Web Management Task Force
Final Report
May 19, 2000
Background
The President and Congress have mandated that all federal agencies
use the web to implement electronic government and paperwork elimination,
to the extent it's practical (see
Attachment A). Toward that end, the Deputy Secretary established
a Web Management Task Force and assigned the Task Force to create
a visionary proposal that articulates the web management structure
necessary to achieve the mandates.
Methodology
A 14-member Task Force was designated by the Deputy Secretary to
assess the current situation at HUD, investigate web management
operations at other agencies and organizations, and formulate recommendations.
The Task Force was assigned a tight schedule so that management
decisions can proceed expeditiously. In addition to the 14 Task
Force members, 22 managers and staff assisted in data collection
and analysis. The Office of the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field
Policy and Management represented the field. A complete list of
participants is attached (Attachment
B).
Task force members worked in teams of 2 or 3. Each team was assigned
to:
- interview web managers and key staff in specific organizations;
- interview web managers and key staff in other federal agencies
assigned;
- interview web managers and key staff at private sector organizations
assigned;
- review significant documents related to web management, including
the Department's web policies, web manager job descriptions, and
the President's memoranda on Electronic Government and Use of
Information Technology to Improve Our Society, provided in an
introductory packet; and
- review results of surveys of Headquarters and Field Office
web managers and select Senior Community Builders.
During the course of the Task Force, members and staff:
- interviewed 13 HUD web managers
- interviewed 7 HUD program managers
- reviewed survey responses from 46 field web managers (Attachment
C) and 7 Headquarters web managers (Attachment
D);
- reviewed survey responses from 7 Senior Community Builders selected
for this project (Attachment
E);
- interviewed web managers and officials at these federal agencies:
Air Force, Census, IRS, SBA, FDIC
- interviewed web managers and officials at these private sector
organizations: American Red Cross, Legg Mason, and Washington
Post.Newsweek Interactive
- received e-mail feedback from Government Executive Magazine
and ABC News
A complete list of people interviewed and surveyed appears in Attachment
F. A summary of the team reports appears in Attachment
G.
Issues and Recommendations
Issue 1: Implementing "electronic government" at HUD will require
a cultural change, from the top on down.
HUD's executives - on the whole - are extremely supportive of the
Department's web-related efforts. They are proud of HUD's successes
and are quick to say "get it on the web" about their major efforts.
There are a few excellent examples of using the web to improve
the way we work with our partners, including:
- the new Departmental Grants Management
System;
- the PIH Information Center (which
has been singled out by the upcoming E-Gov Conference as a "best
practice");
- FHA Connection (which was a semi-finalist
in last year's Global Information Infrastructure awards competition);
- FHEO's TEAPOTS system;
- CPD's Integrated Disbursement and
Information System; and
- the REAC systems.
There also are a few excellent examples of using the web to improve
the way we work with citizens, including:
- the FHA Refunds search;
- the online fair housing complaint
form; and
- the Community 2020 maps.
But few managers have electronic government on their radar screens.
Most HUD managers - and staff, too, for that matter - fail to recognize
that there are two parts to managing "the web:" managing the content
(i.e., deciding what goes on the web, how it looks, how it sounds,
how the audience is best-served, marketing the product, etc.) and
managing the technology (i.e., converting documents into HTML, running
the servers, researching new technical capabilities, etc.). Managing
a web site is very similar to running a major newspaper - you need
editors and reporters on one side, and you need printing and distribution
on the other.
There is a real tendency among managers and staff to hear "web"
and "electronic government" and think, "ah ha - that's technology...the
technology staff will take care of that." Consequently, content
management often is lumped together with technology management and
delegated to technology staffs. Indeed, some technology staffs in
HUD are figuring out how to use the web effectively. But if HUD
is to do this job right, then every manager at every level has to
focus on using the web in creative ways to support current product
delivery and to deliver new products and services, made possible
by the fact that we have this direct conduit to the public and our
employees.
Because creating electronic government has not been among the priorities
of most managers, funding has been inadequate to support even current
demands, much less development of new technologies. In fact, year
after year, the budgets that support content development and infrastructure
improvements have been cut. Implementing new technologies, to support
electronic government initiatives, will require much larger investments
than the Department has been willing to make. Senior Departmental
officials must recognize the need for - and commit to providing
- the funds necessary to support electronic government, or it just
won't happen.
Results: In many cases, the web is just an afterthought.
We're still using the web to post information we developed for some
other purpose or to automate existing work processes, without really
evaluating whether they're needed or how they could be streamlined.
A perfect example of this is the Department's forms. Most are posted,
just as they look on paper. In some cases, we've programmed them
so that the users can fill them in online. Then they have to print
them out and process them manually. Nothing really has changed.
It is not uncommon to see an office automate a business process
through the internet; but as soon as the information comes inside
HUD, it hits old manual processes. If we are going to create electronic
government, then both external and internal processes have to be
automated via the web; and we have to make sure those processes
are seamless.
With a few notable exceptions - the new Departmental Grants Management
System being one - there are very few references to using the web,
in any of the Department's official "plans." And - as with any initiative
- if efforts to implement electronic government are not included in
the Department's plans, then they do not receive sufficient funding
to succeed. Consequently, funding for the web infrastructure and development
has been left to Administration to develop and defend, with little
success. Electronic government is not part of HUD's culture, yet.
Recommendations:
- Ensure that every manager incorporates electronic government
initiatives and initiatives that utilize the web into Department
plans, including the strategic plan, the annual plan, the business
and operating plans, and performance plans; and ensure that progress
is monitored and reported regularly, particularly at Management
Committee meetings. Ensure that funding - both for web content
management and for technology infrastructure and development -
is adequate to accomplish these plans.
- Issue a clear directive to all Department executives and managers
requiring that they allocate sufficient resources to both web
content management and web technical support. At a minimum, they
should implement the staffing recommendations identified in Issue
2. In the long run, the Department should use the workload measurement
process being developed by the National Academy of Public Administration
to identify and allocate appropriate resources to web content
management and technical support.
- Educate all HUD managers - from top executives to Senior Community
Builders and program managers - on opportunities for using the
web, not only to do current work in new ways but also to provide
products (information and services) to citizens, business partners,
and employees that were heretofore not possible. Task the Departmental
Web Team to provide specific suggestions for each program area.
Issue 2: Staffing is inadequate to accomplish web management
responsibilities
HUD has more than 100 Web Managers (22 in Headquarters, 79 in the
field) who have made tremendous contributions to HUD's award-winning
web sites, many using their own personal time and resources. There
is much to be proud of.
However, web managers both in Headquarters and in the field uniformly
report that they cannot complete all their web duties. They report
that important duties are neglected because they don't have the time,
the skills, or the management support to complete them. Because most
of the web managers must do both content duties (writing/editing,
marketing/outreach, management consulting) and technical duties (document
creation/conversion, posting), they end up spending a sizable portion
of their time on the latter, at the expense of the former.
Only one Headquarters organization - the Chief Procurement Officer
- has a full-time web manager, and that office has excelled in using
the web to deliver information and services. All other Headquarters
offices - and all field offices - assign web manager duties to staff
at various levels within the organization who may or may not possess
the skills to do the content development, marketing and outreach,
and management consulting activities required and who already have
jobs that require close to full-time attention.
Result: Web products and marketing suffer - pages are incomplete
or out of date; content is "under construction" far too long; content
organization is lacking; important components of HUD's organization
are not represented or are represented poorly; visitors to HUD's
web pages (both internal and external) become frustrated because
what they want is not available or is confusing. Citizens and business
partners who contact HUD via e-mail get responses with varying degrees
of speed. In short, current web managers are not able to do all
they're asked to do now, much less the additional work associated
with implementing electronic government and paperwork elimination.
Web managers often are not able to be influential within their
organizations. It is not uncommon for program managers to develop
new web-based applications without the involvement of the program
web manager, even though the web manager is responsible for making
sure that applications retain the "look and feel" of HUD's web sites,
that terminology is consistent, and that they are user-friendly.
Some web managers, both in Headquarters and the Field, feel they
lack authority to edit documents they're given to post. In fact,
in many cases, the web managers are relegated to being there to
"type and post."
Recommendations:
- Designate web managers who are exclusively responsible for content-related
duties (writing, editing, marketing, outreach, and management
consulting) and who act as entrepreneurs to stir up new "business"
for the web sites.
- Designate full-time web managers in major offices in Headquarters
(Housing, PIH, CPD, FHEO, REAC, CFO, and Administration) and
in the 10 Secretary's Representatives' offices. The CPO already
has a full-time web manager and should continue to do so.
Web Managers should be designated or selected because they
possess the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary
to be an effective web manager (i.e., writing, editing, communication,
management analysis, negotiating, planning, public speaking
They should be at a sufficiently high level within the organization
to ensure their success.
-
Identify and/or reassign resources
so that other offices in Headquarters have a half-time web
manager. Web manager duties should be included in their
PDs and performance standards, and they should be designated
or selected because they have the specific knowledge, skills,
and abilities necessary to be an effective web manager (i.e.,
writing, editing, communication, management analysis, negotiating,
planning, public speaking). They should be at a sufficiently
high level within the organization to ensure their success.
- Empower program office and field web managers by involving them
in all management planning processes and management meetings.
They need to be a key part of the official's top management team
so they can help the organization use the web effectively.
- Assign technical support duties (document conversion, posting,
graphics, etc.) to separate staff or contractors. That way, web
managers can focus on content development, marketing, and outreach
efforts, for which they were selected.
Issue 3: Training for Web Managers is inadequate.
Though the current job description for web managers focuses on
content, in fact, they spend a sizable portion of their time performing
technical functions. Some lack skills to do the former. Most lack
skills to do the latter.
In the past 5 years, the Departmental Web Team has organized and
conducted 3 Departmentwide web manager training conferences which
focused primarily on content development, marketing, and outreach.
In addition, they organized approximately 20 smaller technical training
sessions. A well-intentioned attempt to create a computer-based
tutorial on the web authoring software fell short. Three years ago,
the HUD Training Academy offered HTML training for about 100 HUD
employees in Headquarters, but no additional training has been provided.
For the most part, web managers are self-taught.
Result: Web managers spend much of the little time they
have for web activities trying to figure out how to put their content
on the computer. Web managers in the field, in particular, suffer.
Though they try to help one another, sometimes even borrowing files,
and though they get phone assistance from the very busy contractors
who support the Departmental Web Team, they complain about lack
of technical training. A few also complain about a lack of writing/editing
and marketing skills; but by far, the biggest problem is the lack
of technical training. Of course, this is compounded by the fact
that HUD's standard software package for web authoring is antiquated
and difficult to use.
Recommendations:
- Fund regular training to develop skills needed to be a successful
web manager, including training on writing/editing, marketing,
public speaking and presentations, outreach (focus groups and
web clinics), and management analysis and consulting.
- Develop appropriate training for the staff performing technical
support duties.
- Ensure that technical support staff have adequate tools (web
authoring packages, other software, hardware, appropriate access
to systems, etc.) to do their jobs.
Issue 4: HUD lacks leadership in managing the technical web
infrastructure to ensure that it is adequate to support the demands
of electronic government
HUD was forward-thinking in retaining web management in the Deputy
Secretary's portfolio. Since the Deputy Secretary is HUD's Chief
Operating Officer, this functional assignment ensures that web content
is managed at the highest level in HUD's management structure. Further,
HUD has established a full-time Department Web Team with the knowledge,
skills, and experience to direct web content development and marketing
and outreach efforts and to act as entrepreneurs, to create new
web "business." The Web Team is organizationally placed where it
can be successful, in the Office of the Deputy Secretary. This part
of HUD's web management structure is working well. HUD frequently
is sited as a model, within the federal community and among consultants
advising federal agencies.
However, the Department has not established and empowered a companion
entity to ensure that HUD's technical web infrastructure is adequate
to support product delivery, to ensure that new web-based technologies
are being explored and developed, and to ensure that the web managers
have adequate technical support to do their jobs. In addition, the
Department has not targeted budget resources to expand HUD's technical
capabilities so that we can deliver government services electronically
via the web.
Result: HUD lacks the technical infrastructure to carry
out electronic government, in full.
- We cannot deliver webcasts to employees.
- We do not have the most up-to-date technology to allow us to
communicate and collaborate in real-time, online.
- Program offices who are trying to conduct business processes
via the web are frustrated by the insufficient capacity of the
infrastructure which causes delays and "down time" for users of
major systems.
- The web authoring software that is the Department's standard
is so old and obsolete that the company isn't even supporting
it anymore.
- When technology budgeting is done, requests for web technology
capabilities are fragmented, coming from many different places
in the Department instead of captured in one integrated, comprehensive,
strategic Departmentwide request.
- There is little - if any - research and development of new web-based
technologies and tools which might help managers do their jobs
and implement electronic government more efficiently and effectively.
- There is little effort to assist the Department's Web Managers
in identifying new opportunities to use technology.
Recommendations:
1. Designate a senior-level Web Technology Officer in the CIO's
Office to:
- Work with the Departmental Web Team and with Department managers
to gather management requirements and goals and determine the
commensurate technical support needs;
- Develop and manage a long-term strategic plan that will ensure
that HUD maintains a technical infrastructure that will support
and encourage web-based electronic government;
- Oversee research and development efforts, to ensure that HUD
is seeking opportunities to improve its web technology;
- Lead the efforts to ensure that web technology maintenance and
improvements are adequately presented and defended in budget processes;
and
- Seek creative ways - such as internal technology fairs - to
brief top executives on forthcoming technologies, so that they
can be thinking about how they might use them.
2. Designate or create a senior-level official in the Office of
Administration to ensure that the Department's strategic plan for
web technology is implemented, that technical problems and issues
are identified and resolved quickly, and that technical needs are
presented to the Web Technology Officer in a timely manner so they
can be addressed in both strategic and budgetary planning.
3. The Web Technology Officer and the Assistant Secretary for Administration
(Office of Information Technology) should ensure that web managers
have adequate technical support, including advice on opportunities
to use new technologies.
Conclusion
HUD has much to be proud of. We have been at the cutting edge within
the federal government in using the web to reach out to and empower
citizens, partners, and employees. But if we want to remain in the
vanguard, it's time to invest both time and resources. You get what
you pay for.
The Web Management Task Force urges action on the recommendations
offered in this report, so that a sound management process can be
established before year's end.
Deputy Secretary's Web Management Task Force