eGovernment Working Group Meeting

1

• eGovernment Working Group Meeting
• Chris Niedermayer, USDA eGovernment Executive
• Barbara LaCour and Dennis Egan, USDA eGovernment
  Project Mgrs

2
Agenda

• Welcome
• Feedback and Update of eGovernment Opportunity
  Areas
• USDA eGovernment Survey
• Demo of eGovernment Program Web site
• Next Steps and Wrap-Up

3
eGovernment Strategic Plan Pyramid

eGovernment Mission/ Vision

Goal 1 Citizens
Goal 2 Public and Private Sector Organizations

eGovernment Strategic Goals
Goal 3 Employees and the Enterprise

Objective 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 Objective 2.1, 2.2,
2.3, 2.4 Objective 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4


Objectives
Objectives
Opportunity Areas
Opportunity Areas
4
eGovernment Opportunity Identification
Under Secretary and Executive Interviews

• Evaluation Criteria
• Strategic
• Improves fulfillment of USDA Mission and
  satisfies at least 1 USDA goal and objective
• Fulfills eGovernment Mission and satisfies at
  least 1 eGovernment goal and/or objective
• Addresses legislative priorities, GAO material
  weaknesses, OMB guidelines, and/or IG findings
• Expands reach and participation of USDA programs
  (i.e. numbers of beneficiaries)
• Mitigates redundancy, duplicative processes

Mission Area Visioning Sessions
Long List of Opportunities

• Financial
• Lowers costs across Department
• Revenue generation potential
• Leverages existing funding stream, budget
  priorities
• Mitigates waste, fraud and abuse

Working Group Visioning Sessions
More than 60 proposed opportunity areas,
suggestions and ideas

• Implementation
• Responds to an immediate Dept. need (Urgency)
• Can be implemented easily/low level of complexity
• Leverages core business capabilities and/or
  Dept./agencies have experience with similar
  effort
• Links to current/planned eGovernment initiatives
• Level of executive support and leadership
  priorities
• Transfer solution from other government or
  private sector

Industry and Government Best Practice
Readiness Assessment1
1 Focus groups and employee survey and CIO
interviews
5
eGovernment Opportunity Prioritization
Short List- eGovernment Opportunities
Shorter List- Smart Choice Candidates
Ranking Considerations
Reprioritization based on new information and
weighting

• Weighted short list based on ease of
  implementation and executive level support

• Top 10 Strategic Candidates
• Top 10 Enabler Candidates

Strategic
Enabling
26 eGovernment Opportunities for Strategic Plan
StartSmall

• Balance of Strategic and Enabling

Portfolio Approach
Think Big

• Balance of Goals and Objectives met
• Balance of Level

• After speaking with others in agencies
• Urgency Ranking
• Importance Ranking

EC Decision
Working Group Rankings

• Recommendation to the Deputy Secretary
• Some business cases
• Some business cases may fall out
• Some begin implementation

6
eGovernment Opportunity Areas
Working Group Rankings
Working Group Summary Comments

• Electronic Signatures was considered to be the
  most important and urgent for the Department.
• Food Safety and Security was ranked very high
  given homeland security and scope of impact
  (protecting the lives of all Americans).
• Nutrition and Food Safety awareness was
  considered important but not very urgent and thus
  moved down in the rankings.
• Portal Strategy was very important given many
  agencies are currently investing/considering
  investments in various capabilities.
• Online Human Resource initiative was considered
  to be relatively easy to implement because there
  are many good pilots and examples within agencies

7
eGovernment Opportunity Areas
eGovernment Initiatives Ranked by Final Score
Also shows Original Ranking, EGWG Ranking,
Weighted Criteria Ranking
8
Agenda

• Welcome
• Feedback and Update of eGovernment Opportunity
  Areas
• USDA eGovernment Survey
• Demo of eGovernment Program Web site
• Next Steps and Wrap-Up

9
Survey Results
A Department-wide survey was conducted to gauge
the readiness of USDA employees to begin or
expand their use of eGovernment applications.
Survey written for all USDA employees and placed
online
Survey results from over 4800 USDA employees
Thank you, Ira Hobbs

• Survey was well received first daysurvey was
  sent out, received over300 responses per hour
• Received statistically significantnumber of
  responses across the Department
• Once survey was closed, receivedover 200 e-mails
  with commentsand suggestions about eGovernment

• Reviewed and improved by NASS
• Test runs to revise surveyand test usability and
  understanding
• 508-Compliant
• Outsourced to an ASPsolution
• Once survey complete,built online in 2 days

• Letter from Ira Hobbs was e-mailedto all USDA
  employees asking themto take survey online

10
Survey Results
We received a good sampling of field and HQs
employees, executives and non-executives. These
results complement a technical skills assessment
conducted of IT personnel.
11
Survey Results
Part 1 - Communications
12
Survey Results
Part 1 - Communications Cont
46
48
42
37
32
29
16
14
12
12
8
6
13
Survey Results
Part 1 - Communications Cont
80
65
45
39
35
20
14
Survey Results
Part 2 - Technical Information
15
Survey Results
Part 3 - Areas of Training
16
Agenda

• Welcome
• Feedback and Update of eGovernment Opportunity
  Areas
• USDA eGovernment Survey
• Demo of eGovernment Program Web site
• Next Steps and Wrap-Up

17
www.egov.usda.gov
18
Agenda

• Welcome
• Feedback and Update of eGovernment Opportunity
  Areas
• USDA eGovernment Survey
• Demo of eGovernment Program Web site
• Next Steps and Wrap-Up

19
Next Steps Wrap Up

• Executive Council is meeting Thursday, January
  17th to finalize Smart Choice candidates
• Provide feedback (optional) by Monday, January
  21st on Start Small, Think Big section of each
  opportunity area in the appendix
• Provide feedback on improving the Web site to the
  egov_at_usda.gov
• Things you like
• Things you dont
• Things youd like to see that would be helpful to
  you and the Agency eGov Steering Committees
• Meeting next Wednesday, January 23, 2002

20
eGovernment Opportunity Areas for eGovernment
Strategic Plan
Appendix
21
Online Export Assistance and Marketing (Strategic)
Description Create a virtual export center for
USDA customers, regulated industries, and
partners to learn about exporting agriculture
commodities, including accessing permits and
requirements for exporting, and gaining market
information about potential selling
opportunities. Such an online export environment
would focus on expanding marketing opportunities
for small agriculture producers, reducing
information gaps and search time, and creating an
opportunity for collaboration within the
industry. This initiative would allow small
farmers to aggregate supply to fulfill
international demand, access a central location
for agriculture trade promotion, and use an
export assistance toolkit that would provide
step-by-step guidance and assistance for
exporting agriculture products. Rationale One of
the Administrations top priorities is to
increase agriculture exports through market-based
approaches. In focus groups with international
trade associations, USDAs partners indicated
farmers often are intimidated by the export
process and lack general knowledge about export
opportunities and/or markets. This initiative
would empower small, medium and disadvantaged
farmers with education and toolkits to expand
their reach. It would also provide a central
resource for the meat and poultry industry and
other USDA regulated industries to expedite their
international trading process.
Start Small
Think Big

• Participate in existing Government efforts at
  offering export assistance
• Define customer requirements through focus groups
  and define pain points for exporting and
  marketing products
• Create user-supported knowledge base of best
  practices and lessons learned during export
  process
• Continue to work with International Trade Data
  System efforts

• Create online wizards that guide citizen and/or
  partners through the export process
• From online wizards, users have access to all
  relevant forms, contact information, and
  assistance
• Integrate with new CRM capabilities to provide
  real-time assistance, both live and via online
  chat
• Integrate with customer and public/private
  partner database to enable collaboration

22
Department-wide eProcurement (Strategic)

• Description
• Implement an online Department-wide capability to
  purchase and distribute goods and services. This
  initiative would leverage eMarketplace technology
  to obtain competitive bids from sellers and
  provide a central location for managing supplies
  across the Department.
• Rationale
• The current Department-wide procurement
  initiative, IAS, is being pursued, in conjunction
  with multiple agency efforts including FSA, FS,
  and NRCS. The cost savings from eProcurement are
  directly linked to the number of buyers and
  sellers who operate in the eMarketplace.
  Therefore, consolidated efforts to provide a
  single gateway for all USDA suppliers and buyers
  will optimize the value of the USDAs investments
  in this area.

Start Small
Think Big

• Create an electronic bidding and contract system
• Integrate document management capability to use
  with industry partners for seamless information
  exchange
• Integrate eProcurement solution with
  eMarketplaces in the private sector
• Integrate eProcurement solution with Department
  supply chain management solution for extended
  automation to inventory and asset management

• Define requirements for Department-wide
  eProcurement capability
• Identify opportunities for collaboration or join
  existing efforts across the Federal Government
• Create an online contract catalog
• Negotiate potential outsourcing arrangements with
  industry partners for handling certain
  procurements for the Department

23
Online Management of eLoans (Strategic)

• Description
• Create opportunities for citizens and businesses,
  including farmers, producers, and rural
  entrepreneurs, to apply for, obtain and manage
  USDA loans (direct and guaranteed) via the
  Internet. This initiative would include online
  customer accounts, credit approval and income
  verification, bill presentment, automatic
  disbursement to bank accounts and routing to
  appropriate local representatives.
• Rationale
• The USDA eGovernment Readiness Assessment showed
  USDA loan customers are ready to embrace
  self-service options many citizens have already
  accepted the paradigm shift to online banking and
  are ready to manage loans online. During focus
  groups, farmers expressed high satisfaction with
  the transition to direct deposits and expressed
  increasing dissatisfaction with delays in
  receiving disbursements, challenges updating
  information and multiple forms to complete.
  Also, financial management tools will help the
  Department save money by reducing employee time
  spent on administrative details and providing
  more dynamic tools for working with high-risk
  customers.

Start Small
Think Big

• Enable citizens to complete loan applications
  online
• Allow citizens to make simple account changes and
  view account status
• Provide loan payoff and interest information and
  accommodate customer service requests from
  multiple venues (web, phone, in-person)

• Build real-time integration with customer data
  (both internal and external) to determine
  qualification and other real-time services across
  the eLoan lifecycle
• Build robust CRM capability to support eLoan
  lifecycle

24
Web-based Supply Chain Management (Strategic)

• Description
• Leverage supply chain management technologies to
  enable USDA agencies (i.e.,FAS, FSA, AMS, FNS)
  and their partners (primarily USAID, US school
  districts, domestic producers, state agencies and
  industry), to manage commodity purchasing and
  food distribution seamlessly for USDA programs.
  Such capabilities should allow the USDA to
  replace many isolated initiatives with flexible
  new technologies that provide real-time inventory
  management, food tracking and estimated delivery
  cycles, order fulfillment, and financial
  management and allocation.
• Rationale
• Separate efforts by USDA agencies to reengineer
  commodity distribution processes are currently
  underway, (i.e., FATES/ PCIMS, Food Distribution
  2000) but they are not coordinated
  Departmentally. Given the potential for dramatic
  cost savings, reduction in duplicative processes,
  improved service to customers and partners, and
  streamlined administrative functions, determining
  the most successful approach would allow USDA to
  benefit from economies of scale.

Start Small
Think Big

• Perform analysis of supply chain to identify
  where it is feasible to apply technology
• Work with all participating partners and agencies
  to build simulation (on paper) that includes real
  performance data from system and manual processes
  to understand potential benefits
• Conduct a limited use pilot program

• Integrate with specialized portals for buyers and
  sellers
• Provide Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory tracking and
  purchasing capabilities across the supply chain

25
eGrants (Strategic)
Description Create a central source for all
entities that receive USDA grant assistance,
including rural businesses, state/local
governments, and universities, to access, apply
for and manage awards for all USDA grants.
Seamless integration with back-end capabilities
would allow USDA agencies to manage the grant
lifecycle online from customer applications
through USDA financial disbursements.
Rationale The Federal government has recognized
this as a significant function of many agencies
and is developing a Federal-wide approach to
electronic grants, called Federal Commons.
Legislation also mandates that Federal agencies
streamline and improve their grants processes.
USDA agencies that provide significant grants to
public and private organizations are involved in
the interdepartmental collaboration mentioned
above. However, the Department must aggressively
ensure that USDA stakeholder needs are being met.
The eGovernment Readiness Assessment shows
industry readiness is high and many universities,
research organizations and state governments are
actively utilizing eCommerce capabilities to seek
faster, more efficient ways to manage the grant
process.
Start Small
Think Big

• Implement a web-based grants management workflow
  system that includes both the development of a
  grant across Departments and management of the
  approved grant by its recipient(s)
• Create grant-writing collaboration capability and
  integrate with web-based grants management system

• Complete CSREES pilot proposed in 4th Quarter
  GPEA report
• Participate in interdepartmental grant
  streamlining effort
• Develop requirements for Department-wide eGrant
  capability

26
Food Safety and Security Tools (Strategic)
Description Develop interdepartmental
capabilities for collaboration and real-time data
collection and retrieval for inspectors at plants
and ports. Inspectors and other field employees
for FSIS, APHIS and GIPSA would have tools, i.e.
handheld devices, laptops and other mobile
equipment, to make decisions quickly and
communicate this across the appropriate channels,
including USDA Headquarters, other field
locations, partner Federal agencies such as FDA,
CDC, EPA, and Customs and state and local
governments. Rationale The increased emphasis on
Homeland Security make safety of the US food
supply one of the top priorities for this
Department and heighten the expectations that the
USDA will successfully fulfill its mission with
the best means available. This initiative will be
crucial to modernizing the USDAs food safety and
inspection processes and ensuring cohesive
integration with efforts at other Federal
Departments, such as the International Trade Data
Exchange.
Start Small
Think Big

• Actively collaborate on existing efforts in other
  government Departments (FDA, EPA, Customs)

• Deploy smart ID tags that link to a central data
  repository to assist in tracking food from
  initial processing to distribution
• Deploy handheld computers to field workers for
  data input and data access at time of need
• Integrate with industry and government shipping
  and tracking data to provide field workers richer
  data to act on
• Develop advanced data mining and reporting
  capabilities on central data repositories

27
Human Resources Online (Strategic)
Description Enable employees to manage a suite of
human resource-related issues online and assist
in human resource planning and administration.
This initiative would allow centralized online HR
functions such as benefits administration, time
and attendance, workforce planning, and
recruiting to be managed through one Internet
interface. It would provide self-service tools
for employees to update their personal
information, check vacation time, and access
benefits information. It will also allow managers
to assess their human resource needs quickly,
provide greater insight on employees skillsets
and make available internal job postings and
listings. Rationale This initiative will
consolidate multiple efforts in the Department,
and successful agency initiatives, such as CAMS,
can be leveraged to achieve results quickly
across the Department. Significant cost savings
can be achieved by moving to an Internet-based HR
system, and employees will be be able to spend
more time on mission-critical work versus
administrative tasks.
Start Small
Think Big

• Consolidate time and attendance efforts and build
  Department-wide solution
• Develop HR portal with informational content and
  centralized contact capability
• Define formal strategy and investigate
  outsourcing opportunities
• Enhance employee database to include expanded and
  secure editable data about each employee
• Negotiate partnerships with industry leaders in
  online classified ads (monster.com, hotjobs.com)
  to advertise USDA positions outside traditional
  government recruiting mechanisms

• Deploy online benefits and compensation access
  across the Department
• Develop a standard online recruiting tool and
  recruiting support solution
• Deploy a web-based travel management and expense
  reporting, tracking, and approval system

28
ePermits/Certificates (Strategic)
Description Create an online application to issue
permits and provide certificates to USDAs
customers. This application would allow users to
submit permit applications, receive notifications
of expirations, and access options for renewal.
Internal workflow technologies and integration
with other eGovernment initiatives would allow
reviews of applications by appropriate persons
and automatic scheduling of physical inspections
if necessary. Rationale The opportunity to
streamline the issuance of certificates, permits
and other regulation-based verifications was
cited as one of the most significant
opportunities for reducing paper-intensive
processes. Planned capabilities by several
agencies (FS, FSIS, and APHIS) demonstrated that
this was an opportunity for the Department to
provide one solution and mitigate redundancy and
duplicative processes and save human and
financial resources.
Start Small
Think Big

• Integrate ePermits/Certificate capability with
  citizen/partner database for authentication,
  notification of renewals, automatic charges,
  scheduled inspection visits
• Develop workflow processes between USDA and
  offline printers to create and mail permits
  and/or certificates upon online processing to
  dramatically cut processing time
• Build CRM capability to support
  ePermits/certificates

• Migrate all application forms online and provide
  send capabilities that route to the appropriate
  agency
• Develop basic eCommerce capability for online
  payments and annual renewals

29
Financial Management Tools (Strategic)
Description Develop Department-wide financial
management capabilities that would include online
reporting for existing financial management
packages and a global eCommerce capability to
handle billing needs. This initiative would focus
on providing tools for managers and program
directors to quickly access budgeting and
financial information as well as provide
reporting capabilities between agencies, the
National Finance Center and the Department of
Treasury. Rationale USDAs financial management
has consistently been cited as a material
weakness by GAO, and OMB has also blocked funding
requests for USDA proposals because of their lack
of confidence in USDAs financial management
capabilities. USDAs senior executives
consistently provided feedback that a lack of
clear, real-time financial information inhibits
key decision-making. While USDAs financial
management has drastically improved in the past
10 years, leaders still need financial management
tools that will allow them to access and analyze
information to help them improve the delivery of
USDAs programs and services.
Start Small
Think Big

• Develop reporting engine to aggregate and report
  on legacy data across disparate financial systems

• Develop online invoice/tracking/payment system
• Create online connectivity between NFC financial
  management applications and agency data for
  real-time status checks, packaged analysis, and
  decision support capabilities

30
eEligibility (Strategic)
Description Build a "one-stop" eligibility shop
for customers to determine the USDA programs and
services for which they are eligible across
agencies. Once citizens and public/private
organizations create an initial prescreening
profile and determine their potential
eligibility, they would be able to apply through
multiple mechanisms and manage the application
process online. Internally, CRM capabilities
would be built to assist program administrators
in managing and communicating with
citizens. Rationale Often citizens are unaware of
Federal programs and lack general information
about program availability. Across the Federal
government, this has been identified as a top
problem. USDA senior executives also supported
the need for this initiative by indicating that
increasing program participation is a high
priority over the next few years.
Start Small
Think Big

• Create engine to allow citizens to enter data and
  determine real-time eligibility for all USDA
  programs
• Integrate with workflow/document management
  solution to allow citizens to apply online for
  program assistance. Applications would be routed
  to the appropriate Federal, state, or local level
• Build citizen management capability to track
  status of program application and notify program
  owner of changes/needs
• Build data mining capabilities to scan customer
  database proactively for potential eligibility
  candidates

• Aggregate application procedures and contact
  information for all USDA programs
• Create one central eligibility location on
  www.usda.gov and make available a comprehensive
  listing of all programs and contact information
  (and online forms if they exist)

31
Nutrion/Dietary Guidelines/Food Safety Awareness
Program (Strategic)
Description Develop a multi-media outreach and
education program to improve citizens'
nutritional habits and food safety awareness.
This campaign would focus on nutrition and eating
habits for school children, low-income families,
and the general population. Opportunities exist
to develop an interdepartmental approach by
collaborating with the Department of Health and
Human Services and building off the US Surgeon
Generals healthy eating campaign. The nutrition
campaign would use both traditional media
outlets, such as television and radio, and new
media, such as the Web, PDAs, and grocery store
kiosks to encourage healthy and safe eating
habits. Personalized service can connect people
with local dieticians, conduct online dietary
assessments, and provide suggested menus,
healthy-eating shopping lists and coupons for
nutritional foods. Rationale Improving the
nutritional status and dietary intake of children
and the American public is a central tenet of
USDAs mission and was cited as a top priority of
the Administration and USDA senior leadership.
USDAs traditional approach for nutrition
education has focused on labor-intensive methods
working with small audiences and discrete groups
of program recipients. Initial attempts to use
the Internet for nutrition promotion, such as
nutrition.gov and the interactive healthy eating
index, have demonstrated tremendous interest by
citizens who are constantly seeking more specific
advice. The USDA can build off these initial
steps and coordinate across the Federal
government to ensure an effective target campaign
is launched.

• Develop advanced CRM capabilities for citizen
  outreach programs
• Deploy push technologies for alerting and
  awareness of food safety, nutrition, and dietary
  guidelines. The alerts would be available via
  email, pager, cell phone, instant messenger, or
  fax

• Conduct a comprehensive review and potential
  redesign of nutrition.gov
• Conduct an online marketing campaign and cross
  pollinate content with partners
• Develop citizen-focused eLearning around relevant
  topics such as obesity and food safety

32
eRulemaking (Strategic)
Description Develop an online forum for accepting
public and internal comments on rules and
regulations authored by USDA agencies. This
capability would also expedite feedback and
collaboration with USDAs regulated and
partnering industry when formulating and
developing policies. Rationale The
Administration has consistently indicated that
one of the most powerful benefits of eGovernment
is the enhanced opportunity to increase
democratic participation to bring Washington
closer to the people. It is a Quicksilver
initiative to develop online capabilities to
receive and process public comments on laws and
regulations. Similarly, USDA agencies, such as
the Forest Service, have already begun accepting
public comments. This initiative will enhance
policy development and acceptance, improve
awareness of procedures and regulations and
improve satisfaction of citizens and
public/private organizations that work with the
USDA.
Start Small
Think Big

• Build capability on customer database to
  proactively notify citizen of relevant rulemaking
  that is taking place
• Utilize third party webcast capability to show
  oral presentations of rules and other relevant
  information
• Develop rules portal to aggregate all relevant
  information about the rules and regulations being
  discussed in one central location

• Develop moderated discussion boards and chat
  rooms for real-time comment and dialogue about
  rules in question
• Develop ability to solicit comment through
  multiple sources and aggregate back to single
  source for searching and viewing
• Integrate with customer database and other whos
  who databases to proactively solicit comment
  from experts in the areas in question

33
eMAPS with GIS Knowledge (Strategic)
Description Create capabilities that allow users
to generate environmental and social maps to be
displayed electronically. This initiative would
allow farmers, rural planners, conservationists,
researchers and other agriculture/land management
specialists to enhancing planning and development
with tools and real-time information about
land-usage. Rationale This initiative would
empower practitioners and researchers with the
necessary tools to enhance their decision-making
and analysis processes. By developing a
Department-wide capability, mission areas most
affected, including RD, FFAS and NRE, would be
able to pool their resources to create the most
optimal set of capabilities that would benefit
all of their constituents.
Start Small
Think Big

• Consolidate existing Departmental efforts and
  define requirements for Department and
  Inter-departmental application
• Build online retrieval capability for currently
  available GIS data

• Create subscription capability for other Federal
  Departments and partners for potential revenue
  generation

34
Physical Asset Management (Strategic)
Description Develop electronic capabilities to
manage efficiently all USDA-owned physical
assets, including real estate, vehicles, plans,
computers, furniture, etc. in Headquarters and
the Field. This capability would allow inventory
tracking and surplus management. Rationale This
initiative would improve security, reduce theft,
and mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse. It would
also provide insight in reducing costs,
recommending upgrades at the necessary times and
optimizing asset usage.
Start Small
Think Big

• Deploy online maintenance request tracking system
• Deploy a service request assignment tool, i.e.
  manager tool for work allocation
• Create an automatic notification system for
  security/emergency events

• Deploy an asset tracking database and reporting
  capability
• Assign barcode tags to all physical assets in all
  USDA buildings for active tracking and management
• Deploy RF-ID tags for sensitive assets to
  constantly report status of asset to central data
  repository
• Integrate with eProcurement capability to
  purchase new assets based on reports generated
  from asset management system

35
Survey Capability (Strategic)
Description Develop a global survey instrument or
outsourcing arrangement to perform surveys
requiring data collection from both internal and
external sources. Rationale Data collection is a
constant, core activity for several agencies, and
each is currently working on its own survey
capability. The development of a single
capability or suite of capabilities along with
some potential outsourcing arrangements will save
agencies money and will potentially enable
surveys to be delivered more quickly.
Outsourcing also has the potential to save on
upgrade costs, etc., and mitigates the concern of
having out of date systems

• Consolidate agency efforts and define
  requirements for Department-wide solution
• Investigate outsourcing opportunities for certain
  surveys

• Integrate survey solution with customer database
  to ensure no collection of data is redundant
• Create survey creation center for agencies who
  would like to conduct surveys purchase,
  creation, and management of survey is conducted
  from one central location
• Create robust online reporting and data analysis
  capabilities

36
USDA Web Presence (Enabler)
Description Enhance the USDA web presence to
ensure one customer experience that allows users,
including citizens and public/private
organizations, to navigate USDAs web site based
on their desired tasks, rather than by the USDA's
organizational structure. The redesign of USDAs
web presence would include standard
user-interfaces (UI) for a consistent look and
feel across all USDA sites and web-based
applications. Rationale As the USDA web presence
matures, and increasing amounts of data and
applications are available online, the USDA must
ensure a simple and consistent user experience
across the Department. While many USDA agencys
web sites are unique and do not share customer
groups, these web standards will instill a high
level of usability and ease of navigation,
ultimately translating to a more effective
customer experience.

Start Small
Think Big

• Develop an advanced search engine for searching
  all USDA web sites
• Enforce robust meta-data standards for all web
  pages available publicly and internally in order
  to yield better search results
• Create or outsource a usability lab for testing
  all online applications to ensure ease of use
• Create Centrally Controlled Style Sheet (CCS) for
  consistent look and feel of standard elements
  across all sites (headers, footers, body text,
  links, etc.)

• Publish a UI style guide for all USDA web-based
  content and applications
• Perform comprehensive usability testing and focus
  groups to determine citizen and industry partner
  intentions
• Define use cases based on usability testing and
  focus groups that will ultimately determine
  navigation structure for web presence
• Develop an automated Section 508 testing tool

37
User Authentication and Electronic Signatures
(Enabler)
Description Create a Department-wide strategy to
define a set of solutions for handling electronic
signatures for citizens, partners and employees.
This initiative will outline the specifications
for selecting the most appropriate method based
on risk and security levels and will develop a
core set of Departmental capabilities around each
one. Rationale In order to execute business
transactions and accept forms online, the USDA
must be able to identify, verify, and
authenticate the user. Each agency cited the need
and urgency for the Department to develop an
approach that would save crucial time and money
across the Department. Implementing a consistent
solution will enhance the integration
capabilities across the Department.
Start Small
Think Big

• Define electronic signatures guidance for the
  Department
• Enhance employee database to serve as globally
  available user authentication tool
• Provide guidance and perform vendor analysis on
  PKI and/or similar solutions

• Work with other Government Departments to deploy
  cross-government user authentication and rights
  management

38
Portal Strategy (Enabler)
Description Create a Departmental portal strategy
that outlines how the USDA will develop portals
for various citizen, public/private organization
and employee groups. The strategy will define
USDAs approach, including a standard portal
definition, guidelines for development, and a
suite of portal software to be used across the
Department. Rationale Many USDA agencies have
pursued or considered developing portals for
their customers, public/private partners and/or
employees. While each agency provides specific
information unique to its customers, many
agencies share customers or types of information.
Developing a portal strategy for the Department
will reduce citizens search time, save time and
expense on vendor evaluation and licensing costs,
and create a core set of skills to implement
portals.
Start Small
Think Big

• Define Department-wide portal guidance that
  includes recommendations on when to build a
  portal, software/hardware configurations, design
  guidelines, and collaboration with OCIO in its
  development
• Design and implement a portal pilot program with
  one agency to serve as a lessons learned
• Develop commodities, farmers, and conservation
  portals

• Develop and deploy personalization strategy
• Migrate use of portals from only content
  aggregation to aggregation of resources in a
  specific core business process, i.e. support of
  eMarketplaces
• Develop a portal on demand capability for rapid
  deployment of a new portal as needed for cross
  sections of citizens and partners

39
eLearning (Enabler)
Description Develop a Department-wide eLearning
capability that includes a curriculum management
system and courseware. This eLearning offering
would allow employees, partners and citizens to
access interactive courseware by topic. For
citizens, it could potentially be used for
education on agriculture topics as conservation
planning, risk management techniques and
improved crop yield. For partners, it may
provide specific step-by-step training for
administering USDA programs including
guidelines/requirements. For employees, this
capability could include tailored training by
level, job type, and/or agency.
Rationale Successful execution of the
Departments mission relies upon
knowledge-intensive work. The ability to provide
training efficiently to a delivery network across
the globe was cited as one of the most
significant internal challenges the Department
faces. Additionally, USDA must provide education
to the people it serves in a meaningful enough
manner to enhance their lives. As the Department
continues to face workforce constraints, it will
need to aggressively pursue the eGovernment
technology as a means to provide learning
opportunities comprehensively.
Start Small
Think Big

• Investigate outsourcing or develop a
  Department-wide curriculum management capability
• Develop online registration capabilities for
  offline course material
• Migrate existing online course material to run
  within curriculum management system
• Define online standards (user interface, language
  support, system requirements, etc.) for eLearning
  applications

• Investigate outsourcing arrangements for
  migration of offline curriculum to be provided
  online
• Transform USDA Graduate School to an online
  university and a potential profit center
• Develop advanced business simulation capabilities
• Integrate with knowledge management system to
  provide training at point of need

40
Electronic Document/Records Management with
Workflow (Enabler)
Description Develop a Departmental solution for
managing both documents and official records
electronically. This initiative would
specifically develop the following 1) Electronic
management of records (record identification,
expiration tracking, archiving, etc.), 2)
Workflow defining the path and sign-off documents
and records need to take, 3) A Department-wide
taxonomy and search capability for the
intelligent storage and retrieval of documents
and records. Rationale As the Department
transitions to more electronic forms of
information, ensuring information moves
throughout the organization and can be
appropriately stored and easily retrieved is
critical. A Department-wide model would not
only consolidate the multiple ongoing efforts,
but it would greatly accelerate agencies ability
to comply with Federal record management
requirements and the forms automation
requirements outlined in the Government Paperwork
Elimination Act.
Start Small
Think Big

• Deploy document/records/correspondence management
  client software to all PCs in the Department (or
  build a web-based solution accessible via a
  browser)
• Develop advanced search and retrieval
  capabilities (potential integration with web site
  search capabilities to locate other document
  types than web pages)
• Integrate solution with NARA for outsourcing
  storage and archiving capabilities
• Migrate all forms to online venue using
  document/records management and workflow
  capability

• Consolidate current agency efforts and define
  Department-wide requirements
• Define corporate taxonomy
• Finalize and enforce electronic records
  management policy
• Roll out a pilot for a single end-to-end workflow
  process for a standard office document, an
  official record, and/or a correspondence

41
Knowledge Management (Enabler)
Description Create a knowledge-based enterprise
environment in which USDAs employees and
partners benefit from information consistently
shared, used and built upon. This initiative
would include creating an online capability to
share explicit knowledge (files) through
coordinated access and retrieval methods and
tacit knowledge (lessons learned, processes)
through collaboration mechanisms such as instant
messaging and interactive workspaces. This
initiative would also include a content
management capability to support the contribution
of knowledge gained externally, from an online
forum or other available knowledge repository,
and would establish a comprehensive meta-data
model. Rationale Senior executives across the
Department expressed the need to create an
environment in which information is valued as a
strategic asset. Traditionally, organizational
silos have prevented data sharing, knowledge
sharing and collaboration. However, the Internet
can break down these organizational barriers to
open the transfer of information internally and
externally to enable business transactions and
seamless integration across the Department and
with citizens and partners.
Start Small
Think Big

• Deploy standard desktop collaboration software to
  all PCs
• Create knowledge manager role at the USDA (or
  re-define Agriculture Library role to include
  enterprise-wide knowledge management)
• Enable the USDA to serve as an external content
  aggregator to better serve its customers
• Deploy intelligent agent/push technologies to
  proactively search for content internally and
  externally and push key business information via
  email, pager, or Instant Messenger
• Develop Department-wide desktop video
  broadcasting capability

• Define a content management strategy
• Pilot content management software package on OCIO
  web site
• Extend meta-data standards and corporate taxonomy
  to all published USDA documents
• Explore additional outsourcing capabilities for
  broadband collaboration
• Unify e-mail systems and build top-down
  messaging/alert capability

42
Data Management (Enabler)
Description Provide the guiding principles and
framework for implementing a corporate data
management program, including 1) The definition
of a Department-wide data dictionary (meta-data
model), 2) The creation of centralized databases
of record and a corporate data architecture,
and 3) Data life-cycle management and data
sharing strategy. Rationale The number of legacy
systems at USDA and the public and private
organizations with which it interacts is very
large. A data management strategy with all of
its components will enable the Department to
better perform back-end integration to bring
enhanced services, and consolidate disparate data
stores in to databases of record. This translates
to the re-use of legacy data, large time savings
for system integration, and additional support
for a knowledge management capability.
Start Small
Think Big

• Consolidate redundant data to databases of
  record throughout the Department
• Establish Department-wide data warehouses that
  include robust APIs for interaction with all
  applications
• Develop and deploy archiving, storage, back-up
  and aging strategy

• Define common data dictionary for future
  development of database-driven applications
• Identify redundant data elements across the
  Department
• Define Department data management strategy for
  use by all application development efforts

43
Application Hosting (Enabler)
Description Enhance current Department-wide
application hosting capabilities to establish a
tiered service model. Cross-Mission Area
efforts and Department-wide efforts would be able
to use this model o sign service level agreements
(SLAs) to obtain various levels of service to
host their eGovernment applications.
Rationale This function is a core capability
required to host cross-agency, and
enterprise-wide applications. Current
capabilities exist but will be enhanced to
accommodate more traffic and will also promote
the standardization of back office platforms
through standard hosting arrangements and
application development guidelines

• Evaluate existing hosting capabilities and make
  recommendations for change
• Evaluate current staffing model and train
  accordingly based on coming eGovernment
  applications

• Deploy regional data centers hosted by same group
• Develop Service Level Agreement model to be
  utilized by agencies and the Department for
  hosting new applications
• Create vendor assessment group for making
  Department-wide decisions on software (coordinate
  with Enterprise Architecture group)
• Standardize eGovernment technical architecture
  (MS or SUN, etc.)

44
Citizen and Public/Private Organization Database
(Enabler)
Description Create a singe data store that houses
all citizen and public/private organization data.
All internal USDA entities would contribute to,
access and use this data as it relates to their
needs and access rights. This data can also be
used for authentication purposes for citizens and
industry partners. Rationale The eGovernment
Readiness Assessment demonstrated that few USDA
agencies have all of their customer and partner
information centrally stored in an easily
accessible and maintainable manner. A typical
citizen and public/private organization that
interacts with several USDA agencies must also
provide duplicative information because of the
lack of data sharing between the agencies. This
capability will reduce public burden, enable
cross-agency collaboration, and provide
heightened customer service. Furthermore, it will
enhance mission fulfillment and program
utilization by allowing agencies to proactively
target customers for USDA programs according to
their profile.

• Establish standards for data model/information to
  be stored
• Aggregate all existing customer and partner
  databases
• Purchase, develop, and populate initial database
• Develop API/stored procedures for standard
  queries to the database from any online
  application

• Develop advanced reporting capabilities on
  repository
• Develop online application for citizen use to
  search repository on non-private data for
  collaboration purposes
• Create applications to support communities of
  interest and communities of buyers based on
  database profiles and participation

45
Service Center eEnablement (Enabler)
Description Enrich the experience of USDA
customers visiting county-based Service Centers
by providing web-based kiosks and computer
centers to allow them to access and use
self-service options for new and enhance
resources focused on their customer needs.
Farmers, rural citizens and others should be able
to access their accounts by themselves or with
assistance and begin benefiting from USDAs
online services. Rationale Ensuring the
viability of American farmers is at the core of
USDAs mission, and as technology continues to
advance many farmers are being left behind. As
the USDA develops its online presence, it must
seek all opportunities to ensure its constituents
are not further isolated. This initiative will
increase acceptance of USDAs online service
offerings by integrating the Internet into a
familiar environment. It will allow those
without computers or Internet access to enjoy the
benefits of the Internet and will assist in
partially bridging the Digital Divide in rural
areas. It will also further empower farmers to
help themselves as much as possible and optimize
one-on-one counseling time.
Start Small
Think Big

• Deploy kiosks at Service Centers to enable online
  access for those customers without home access

• Provide computer centers with Internet access for
  citizens in Service Centers

46
CRM for Service Centers (Enabler)
Description Develop integrated capabilities to
manage Service Center customers by connecting
multiple channels, i.e. telephone calls, Internet
accounts and in-person visits, with the same
customer accounts and appropriate data. This
would allow Service Center employees to manage
the relationship between the USDA and its
customers by tracking visits, correspondence,
inquiries and services provided through customer
data summaries. Citizens would be provided a
similar customer experience regardless of the
method in which they interact with the Service
Center. Rationale Ultimately CRM capabilities
will allow USDA employees to provide improved
customer/citizen service. They will be empowered
with information and past history of the customer
in order to best serve his or her needs. Also,
the data can be used to improve service delivery
and provide target awareness of relevant
information.

• Create multiple interaction points for citizens
  to achieve similar tasks, i.e. phone, email, Web,
  fax. Single phone number, however can be used to
  reach any agency.

• Deploy CRM package for use by Service
  Representatives and Call Centers to better manage
  customer relationship and have real-time access
  to relevant information
• Integrate with customer database to enable
  Service Center to provide more guidance and
  personalization online and to help customers more
  effectively
• Create global work order number for all tasks
  that follow the lifecycle of a business process.
  Customer can reference that number at any point
  and Service Representative can retrieve relevant
  data and status of completion, etc.