[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.