    [Analytical Perspectives]
    [Crosscutting Programs]
    [9. Integrating Services with Information Technology]
    [From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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               9. INTEGRATING SERVICES WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

      This year the President is proposing to spend nearly $60 billion for
    computers, software, and services used to deliver benefits and services
    to American citizens. It is a priority for agencies to focus this
    investment on the achievement of goals that will result in benefits to
    the American people.
      There are three major efforts underway to assure the Federal
    Government's investment in Information Technology brings the greatest
    value to the public:
        Management for Results
        Successful Uses of Electronic Government
        Modernization Blueprints

                             MANAGEMENT FOR RESULTS

      The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 calls for Federal departments and
    agencies to find ways to use technology to accomplish their mission; to
    operate more proficiently; and to make better purchasing decisions. The
    Act requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
    to submit a report to the Congress on the results we're achieving from
    Federal IT spending. This Budget chapter fulfills the statutory
    reporting requirements of the Clinger-Cohen Act through Chapter 9, Table
    9-1, Effectiveness of Agency's IT Management and E-Gov Processes,
    included on the CD-ROM, which summarizes the results of IT management
    processes at major agencies.
      As a result of the Administration's oversight, agencies' capital
    planning activities have improved. Agencies are now better able to
    identify ``net program performance benefits achieved'' by their IT
    investments and ``how the benefits relate to the accomplishments of the
    goals'' of their agency. However, much work remains to move beyond good
    explanations to good--and measurable--results.
      Performance of Government.--Agencies need proper management practices
    and support systems to deliver projects on time, within budget, and
    performing as expected. Once the IT projects represented by these
    investments move from planning to operations, agencies must be able to
    determine whether or not the projects continue to accomplish the
    intended outcome while staying within the approved budget.
    These projects must have:
        Sound risk management strategies; and
        Strong links to agency mission and strategic goals.
    While ensuring the projects are:
        On schedule and within the approved budget;
        Achieving performance goals; and
        Included in the modernization blueprint for the agency,
              called an enterprise architecture
      The Government continues to improve productivity and demonstrate
    results from its IT investments. The Administration requires all cabinet
    agencies to prepare ``business cases'' for any planned or operational
    system that is critical to the mission of the agency. These investment
    rationales are graded on specific criteria including:
        the value they will provide to the agency
        the likelihood they will succeed
        the cyber-security plans planned or in place
        the acquisition strategy
        the project management plans
        the analysis of viable alternatives
      Government agencies continue to make significant improvement in their
    efforts to guarantee the prudent expenditure of taxpayer dollars. All of
    the 59 business cases submitted by the Department of Veterans Affairs
    passed the scoring criteria without revision of the original business
    cases. To achieve this, VA developed a project management agenda and
    trained more than 500 project managers while instituting a rigorous
    internal review process to pre-score their business cases before
    submission to OMB.
      The Administration continues to monitor the performance of its IT
    projects long after the original budget request is made. For example, of
    the $60 billion in the 2005 Budget for IT investments, 621 major
    projects representing $22 billion are currently on the ``Management
    Watch List.'' This list includes mission-critical projects needing
    improvement in the areas of performance measures, earned value
    management and/or IT security. Agencies must remediate the shortfalls
    identified in their business cases or the Administration will not
    support the expenditures until agencies have demonstrated their ability
    to address these weaknesses.
      The Agency IT Investment Portfolios (available in Exhibit 53 on the
    Internet at www.whitehouse.gov/OMB) provide details of the
    Administration's proposed 2005 IT investments. Related documents on IT
    security and Electronic Government (E-Government) will also be available
    at www.whitehouse.gov/OMB and will be published by March 1, 2004.
      As part of the process by which the Administration evaluates IT
    business cases, investments are studied to determine whether there is
    duplication across Government entities. If an investment is found to be
    duplicative, the Administration brings together the appropriate agencies
    and helps them consider broad based solutions that will allow inter-
    agency data sharing and cooperation to build a single system, rather
    than maintaining separate investments.

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      This Administration leverages Government buying power while reducing
    redundant purchases. As an example, the Government is developing common
    solutions that meet multiple agencies' needs in the areas of Financial
    Management and Human Resources.
      As part of its management responsibilities, OMB continued using one of
    the key authorities established in section 5113 ``Enforcement of
    Accountability'' of the Clinger-Cohen Act (CCA). Under this authority,
    the Director is required to evaluate information resources management
    practices of the executive agencies with respect to IT investments. As
    part of this evaluation, OMB issued one Clinger-Cohen letter, M-03-14
    ``Reducing Cost & Improving Quality in Federal Purchases of Commercial
    Software'' (06/02/2003). The purpose of this letter was to coordinate
    and leverage the buying power of Government by creating the Software
    Managed and Acquired on the Right Terms (SmartBUY) initiative. This
    letter is available at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/m03-14.html. In
    addition, management guidance titled ``Streamlining Authentication and
    Identity Management'' was issued on July 3, 2003. This memorandum
    provides agency Chief Information Officers (CIOs) with the appropriate
    guidance to coordinate and consolidate investments related to
    authentication and identity management and is available at
    www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/eauth.pdf.
      The Government IT Workforce.--As part of the President's Management
    Agenda (PMA), analysis is underway to develop a strategy for the
    recruitment, development, retention, and management of the Federal IT
    workforce and to insure that expenditures in technology are
    professionally delivered and managed. The immediate focus is to assess
    the current ``bench strength'' among existing employees, identify gaps
    in needed skills, and develop plans of action to fill critical workforce
    needs for project managers, solution architects, security specialists,
    and other need areas as identified in the Federal workforce survey
    completed in the fall of 2003 by the Office of Personnel Management
    (OPM) and the Federal CIO Council.
      Electronic Government..--Expanding Electronic Government makes it
    easier for citizens and businesses to interact with their Government and
    saves taxpayer dollars by reducing the cost of delivering those
    services. The Administration developed specific E-Government projects
    and an overall agenda of bringing the principles of E-Government to all
    Government programs, allowing taxpayers to conduct business with
    Government in their own time and on their own terms.
      For the past five years the Government has been aggressively
    implementing the Government Paperwork Elimination Act. The Act required
    the Government to provide the option for electronic filing and
    electronic signature for the full range of Government activities unless
    it is not practicable to do so. During the first two years of the Act's
    implementation, 1,800 transactions could be conducted electronically. As
    of December 2003, 4,000 government transactions could be conducted
    electronically. This represents 57% of the 7,000 potential transactions
    between citizens and their government. For instance:
        The Department of Agriculture is implementing an agency-wide
              system to conduct business electronically; and
        The Department of Transportation established an efficient
              online method for motor carriers to apply for operating
              authority and register for a USDOT number.
      As the Government continues to use new technology our business
    processes continue to improve. One specific example is the way we keep
    records. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will
    preserve our electronic records for future generations just as it has
    for paper records in the past. NARA's Electronic Records Archives
    project will preserve and provide access to digital records from Federal
    agencies. NARA's work on the Electronic Records Management initiative
    will provide agencies with the policies and procedures necessary for
    managing these electronic records. Because of this foresight, historians
    will be assured of continuing access to essential evidence documenting
    the rights of American citizens, the actions of Federal officials, and
    the national experience.
      Securing Government Systems..--Over the last three years the Federal
    Government has improved considerably in identifying and resolving long-
    standing, serious, and pervasive IT security problems. Agencies report
    both annually and quarterly on their efforts to address IT security
    weaknesses against key IT security performance measures.
      As one example, the Environmental Protection Agency has excelled at
    protecting their information technology assets. EPA has evaluated the
    risks to, and certified the security of, its IT systems. Beyond
    documentation, however, EPA has implemented quantifiable measures of
    repelled attacks and blocked viruses. Internal scorecards are used to
    measure success and managers are encouraged to compete for top scores.
    By focusing on cyber-security, EPA has taken great steps to protect the
    integrity of the agency.
      In addition to assessing each agency's IT security performance, the
    Administration also established the following three Government-wide
    goals in the 2004 President's Budget.
        Goal 1.--By the end of calendar year 2003, all Federal
              agencies were to have created a central remediation process to
              ensure that program and system level IT security weaknesses,
              once identified, are tracked and corrected. Each agency
              Inspector General (IG) was to verify whether or not the agency
              had a satisfactory IT security remediation process in place.
                Status.--While each Federal agency does have an IT security
              remediation process, the maturity of those processes vary
              greatly. Out of 26 Federal agencies, 10 agencies have a
              remediation process verified by their IG as meeting the
              necessary criteria. The Administration will continue to work

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              with the remaining Federal agencies to achieve this goal by
              the end of calendar year 2004.
        Goal 2.--By the end of calendar year 2003, 80 percent of
              Federal IT systems were to be certified and accredited.
                Status.--Based on agencies' reports 61 percent of Federal IT
              systems were certified and accredited at the end of calendar
              year 2003. At the end of calendar year 2002, only 47 percent
              had met this goal. Many agencies are not adequately
              prioritizing their IT expenditures to be assured that
              significant IT security weaknesses are appropriately
              addressed.
        Goal 3.--By the end of calendar year 2003, 80 percent of the
              Federal Government's 2004 major IT systems were to have
              appropriately integrated security into the lifecycle of the
              expenditures.
                Status.--Based on agencies' reports for 2003, 75 percent of
              Federal IT systems planned and budgeted for IT security
              requirements as part of the overall development or
              maintenance. At the end of calendar year 2002, this number was
              slightly more than 60 percent. While agencies have made
              improvements in integrating security into new IT systems,
              significant problems remain, particularly in ensuring security
              of legacy systems.
      Additionally, the Federal Government has placed increased emphasis on
    prevention of negative impacts from worms and viruses through the
    installation of patches for known vulnerabilities. Further, improved
    information sharing allows agencies to rapidly identify and respond to
    cyber threats and critical vulnerabilities. These steps have led to
    stronger Government-wide processes for intrusion detection and response.
      While notable progress in resolving IT security weaknesses has been
    made, challenges remain and new threats and vulnerabilities continue to
    materialize. Agencies continue to improve the security of the
    information and systems supporting the Federal Government's missions. To
    address the above challenges the Administration works with agencies,
    Inspectors General, the Congress and the General Accounting Office (GAO)
    to assure appropriate cost-effective IT security programs, policies, and
    procedures are in place to protect Government systems.
      Additional information and detail concerning the Federal Government's
    IT security program and agency IT security performance can be found in
    OMB's Annual Report to Congress on IT Security. The next such report
    will be issued by March 1, 2004 and will be made available on OMB's
    website.
      Protecting Privacy.--The promise of E-Government can only be realized
    if people use the services provided by the Government. Citizens will
    only use these services if they trust their information will be
    protected and their privacy maintained. The obligation to maintain the
    public's trust is demonstrated by the passage of the E-Government Act,
    which reflects the Government's commitment to the privacy and security
    of the citizen's confidential information. Specifically, the E-
    Government Act requires agencies, as they develop new information
    technology systems or information collections, to:
        Conduct Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) taking privacy
              into consideration in the design of the system or in any
              information collection activities.
        Publicly post standardized web privacy policies regarding
              the handling of personal information provided electronically
              to the Government.
      The greater challenge for Government is clearly the PIAs. These
    assessments demand the combined analysis of individuals with technical,
    programmatic and legal expertise. With varying degrees of success,
    agencies attempted to comply with the new statutory mandate. Going
    forward, the Government must continue to meet the challenges presented
    by privacy concerns and ensure PIAs include consideration of alternative
    business processes or systems designs. The Administration anticipates
    greater transparency on the part of Government agencies as the PIA
    effort continues. This will inspire greater trust in and greater use of
    E-Government products.
      Making Government Accessible to All.--The Government is making its
    websites and information technology accessible to persons with
    disabilities by providing new standards for accessibility, developed in
    accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. These new
    standards assume access to Government information and data is a civil
    right. The Government is engaged in a variety of activities to fulfill
    the requirements that agencies, industry, and the public understand
    these standards. This year, the Administration conducted extensive
    outreach with industry, the public, and Federal agencies to assist in
    implementation. Additionally, the General Services Administration (GSA)
    developed a web-based tool to help agencies procure information
    technology accessible to persons with disabilities. In the next year,
    GSA will issue a survey to assess how Federal agencies are implementing
    the Section 508 accessibility standards and to allow agencies to share
    best practices.

                    SUCCESSFUL USES OF ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT

      E-Government seeks to leverage information technologies to make
    Government services available to the citizen while guaranteeing the
    security of those systems, the privacy of citizen information and the
    prudent use of taxpayer money. E-Government is about helping the
    citizens, businesses and Government conduct business with one another
    more efficiently and effectively.
      Previously, the agency was the focus of the process because the
    citizens had to adjust their schedule and circumstances in order to
    accommodate the transaction

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    with the Government. Now, the citizen and the assistance they require
    are the focus of the process. The service is more important than the
    bureaucracy.
      For Governments and agencies, the benefit comes in the form of
    improved business processes, the way and the speed with which business
    is conducted. By collecting the data electronically, agencies benefit by
    reducing the processing time for transactions. This allows agencies to
    share data more easily, and speeds transactions conducted between and
    within agencies.
      Examples of successful adoption of the tenets of E-Government to
    deliver services to the citizen and make the government more effective
    include the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Office of
    Personnel Management. NSF's FastLane system is used by more than 200,000
    scientists, educators, technology experts and administrators to conduct
    business over the Internet. OPM manages five Presidential E-Government
    initiatives including USAJOBS, which receives on average 200,000 visits
    per day by Federal employment job seekers who can create resumes using
    the tools available on-line. Federal employees have taken more than
    160,000 courses through the Gov Online Learning Center (GoLearn.gov),
    while E-Payroll is consolidating agencies payroll services into four
    service providers
      Government agencies have traditionally considered themselves as
    separate businesses with each serving its own mission. Citizens,
    however, may not draw distinctions between different agencies and agency
    missions; they simply want access to information in a timely fashion.
    Through the PMA, the Presidential E-Government initiatives and the
    efforts to provide a Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA), Government
    is managing itself as one business with many subsidiaries. Through
    multi-agency E-Government initiatives such as Regulations.gov and
    Grants.gov, multiple agencies work together to provide service to the
    citizen from a single location.
      Regulations.gov makes it easier for citizens and businesses to easily
    find, review, and submit comments on proposed rules in the Federal
    Register that may affect them.
      Grants.gov makes it easier for grant seekers to find and apply for
    more than $350 billion in Federal grant opportunities across more than
    900 programs in 26 agencies. Equally important, grant-seekers won't have
    to visit each federal agency's website every day to find or apply for
    grant opportunities.
      Chapter 9, Table 9-2, Status of the Presidential E-Government
    Initiatives, included on the CD-ROM, provides an update for each
    project.

                            MODERNIZATION BLUEPRINTS

      Over the past three years, as a result of the implementation of this
    Administration's Electronic Government initiative, dramatic changes have
    begun to occur in the way the Government uses information technology to
    provide services to citizens. Federal agencies are rapidly developing
    and implementing sophisticated IT management policies and practices for
    their Capital Planning and Investment Control, professional project
    management practices and processes, and comprehensive security
    management practices
      Computers and related IT equipment and services are a means to an end,
    not an end in and of themselves. They are a tool to do a job and must
    support the business of the agency in order to be effective. IT,
    properly managed and focused, can help deliver government services and
    results to the public faster, cheaper, and with better quality than
    current methods. To gain the maximum benefit from IT systems, Agencies
    must understand how technology fits into and can support their missions.
      The FEA and the companion efforts of the agencies' Enterprise
    Architectures together provide the ``blueprint'' for completing analysis
    in the areas of common business practices, opportunities for
    consolidation, and acceleration of service delivery. OMB, in
    collaboration with the Federal CIO Council, is developing the
    Government-wide FEA to provide a common view across the Government of
    the work agencies do and the technology used to deliver services. The
    FEA creates the blueprint to identify where agencies share common
    functions and consequently can use shared technology solutions. With
    these efforts, the Government is completing the design of a common,
    shared information technology support structure within and across
    agencies.
      Historically, data communications, databases, office automation and
    security have been planned and deployed to support individual agencies,
    or even individual organizations and applications within an agency. This
    process has led not only to duplication but also to difficulty in
    operating effectively across lines of business. To address these
    deficiencies, the Administration asked agencies to plan for the
    integration of their common infrastructure and office automation
    environments. Included in these plans were strategies to move towards an
    integrated support environment while using the Government blueprint. The
    final result of these plans, migration strategies and support systems
    will be a comprehensive Government-wide view of the technologies being
    used to support the implementation of agency and cross-agency systems.
      To support the implementation of the agencies' modernization efforts,
    the Administration initiated programs like SmartBUY. This initiative
    leverages the immense buying power of the Federal Government in order to
    achieve the maximum cost savings, most favorable terms and conditions,
    and the best quality commercial brand-name software while continuing to
    motivate vendors to do business with the Government.
      Sharing Technology across Agencies Will Drive Results.--While the
    effort to integrate and consolidate IT environments within an agency can
    provide substantial

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    cost savings and performance improvement, the real potential benefit
    comes from the integration of agency processes and systems and the
    extension and integration of those environments across agencies. Based
    on the initial implementation of the FEA in the 2004 budget, six common
    areas where the work activities of diverse agencies were similar or
    nearly identical in providing services to citizens were identified.
    These strong similarities in activities present excellent opportunities
    for sharing resources and gaining efficiencies. The results of on-going
    analysis will provide the opportunity for breakthrough improvements in
    service performance for citizens.
      For example, the Health and Case Management functions have become the
    subject of Government-wide collaboration initiatives. The Department of
    Health and Human Services has taken the lead in a broad cross-agency
    effort to develop a complete architecture for the Health function, which
    is expected to yield a number of major cross-agency initiatives. The
    Department of Justice has taken a leading role in developing a broader
    cross-agency approach to Case Management that will enable agencies to
    implement common business practices and technology solutions to this
    widely used process.
      Initiatives such as these will result in ``best practice'' solutions
    that span across agencies, and across all levels of government to bring
    significant benefits to citizens, businesses, and government entities.
      Other areas of commonality that have already been identified for
    similar initiatives include Financial Management, Human Resources
    Management, and Grants. These common functional areas will be targeted
    by cross-agency teams for integration and consolidation. These efforts
    are expected to yield new common practices and technology initiatives to
    save money, improve efficiency and provide for significant improvements
    in service delivery beginning in 2005.
      Moving Forward.--In 2005 and beyond, the Government will continue
    identifying additional areas where the work of agencies is similar
    enough to believe that a shared approach to the use of information
    technology will yield major benefits. This effort will pave the way for
    major breakthroughs in the pace at which agencies can adapt to changing
    mission needs and deliver the results citizens are demanding.
      The Federal Government has made significant progress in implementing
    E-Government to better serve the citizen, but much remains to be done.
    Through the PMA, the Clinger-Cohen Act, the E-Government Act, and budget
    guidance, the Federal Government has the tools necessary to make it
    easier for citizens and businesses to interact with their Government.
    Through sound management practices, responsible investment, improved
    security and privacy, and innovative approaches to meeting the needs of
    the taxpayer, agencies can accomplish this important goal.