Making eGovernment Web Sites Usable
Forrester applied our Web Site Review methodology to evaluate the citizen experience at seven major federal eGovernment sites. The Federal Student Aid site led the pack in usability, with the Social Security Administration and the USAJobs sites tied for a distant second. But even on the best site, we found significant design flaws that impede citizen adoption of eGovernment. To get the basics right, agency managers should adopt site design best practices by employing the discipline of persona-centric Scenario Design in their ongoing improvement efforts.
Government leaders envisioned eGovernment portals as a set of low-cost, comprehensive, online access points for government information and services. But existing efforts have failed to lure two-thirds of citizens online to conduct business with the government. Why? Federal agencies face considerable challenges in implementing a comprehensive self-service model. For example, the need for universal access raises the bar for federal Web sites -- unlike a private enterprise, government managers cannot choose which citizens agencies will and won't serve. And agency silos restrict implementation -- agency leaders must coax an entrenched bureaucratic culture to shift from an industrial-age, program-centric model of stovepiped channels to a consumer-centric model with services ubiquitously delivered across multiple channels. We've found that agency Web sites are not designed for easy access to services, and agency managers have not re-engineered processes to optimize the channel.
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OMB Raises The Bar For Federal Enterprise Architecture
On December 13, 2005, the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) launched version 2.0 of its Enterprise Architecture Assessment Framework. In March 2006, OMB will assess all agencies, and those that haven't made any progress since completing EA artifacts and achieving an "effective" rating will find that their scores have slipped.
What is changing? OMB expanded the scope for EA assessments and agency program managers, and IT managers must show that they are using their EA in all planning, investment, and portfolio management processes. Most agencies won't be ready to meet the new goals. But there's an alternative -- agencies that can show that their EA programs have contributed significantly to mission performance get a leg up in the rating. Agencies' best route to an "effective" rating will combine strenuous efforts on long-term process improvements with opportunistic applications of EA expertise to burning business issues to generate near-term successes.
Canadian Government CIOs Re-Establish Authority And Effectiveness Via IT Program Offices
Many stakeholders wield authority over project activity in Canadian government IT programs. In many cases, the business community has stepped in and assumed leadership roles in key projects. For IT executives, the pendulum swing of project control toward the business erodes IT's ability to ensure project success -- CIOs can't apply common methodologies, standards, and best practices to projects. And with project authority moving away from centrally controlled IT, organizations lose their holistic approach to technology and CEOs can't get a portfolio view across major initiatives. IT executives are responding to these authority shifts by reinvigorating their program offices, which determines the degree of leadership and influence wielded by the CIO. Proactive program offices that use an active "consult and influence" approach have proven to help CIOs re-balance accountability and authority.
Human Services Agencies Turn To Enterprise Framework Software
For decades, state and local health and human services (HHS) agencies have been saddled with complex, expensive, and stovepiped legacy information systems. Some agencies have attempted modernization using federally mandated transfer systems with generally unsatisfactory results: high costs, long delays, and dated system technology. But there's light at the end of the tunnel. Agencies are re-engineering their business processes and turning to a new kind of software for human services -- the enterprise framework -- to create a flexible, cross-program service platform based on service-oriented architecture. The expected result? Easier access to services for citizens and lower costs for agencies. Forrester predicts that this approach to HHS systems will transition quickly to the mainstream market and lay the foundation for an IT systems and management shift toward digital business architecture.
Seven Critical Success Factors For An Effective Government Records Management Program
For US government agencies, records management (RM) encompasses a wealth of information beyond electronic records, including books, papers, maps, and photographs, even government correspondence. But many records management projects in government agencies fail, plagued by complexity and inadequate resources.
Agencies can lower their risk of failure by: 1) defining RM policies before implementing an RM system; 2) creating a dedicated, multidisciplinary project team; 3) selecting appropriate RM technologies like message archiving, electronic RM, and enterprise content management (ECM); 4) conducting awareness training for end users and administrators; 5) implementing consistent document declaration; 6) monitoring the quality of compliance and legal risk mitigation; and 7) conducting independent audits of users' access rights, file plan, and document declaration methods. These seven steps will dramatically improve the success of RM efforts by US and worldwide public agencies.
Lessons Learned From The Hurricane Katrina Recovery Effort
As recovery continues, Forrester has assembled some practical lessons to take from the disaster. Katrina's destruction underscores the importance of data center site selection, local risk assessment, and the vulnerabilities of terrestrial wireless and landlines.
To be prepared, government organizations need to focus on the impact of dependency on public infrastructure and the proficiency of business partners, transportation, and distribution infrastructure. And don't depend on terrestrial wireless. Although terrestrial (line-of-sight) wireless proved surprisingly resilient in some of the storm-affected areas, the communications breakdowns that Hurricane Katrina caused demonstrated that plans dependent on mobile telephony are prone to disruption and failure. Thus, despite the relatively high cost, firms should consider selectively provisioning satellite phones for operations managers and response coordinators at key operations sites.
Get In Touch
We are very interested in your feedback on our research. Do you have topics to recommend, data you would like to have, or technologies you want assessed? Drop me a line at geneleganza@forrester.com so we can connect.
Gene Leganza
VP, Government Research
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