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5 Business Reference Model

• 5.1 Introduction
• 5.2 Structure
• 5.3 Services for Citizens Business Area
• 5.4 Service Paths Business Area
• 5.5 Services Support Business Area
• 5.6 Management of Government Resources Business Area
• 5.7 Examples of Business Sub Function Relationships

5.1 Introduction

The Business Reference Model (BRM) provides a framework that facilitates a functional (as opposed to organisational) view of the Australian Government's Lines of Business (LoB). This functional view includes the Australian Government's internal operations and services for citizens, individuals, businesses and other organisations, independent of the agencies performing them.

The BRM promotes agency collaboration by describing the Australian Government around common business areas instead of a siloed, agency-by-agency view. It serves as the underlying foundation for the AGA framework, the 2006 e-Government strategy Responsive Government: A New Service Agenda, and the Business Process Interoperability Framework (BPIF).

The BRM has been developed using the Australian Governments' Interactive Functions Thesaurus (AGIFT)¹⁴ and the US Government's Federal Enterprise Architecture Business Reference Model (FEA-BRM) as base documents, with some adjustments to more accurately reflect the Australian Government.

The AGIFT was developed by the National Archives of Australia at the request of the Online Council of Ministers to enhance the utility of AGLS¹⁵ metadata. The AGIFT is a three-level hierarchical thesaurus that describes the business functions carried out across Commonwealth, State, Territory and local governments in Australia.

The BRM has been based on the first two levels of the AGIFT and on the FEA-BRM. Entries in the BRM that are based on the AGIFT are marked with ^'A' symbols. Entries based on the FEA-BRM are marked with ^'F' symbols.

While the BRM provides an improved way of thinking about government operations, it is only a model: its true utility can only be realised when it is effectively used. The functional approach promoted by the BRM can do little to help accomplish the goals of whole-of-government initiatives if not incorporated into enterprise business architectures and management processes of Australian Government agencies.

Footnotes

14 The AGIFT online site is at: http://www.naa.gov.au/records-management/publications/agift/index.htm []

15 The AGLS Metadata Standard is a set of descriptive properties to improve visibility and availability of online resources. AGLS is published as Australian Standard AS 5044-2010.

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