for leveraging existing resources through seamless interoperability between systems.
Asynchrony Solutions Approach The solution included a complete report on the general strengths and weaknesses of XML as well as a full analysis of how the various divisions of the Department of Defense have used XML in past, and recommendations for how they could best integrate XML use throughout the command in future. These findings were then applied in a prototype built by Asynchrony Solutions, which demonstrated how XML and middleware could be used in USTRANSCOM to enhance its ability to track its missions.
The prototype included the compilation of information from disparate queries using an integration engine, and making that information available through XML. The result was the automatic compilation of information that previously had to be gathered by way of manual processes. This information described the relationships between the missions being executed within USTRANSCOM and the cargo associated with each mission. This compiled data was then transformed using XSLT stylesheets to HTML and other forms of XML suitable for the users and systems that would require the use of that data.
Results In addition to offering in-depth knowledge of XML, Asynchrony Solutions provided a model that demonstrated the ability for leveraging existing resources through seamless interoperability between systems. These systems compile data from numerous sources and efficiently report that information in an easy-to-read, user-friendly, and completely flexible format.
This model exemplifies how the use of middleware integration and XML data formats could be applied to a wide variety of processes within the government structure as a mechanism to enhance efficiency of reporting. The compilation of data from various queries rather than the rebuilding of entire systems to satisfy short-term objectives ultimately saves time and money.