Digital Government Strategy - Milestones
1.2 Ensure all new IT systems follow the open data, content, and web API policy and operationalize agency.gov/developer pages.
Overall status: In Progress
1.2.4 Data Inventory Schedule
NARA will follow the OMB requirements for quarterly reporting and will work to maintain the Enterprise Data Inventory by expanding the number of data assets included in the inventory, enriching the metadata, and opening additional data assets by November 1, 2014. NARA will update the enterprise data inventory as data assets are identified throughout the agency or at least quarterly. NARA will work towards the following milestones:
- By February 28, 2014 begin public feedback and staff input; enrich metadata of public assets;
- By May 31, 2014 expand data assets to include resources available on Archives.gov; enrich metadata of public data assets;
- By August 30, 2014 expand data assets to include historical datasets on the agency’s Online Public Access system; enrich metadata of public data assets; and
- By November 30, 2014 expand data assets to include those identified by NARA program offices, staff members, and the public; enrich metadata of public data assets.
Internal nomination of data assets by NARA staff members will be encouraged and reviewed quarterly for new data assets. There will be an “open call” for staff members to identify any data assets over time on the agency’s internal communication network. NARA will work with data asset owners to enrich metadata, including increasing the number of keyword tags and clarifying descriptions of data. NARA will regularly identify new data assets related to information systems through the agency’s Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) process, as business needs are identified.
Data Inventory Milestone Updates:
- February 28, 2014 -- During the first quarter, NARA published initial public data inventory in November 2013, updated and expanded metadata in December 2013, and expanded metadata and added additional public data assets in January 2014. In February 2014, NARA began public feedback by inviting comments and suggestions through the NARAtions Blog with the blog post, “Have Your Say: Open More Data.” NARA also began staff feedback began by inviting comments and suggestions on the agency’s internal communication network and through an internal blog post.
1.2.6 Customer Feedback Process
NARA will consider your suggestions on expanding, enriching, and opening data assets. Please send us your ideas and suggestions through the following channels:
- Email at webprogram@nara.gov,
- Comment on the NARAtions Blog, or
- Open an issue on the feedback repository on the US National Archives GitHub account.
In addition, please send suggestions for alternative formats you would like to see for data assets so that the data can be more easily used.
1.2.7 Data Publication Process
NARA will determine whether data assets have a valid restriction to release and ensure appropriate data assets are made available publicly. This process will include internal review of data assets by the agency’s General Counsel and NARA’s senior leaders. NARA will utilize the access levels of “Public,” “Restricted Public,” and “Non-Public,” as defined by implementation guidance, to categorize all agency data assets.
2.1 Engage with customers to identify at least two existing major customer-facing services that contain high-value data or content as first-move candidates to make compliant with new open data, content, and web API policy.
Overall status: Completed
2.1.1 Paragraph on customer engagement approach:
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) sought input from both the public and staff in the prioritization of first-move candidates. A post on the NARAtions blog garnered several public comments and staff responses. Facebook posts and tweets furthered the dialog as well as a post on Today’s Document Tumblr featuring an mashup of the poster "Uncle Sam wants Your Ideas."
2.1.2 Proposed Candidates to Enable via Web Services (APIs, etc):
FederalRegister.gov
Description: Integration of the Regulations.gov API into FederalRegister.gov and its API. This integration would provide greater access to public comments and supporting documents in Regulations.gov, and improve process for submitting public comments from FederalRegister.gov into Regulations.gov.
Customers: Legal community, advocacy groups, small businesses, the general public.
FederalRegiser.gov API
Description: Expand the FederalRegister.gov API to include the "Public Inspection Desk."
Customers: Legal community, advocacy groups, small businesses, the general public.
Description: Develop an API for FDsys through the Office of Federal Register-Government Printing Office Partnership.
Customers: Legal community, advocacy groups, small businesses, the general public.
Description: Make additional National Archives records available through Wikipedia, which is accessible through the MediaWiki API.
Customers: The general public, historians, researchers, students.
Description: Make additional National Archives records available on Flickr, which is accessible through the Flickr API.
Customers: The general public, historians, researchers, students.
2.2 Make high-value data and content in at least two existing, major customer-facing systems available through web APIs, apply metadata tagging and publish a plan to transition additioanl high-value systems.
Overall status: Completed
2.2.1 Plan on future activity:
In accordance with the Digital Government Strategy, NARA will seek to modernize existing systems to make available high-value data and content via web APIs.
NARA will continue to improve and expand the Federal Register API, a fully open source project, to better serve its customers as necessary. The Federal Register will also seek to create a discrete API for information on Executive Orders.
NARA will begin modernization work to develop an API forthe National Archives Catalog of the National Archives, a high value public-facing system. This multi-year effort to transition the Online Public Access system will seek to make search, as well as descriptive information and digital images of the permanent records of the government available to developers. API capabilities will greatly increase NARA's ability to share government records with third party platforms like Wikipedia and the Digital Public Library of America.
In conjunction with development of an enterprise data inventory for the implementation of the Open Data Policy, NARA will evaluate the feasibility of making high value datasets available through services, like Data.gov, that provide API capabilities.
2.2.2 Systems and datasts available via web APIs:
FederalRegister.gov
Description:Expansion of the FederalRegister.gov API to include Public Inspection Desk, Federal Register Index, and integration with Regulations.gov
Customers: Legal community, advocacy groups, small businesses, the general public.
API link: https://www.federalregister.gov/learn/developers
Executive Orders from 1994-2012
Description:API for Executive Orders from 1994-2012
Customers: Legal community, advocacy groups, small businesses, the general public.
API link: https://explore.data.gov/developers/docs/executive-orders-from-1994-to-2012
Description: Make additional National Archives records available through Wikipedia, which is accessible through the MediaWiki API.
Customers: The general public, historians, researchers, students.
API link: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/API
Description: Make additional National Archives records available on Flickr, which is accessible through the Flickr API.
Customers: The general public, historians, researchers, students.
API link: http://www.flickr.com/services/api/
4.2 Establish an agency-wide governance structure for developing and delivering digital services.
Overall status: In Progress
NARA will create an governance structure to support the newly created Office of Innovation in the development and delivery of digital content and data for the agency. The agency has named a Chief Innovation Officer to lead this effort.
5.2 Develop an enterprise-wide inventory of mobile devices and wireless service contracts.
Overall status: Completed
5.3 Evaluate the government-wide contract vehicles in the alternatives analysis for all new mobile-related procurements.
Overall status: In Progress
NARA will continue to meet the requirements for reporting enterprise-wide inventory of mobile devices and wireless service contracts. Agency cost comparisons will inform NARA's efforts to drive down costs of mobile devices and services as approrpriate. NARA will evaluate the government-wide contract vehicle when it becomes available.
6.3 Ensure all new digital services follow digital services and customer experience improvement guidelines.
Overall status: In Progress
NARA is working to improve digital services for our customers on priority systems including the Online Public Access (OPA) system, Archives.gov, and for agency customers on the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) system.
The online catalog of the National Archives is currently made available to the public through the OPA system. In order to improve this digital service for the customer, NARA will seek to make available a web API, provide mobile optimization, and scale the system to provide access to millions of additional records. Additionally, NARA seeks to provide enhanced capabilities for users to contribute to the catalog through “citizen-contributed” fields, including transcription, translation, comments, and tags. In order to improve Archives.gov as a digital service for our customers, NARA will seek to migrate the site to Drupal, an open source content management system and optimize for mobile use. The ERA system will continue to solicit feedback from agency customers in several areas of the system and use that feedback as a basis for future improvements.
NARA will follow the “Guidelines for Improving Digital Services and Customer Experience” available at http://www.howto.gov/customer-experience/improve-digital-services. Additional work to establish governance boards in the Office of Innovation office will strengthen NARA’s implementation of these guidelines.
NARA has implemented the Digital Analytics Program (DAP) on NARA’s main public-facing website, Archives.gov. NARA will continue to evaluate performance metrics from DAP and other performance measurement tools in order to improve this digital service for our customers.
7.1 Engage with customers to identify at least two existing priority customer-facing services to optimize for mobile use.
Overall status: Completed
7.1.1 Paragraph on customer engagement approach:
NARA sought input from both the public and staff in the prioritization of first-move candidates. A post on the NARAtions blog garnered several public comments and staff responses. Facebook posts and tweets furthered the dialog as well as a post on Today’s Document Tumblr featuring an mashup of the poster "Uncle Sam wants Your Ideas."
7.1.2 Proposed Candidates to Create or Further Optimize for Mobile Use:
Description: Mobile optimize FederalRegister.gov
Customers: Legal community, advocacy groups, small businesses, the general public.
Description: Develop a mobile application based on the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents.
Customers: Legal community, advocacy groups, small businesses, the general public.
Description: Mobile optimize Archives.gov
Customers: The general public, veterans, historians, researchers, students.
Description: Make additional National Archives records available through Wikipedia, which is mobile optimized and available through mobile apps.
Customers: The general public, historians, researchers, students.
Description: Make additional National Archives records available through Flickr, which is mobile optimized and available through mobile apps.
Customers: The general public, historians, researchers, students.
7.2 Optimize at least two existing priority customer-facing services for mobile use and publish a plan for improving additional existing services.
Overall status: Completed
In accordance with the Digital Government Strategy, NARA will seek to optimize existing priority customer-facing services for mobile use. NARA will consider making further enhancements to the mobile optimization of FederalRegister.gov and seek to mobile optimize Archives.gov andthe National Archives Catalog of the National Archives, the Online Public Access system. Additionally, NARA will continue to share the contents ofthe National Archives Catalog with third party sites that are mobile optimized, including Wikipedia, Flickr, and the Digital Public Library of America. Inclusion of the records of the National Archives is an important strategic initiative that represents a significant increase in public access to the records of the federal government – estimated at more than 75 million views per month.
7.2.1 Mobile optimized services
Description: Mobile optimized FederalRegister.gov
Customers: Legal community, advocacy groups, small businesses, the general public.
Link: https://www.federalregister.gov/
Description: Develop a mobile application based on the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents.
Customers: Legal community, advocacy groups, small businesses, the general public.
Link: http://apps.usa.gov/presidential-documents-app.shtml
Description: Mobile app for exhibit makes available photos, documents, and recordings.
Customers: The general public, veterans, historians, researchers, students.
Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/to-brink-jfk-cuban-missile/id570032141?mt=8
Description: Make additional National Archives records available through Wikipedia, which is mobile optimized and available through mobile apps.
Customers: The general public, historians, researchers, students.
Link: http://www.wikipedia.org/
Description: Make additional National Archives records available through Flickr, which is mobile optimized and available through mobile apps.
Customers: The general public, historians, researchers, students.
Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/
8.2 Implement performance and customer satisfaction measuring tools on all .gov websites.
Overall status: In Progress
8.2.1 Implementation of Digital Analytics Program
Description: NARA has implemented the Digital Analytics Program (DAP) on Archives.gov, the agency's main public-facing web site with more than 20,000 pages. NARA has also utilized WebTrends analytics for more than 10 years.
Percent of websites: 13 percent (1 out of 8 second level domains)
Performance data: http://www.archives.gov/metrics/
8.2.2 Implementation of customer satisfaction tool
Description: NARA uses the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey and reviews data monthly. Web staff and program offices review feedback for improvements. NARA utilizes the data and customer segments for site redesign analysis. NARA has participated in the ACSI survey for almost 10 years and was one of the first agencies to utilize transparency-related questions in the survey.
Performance data: http://www.archives.gov/metrics/