u.s. department of agriculture egovernment program design approach for usda.gov april 2003

U.S. Department of Agriculture

eGovernment Program

eGovernment Program

Design Approach for usda.gov

April 2003

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U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program

I. Overview of Project

II. Process to Complete Design Phase

III. Team

IV. Next Steps

Agenda

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OverviewThe usda.gov portal will redefine and improve USDA’s ability to communicate and interact with its customers. Sample capabilities may be:

Improved access to information• Based on user intentions and service needs rather than the current agency-centric approach

• Citizen-centric design: Site is organized by citizen needs not by agency

• 24x7 availability of USDA: “USDA Available Any Place, Any Time”

Redesigned User Interface• Relevant content based on customer groups

• Improved usability and consistent customer experience

Collaboration and communication capabilities• Communities of Interest

• Message boards for posting questions to experts

• Potential subscription and notification services

Search• Robust information retrieval capabilities to quickly locate information

• Initial utilization of FAST search*

* FAST search is the FirstGov search engine.

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Implementation Process

usda.gov will be the first application to utilize the eGovernment “enabler” capabilities.

Marketing and Communications

Program Management Approach (Enterprise Solutions Center)

Develop eGovernment Strategic Plan

• Strategic direction

• 24 Strategic initiatives• Enabling initiatives

• Strategic initiatives

Pre-Select Business Cases

• Initial vision

• Cost/benefit analysis

• Initial impact analysis

Implementation and Investment Planning

• Functional & Technical requirements

• Program management approach

• Comprehensive technical architecture

• Implementation Plans

• Cost/benefit analysis

• Impact analysis

Select-level Business Cases

Change Management Planning and Implementation

Decision to plan and implement Enabling initiatives

Detailed Planning and Design

• Define application requirements

• Design User Interface (UI)

• Conduct usability testing

• Design architecture

• Define Detailed Design

Installation & Testing• Set up hardware

• Install software

• Perform necessary custom development (integration)

• System test

Early Adopter Development / Strategic Initiative Development

Rollout of version 1 of eDeployment capabilities

Project Management

(ongoing)

NOW

usda.gov Architecture

Site Map Use case scenarios Detailed Design

Rollout of eAuthentication Services

Rollout of eLearning

LegendCompleted

In Progress

Not Started

Rollout of usda.gov

usda.gov User Interface

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III. Team

IV. Next Steps

Agenda

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usda.gov Design Phase Process

The following “gameboard” shows the major sequential tasks necessary to complete the design phase of usda.gov.

Project Management

Identify Stake-holders

• Identify key stakeholders

• Identify usda.gov working group

• Define roles and responsibil-ities

Architecture and Detailed DesignAnalysis, Planning, and Design

Define Application Require-ments

• Define and prioritize functional require-ments

• Define and prioritize technical require-ments

Define Information Architecture

• Develop a site map outlining the structure of usda.gov content

• Develop a high-level content model describing the type of content to be included in usda.gov

Develop Use Case Scenarios

• Identify primary customer groups

• Develop use case scenarios detailing interactions between customers and usda.gov

Define Business Process to Contribute Content

• Define and document updated business processes for creating, reviewing, and publishing content on usda.gov

Design User Interface

• Create design mockups

• Develop graphics

• Develop HTML templates for usda.gov

• Develop usda.gov style guide

Conduct Usability Testing

• Create and execute usability test scripts

• Deliver usability test results and provide design recommend-ations

• Update designs

Develop Physical Architecture

• Identify and illustrate the develop-ment, testing, and production architectures

Develop Detailed Design

• Design application components

• Define integration points

• Plan for develop-ment in the next phase

Develop Application Architecture

• Illustrate custom and packaged components and integration points

Ongoing Coordination with the Proof of Concept Prototype and the Enablers Initiatives

Marketing and Communications

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Stakeholders will be identified to review usda.gov deliverables produced during the design phase.

Key stakeholders will be responsible for reviewing each deliverable and providing final sign-off/approval

Additional stakeholders include, but are not limited to:• Office of Communications

• Office of the Chief Information Officer

• Office of the Secretary

• Agency webmasters, content authors and approvers

Stakeholders will review and provide feedback on the following deliverables:

• Functional and Technical Requirements

• Information Architecture / Site Map

• Use Case Scenarios

• Updated Process for Contributing Content

• User Interface Design

• Physical and Application Architecture

• Detailed Design

usda.gov– Design Phase Process Identify Stakeholders

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The Application Requirements define the capabilities and characteristics of the usda.gov portal.

Gathering requirements ensures the required functionality and capabilities described by stakeholders is built during the implementation phase

• Requirements gathered for the Select phase business case will serve as an initial input

• Additional functional and technical requirements will be gathered through facilitated discussions with stakeholders

The final list of functional and technical requirements will be refined, prioritized and finalized

• Requirements will be prioritized by the level of effort to implement, cost constraints, and level of customization required beyond what the enabler solutions will provide

usda.gov– Design Phase Process Define Application Requirements

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The application requirements serve as input to the development of the information architecture

The site map includes a conceptual organization/structure of usda.gov content

• The site map will be created using the prototype site map as initial input

A high-level content model describes the type of content on the site and characteristics of the content

• This will be developed as input to the user interface design

An information architecture includes a site map and a high-level content model. It is the blueprint for how a user will navigate and it defines the information included on each screen.

Sample Site Map

usda.gov– Design Phase Process Define Information Architecture

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Use Case Scenarios demonstrate how a particular customer group interacts with usda.gov. Each scenario defines an action initiated by the user and the corresponding response of the system.

Prior to developing use case scenarios, each customer group who will be directly using usda.gov will be identified

• Identify and prioritize customer groups

• Identify customer intentions and service needs

Using the requirements and information architecture, use case scenarios will be developed to define the user interactions with usda.gov

• The use case scenario maps customer needs to agency information and services

• This includes interactions between each customer group and usda.gov

• The use case scenario also includes alternate paths the user may follow to interact with usda.gov

usda.gov– Design Phase Process Develop Use Case Scenarios

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In the future, content on usda.gov will originate from the Office of Communications and from individual agencies. A consistent process must be defined to regulate these contributions:

Specific content items on a usda.gov Web page or on a section of the usda.gov site will originate from agencies

• A central team will always have final edit authority over what is published on usda.gov to maintain consistency and usability

Using the workflow provided by the Content Management initiative, this central team will be responsible for creating, updating and approving usda.gov content

usda.gov– Design Phase Process Define Business Process for Contributing Content

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Design mockups or wire frames will be created for usda.gov

• Describes the purpose of the Web page, and illustrates each of the areas on the Web page

• Defines the overall layout of a Web page

• Utilizes design mockups developed for the prototype as initial input

Site graphics will be developed• Includes icons, logos, and other graphical

elements of the site

Reusable HTML templates will be created based on the approved design mockups

Leveraging the deliverables from the Web Presence initiative, UI style guidelines will be developed

The UI design defines the layout, style, and graphical presentation of Web pages on usda.gov. The UI design will serve as the basis for building the user experience:

Sample wire frame deliverable:

<Your Page Title>

<leftnavigation

bar>

<text field 2>

<text field 1><functionname 2>

<functionname 4>

<functionname 3>

<function name 1>

<Edit1>

usda.gov– Design Phase Process Design User Interface (UI)

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Usability testing will be conducted to ensure the design of usda.gov is usable by customer groups. Sample tasks include:

Define the usability test approach and logistics• This includes details on how the actual testing will be delivered (user interviews from

design mockups, user interviews from prototype, user acceptance testing, etc)

• Recruit test participants from each targeted customer group

Create usability test scripts • One test script will be created for each of the targeted customer groups

Execute usability test• Execute test scripts

• Collect and document test data

Deliver usability test results and provide design recommendations Update the user interface design based on usability test results

usda.gov– Design Phase Process Conduct Usability Testing

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usda.gov– Design Phase Process Design Physical and Application Architecture

The eDeployment physical architecture will serve as the foundation for the usda.gov physical architecture

Physical architecture areas that will be defined include:

• Configuration of development, testing, and production environments

• Hardware specifications and hosting configuration

• Communications network configurations

• System software components

The application architecture of usda.gov illustrates the integrated components of the application

• Defines the components that map the business requirements to application logic

Application architecture areas that will be defined include:

• Configuration of COTS software

• Custom components required to extend COTS software

• Application integration points

• Data sources and data flow

The physical architecture defines the physical components of the system (e.g., hardware and network specifications) whereas the application architecture describes packaged and custom software components.

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The Detailed Design is a more detailed description of the code-level elements of usda.gov. It is the basis from which developers will construct usda.gov:

The detailed design phase describes the specific parts of the application, the inputs and outputs, and the interaction between the parts

• Detailed design also addresses the interaction between vendor solutions (e.g., interactions between portal software and the search engine)

The detailed design phase includes the planning for the development (build) phases of usda.gov

• Utilizes the Application Architecture

• Determines the number of iterations or development cycles

• Plans developer deliverables

usda.gov– Design Phase Process Develop Detailed Design

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Interdependencies

eAuthentication • Defines the approach for authentication

and authorization of usda.gov users Content Management

• Determines the approach for creating, reviewing, and publishing content on the usda.gov portal

Document Management• Stores documents which can be

retrieved through the usda.gov search mechanism

Web Presence• Defines enterprise-wide style guidelines

and presentation templates to be used in usda.gov

Portal Services• Provides improved access to

information, customization of content, and enhanced ability to collaborate and communicate across USDA

ContentMgmt

eAuthen-tication

WebPresence

DocumentMgmt

PortalServices

usda.gov

The usda.gov initiative has several interdependencies and therefore must be coordinated with the other enabling initiatives

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III. Team

IV. Next Steps

Agenda

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Office of Communications

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Agency Webmasters

usda.gov Team

This organization chart identifies the usda.gov project team and their recommended roles and responsibilities.

• Define Technical Requirements

• Design User Interface

• Design Physical Architecture

• Design Application Architecture

• Develop Detailed Design

usda.gov Team Lead

Functional Team

Technical Team

eGovernment PMO

• Define Functional Requirements

• Create Site Map

• Develop Use Case Scenarios

• Define Process for Agencies to Contribute Content

• Design User Interface

• Conduct Usability Testing

Agency Stakeholders

• Content authoring and approval

• Review and provide feedback on project deliverables

Office of the Secretary

Project Manager

Working Group

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usda.gov Working Group

Roles and responsibilities of the usda.gov Working Group are as follows:

Attend and participate in weekly meetings Assist with creating deliverables Review and provide feedback on deliverables

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III. Team

IV. Next Steps

Agenda

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Next Steps

The next steps to kickoff the usda.gov initiative are:

Obtain participation commitment from stakeholders Begin gathering usda.gov application requirements

• Requirements Gathering Session: Week of May 5th

• Requirements Gathering Session: Week of May 12th

• Requirements Prioritization Session: Week of May 19th

Begin development of the usda.gov site map

u.s. department of agriculture egovernment program design approach for usda.gov april 2003

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