The SPACE eFactory is the main component of the NGE Toolset. It provides an extensive array of capabilities for digital transformation. These include a patterns repository, gamifications, decision support advisors, planning tools, and specialized tools that invoke different capabilities for different types of scenarios (see the following figure). SPACE behaves as a “factory” with the following capabilities that fully support an Agile Methodology:
Repository for Industry Sectors (PARIS) that capture the core knowledge needed by SPACE (almost 200 business services in more than 12 sectors such as healthcare, education, public safety, public welfare, agriculture, and others).
Games and Simulations that support decisions in strategic analysis, mobile services planning, interagency integrations and health exchanges, application migration versus integration tradeoffs, risks and failure management, and quality assurance.
Simple Planner (PISA) that can be used to quickly build real life business scenarios for small businesses and then guide the user through IT planning, integration, security and administration tasks by using best practices.
Extensive Planner (ePlanner) that can be used for small to large scale government and the private sectors who need to strategically plan, architect, integrate, and manage the needed IT initiatives quickly and effectively by using the best practices.
Specialized Initiatives and Tools that are built on top of the SPACE environment (i.e., they invoke many of the SPACE capabilities). Examples of these tools are the SPACE Lab (an online training center), an Entrepreneurship Portal, and several specialized advisors and tools to support the UN initiatives and other partnerships. More tools and initiatives are always being added to this layer.
