ENCLOSURE (1) to COMDTINST 5230.59
DECEMBER 1999
U.S. Coast Guard Common Operating Environment (USCG COE)
1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (formerly known as the Information Technology Management
and Reform Act (ITMRA)), mandates agency Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to "improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of agency delivery of products and services to the public through the
effective use of information technology." As one of many ongoing initiatives to meet this
mandate, the Coast Guard CIO chartered a Quality Action Team (QAT) to publish the first U.S.
Coast Guard Common Operating Environment (USCG COE). This document is result of that
effort.
The USCG COE concept encompasses all CG functional/business areas including Mission,
Oversight and Control, and Support, as defined in the Coast Guard's Information Architecture. The
intent of the USCG COE is to provide an underlying framework that integrates a suite of
components to form an evolutionary acquisition and implementation strategy. The USCG COE
emphasizes a continuous evolution of a stable Information Technology (IT) baseline through
incremental development, testing, and fielding, to take advantage of new technologies as they
mature. Successive releases are narrowly focused to maximize product stability. The changes are
iterative so users always have a stable operating environment.
The USCG COE is a template of mandatory IT standards, policy, and procedures that
facilitates quality, interoperable, portable, information systems composed of reusable components.
These systems peacefully co-exist, with a reduced life cycle and cost. In other words, USCG COE
compliance promotes faster delivery of better information systems that are cheaper to operate and
maintain.
The intended audience of the USCG COE is all personnel involved in any phase of a Coast
Guard information system's life cycle. The USCG COE provides a documented, stable, enterprise-
oriented, target operating environment in which to implement Coast Guard systems. All system
components are considered, including software, hardware, communications, and sensors.
This first iteration of the USCG COE defines its underlying purpose, philosophy, structure and
components. Follow-on work to this effort will integrate the Coast Guard Information Systems
Technology Architecture, COMDTINST 5230.45 (series), as well as the work completed by the
Chief of Staff chartered C4I & Sensors Project resulting in the U.S. Coast Guard C4I Baseline,
COMDTINST 3090.6 (series), and the USCG C4I Objective Architecture and Transition Plan,
COMDTINST 3090.7 (series). These three documents remain authoritative sub-components of the
USCG COE as this follow-on work is completed.
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