FAA Data Standards Initiative: Systems Engineering Base for Air Traffic Modernization

The FAA has embarked on a program to standardize operational data used in the National Airspace System (NAS) interfaces. The initiative formalizes the NAS Information Architecture Committee (NIAC) as a supporting member of the NAS Configuration Control Board (CCB), an organization authorized by the Administrator. Application-independent data standards will be published in the FAA Acquisition System Toolset (FAST) for all vendors to access through an Internet portal. The data standardization process will take into account the user concerns through the data steward. The FAA has invested in an Oracle-driven tool that is known as the FAA Data Registry (FDR). The FDR will hold metadata, or data about the operational data, that defines and describes those data elements to the format level. The FDR is built and will be managed to industry standards, the International Standards Organization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard 11179, Specification and Standardization of Data Elements. Though the information and data flows in the NAS are extensive with significant interoperability concerns, there are identifiable data elements that constitute the core operational data that will be the initial focus of a standardization effort. Currently, the NAS interoperability issues present a substantial risk to modernization efforts. It is expected that standard data will greatly mitigate the technical and programmatic risks associated with acquiring new systems for the NAS.