Digital Government Strategy Report for the Department of Homeland Security
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
Paragraph on customer engagement approach: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leverages the Web Content Management (WCM) Executive Steering Committee (ESC), which is focused on streamlining and consolidating public facing websites via an open platform and open APIs. The WCM ESC serves as the leading governance body for DHS on open data, content, and web API policy. The WCM ESC is comprised of representatives from each of the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) within the department, and will make the final determination on the two first-move candidates to make compliant.
Under the guidance of the WCM ESC, the Department developed a domain survey to capture key information about Component’s website. Each of the Component OPA representatives ensured information on the websites and APIs was encapsulated in the survey for records and decision-making. The Web ESC utilized the information in the survey to develop a recommendation on the first-move candidates to make compliant with new open data, content, and web API policies.
2.1.2. Prioritized list of systems (datasets)
System Name: Immigration Statistics Data Services
System Description: The current method of storing reports on the web and at Data.gov is not meeting customer demands for access to Immigration Statistics data. The Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) would like to pursue moving the data to a more accessible site and provide improved query and extraction capabilities. The current web site only provides access to canned reports and users are constantly asking for specific profiles which OIS staff must develop individually.
System Scope: both
Main Customer: Public
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-XXXXXXXXX--New Investment for FY 2014 Budget
System Name: Traveler Redress Data Services
System Description: DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program improves the travelers experience with updates and corrections to inaccuracies in records used for screening, reviewing the possible causes of additional screening, and providing a Redress Control Number that travelers can use to prevent misidentifications of passengers. The new data and mobile app for Traveler Redress will provide travelers with the capability to initiate a claim for redress or check the status of their redress case using any mobile device.
System Scope: both
Main Customer: Public
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-XXXXXXXXX--New Investment for FY 2014 Budget
System Description:
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
Paragraph on customer engagement approach: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leverages the Applications and Services Councils (ASC), which is focused on organizational applications, services development, and provides DHS with leadership, guidance, and management of services to drive the customer engagement process. The ASC developed the initial survey template through collaboration with each of the Component representatives. Each of the Component representatives evaluated their ongoing pilots for mobile devices and mobile application over a 30 day period in order to identify the potential list of applications that could be optimizing via mobile services.
The ASC conducted an initial evaluation of the systems to develop a recommendation to the Information Technology Services Governance Board (ITSGB). The ITSGB serves as the governance body for DHS on IT services, is led by the Deputy Chief Information Officer for the department, and will make the final determination two services that will be optimized via mobile services.
7.1.2. Prioritized list of systems (datasets)
System Name: MyTSA
System Description: Allows users to find and security wait times, check security rules, etc.
System Scope: external
Main Customer: Public
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-xxxxxxxx-New Investment for FY2014 Budget
System Name: Border Wait Times
System Description: Mobile app for that identifies the crossing time at US borders
System Scope: external
Main Customer: US Citizens
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-xxxxxxxx-New Investment for FY2014 Budget
System Name: SLT Dashboard
System Description: Provide leadership with mobile dashboards
System Scope: internal
Main Customer: Federal Employees
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-xxxxxxxx-New Investment for FY2014 Budget
System Name: E-Verify Mobile
System Description: Allows corporations that already subscribe to E-Verify a mobile option to check status of employees.
System Scope: external
Main Customer: US Corporations
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-xxxxxxxx-New Investment for FY2014 Budget
System Name: USCIS Customer Service Tools
System Description: Mobile apps for My Case Status Online, Find a USCIS Office, Find a Civil Surgeon, and e-Request.
System Scope: external
Main Customer: Public
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-xxxxxxxx-New Investment for FY2014 Budget
System Name: Rubicon
System Description: Allows instructors to perform field practical exercise evaluations and upload to student scheduling and administration system.
System Scope: internal
Main Customer: Federal Employees
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-xxxxxxxx-New Investment for FY2014 Budget
System Name: iCARE
System Description: Community Response data acquisition application for logging issues and activities during a disaster.
System Scope: internal
Main Customer: Federal Employees
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-xxxxxxxx-New Investment for FY2014 Budget
System Name: PDA
System Description: Preliminary housing damage assessment application to assist general public affected by the disaster declared area.
System Scope: internal
Main Customer: Federal Employees
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-xxxxxxxx-New Investment for FY2014 Budget
System Name: ACE
System Description: Individual Assistance Housing Inspection's Automated Construction Estimator to assist general public affected by the disaster declared area.
System Scope: internal
Main Customer: Federal Employees
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-xxxxxxxx-New Investment for FY2014 Budget
System Name: TRIP Mobile
System Description: Enabling TRIP to be displayed on mobile devices.
System Scope: external
Main Customer: Public
Unique Investment Identifier: 024-xxxxxxxx-New Investment for FY2014 Budget
4.2. Establish an agency-wide governance structure for developing and delivering digital services
Overall Status: completed
Paragraph on Governance: In response to the May 23, 2012, Presidential directive entitled Building a 21st Century Digital Government, and to comply with OMB defined Milestone 4.2 – ‘Establish an agency-wide governance structure for developing and delivering digital services’ The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Chief Information Officer (CIO) has created the Digital Government Strategy Senior Advisory Council (DGSSAC) with the mission of developing and implementing digital services. Starting in 2010, DHS has implemented a scalable, tiered governance structure that establishes distinct roles and responsibilities from the program through the department. The DGSSAC will conform well within the DHS defined vision for its information technology (IT) governance, acting as the Executive Steering Committee for all programs delivering digital services and managing data.
The DGSSAC will work at the direction of the Information Technology Infrastructure Services Governance Board (ITSGB) with leadership and staff from the Office of the CIO, along with corresponding Component representatives, to develop a unified approach to governing the Department’s digital strategy in accordance to Executive Order 13571 and OMB guidance. The DGSSAC will establish and Implement the Department’s approach to Digital Government Strategy and will establish specific, measurable goals for delivering better services at a lower cost and set department-wide policies in required areas.
The DGSSAC has been chartered (Attachment - U.S. Department of Homeland Security Information Technology Infrastructure Services governance Board Digital Government Strategy Senior Advisory Council Charter ver 1.0) The Charter is expected to be signed November 16, 2012. A working group has already been formed and is presently meeting to coordinate Digital Government Strategy deliverables as well as work to schedule and facilitate the first meeting of the DGSSAC, target date December 2012.
URL to Governance Document: http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/digital-strategy/Digital-Government-Governance-Charter.pdf
5.2. Develop an enterprise-wide inventory of mobile devices and wireless service contracts
Overall Status: completed
5.2.1. Develop wireless and mobile inventory
Inventory Status: completed
8.2. Implement performance and customer satisfaction measuring tools on all .gov websites
Overall Status: completed
8.2.1. Implement performance measurement tool
Implemented Digital Analytics Program: no
If Not, Describe Implementation: and expected completion date.
The Government-wide Google Analytics code will be a follow-on action to our work on DHS compliant Google Analytics code. There are a number of dependencies which must be bridged prior to completion, and to date no DHS public facing website has implemented this code. These dependencies include validating the Government-wide code is compliant with DHS’s Privacy Impact Assessment, testing to ensure the code works with Drupal which is the Web Content Management System the department is adopting for most top level sites; and the coordination and acceptance by the interagency for using the code on the one interagency site.
Our target timeline to bridge all these dependencies and successfully complete actions on the 8.2 metrics milestone will be at the end of calendar year 2014, and sooner if possible.
Percent of websites covered: 83% (19 of 23 sites) have implemented the DHS-compliant Google Analytics code to date. Our current progress tracking reports to implement DHS-compliant Google Analytics code shows:• 19 implementations of the DHS-compliant Google Analytics code is complete; • 2 implementations are in progress; • 1 implementation is pending cooperation with the system owner (an interagency site); • 1 is ineligible for Google Analytics per DHS policy (Site contains sensitive information)
URL of performance data: Currently performance measurement data is not being shared publically. A location on DHS.gov will be established in collaboration with the DHS Web Council by the end of April.
8.2.2. Implement customer satisfaction tool
Describe Implementation: A poll of all 23 DHS top level public facing websites revealed that the majority – 65% -- have no customer satisfaction tool. Our findings are:
• 7 sites have customer satisfaction tools
• 15 sites have no customer satisfaction tool
• 1 site’s status has not been reported
Most of the sites that have a customer satisfaction tool use the Foresee satisfaction survey. These site owners will be asked by the DHS Web Council to take immediate action this month to append their surveys with the four required questions:
1. How would you rate your overall experience today? [Rating Scale of 1-5 or 1-10]
2. Were you able to complete the purpose of your visit? [Check boxes: Yes/No. Respondents who answer “No” will see the question, “Please describe why you could not complete the purpose of your visit” and an open text box to fill in the answer
3. Would you still return to this website if you could get this information or service from another source? [Yes/No]
4. Will you recommend this website to a friend or colleague? [Check boxes: Yes/No]
The DHS Web Council’s Web Policy Sub-Committee is reviewing the use of Survey Monkey in the Cloud environment as software that is approved for use on the DHS network. We have also applied for a Privacy Threshold Analysis for this tool. Once approval is gained through this group, OPA will write policy and procedures for use of Survey Monkey and distribute it to the 23 top level website owners/managers with instructions that they may elect to use Survey Monkey to implement the satisfaction survey on their site or they may use another tool approved for use on their agency network. The expense for implementing the tools would be covered by the site owner.
Funding of the tools seems to be the biggest challenge for sites at the present time and possible solutions will be discussing internally within DHS to determine the way forward toward the goal of 100% implementation in tandem with the migration of top level sites to the DHS Cloud environment.
URL of performance data: Currently customer satisfaction data is not being shared publically. A location on DHS.gov will be established in collaboration with the DHS Web Council by the end of April.
1.2. Ensure all new IT systems follow the open data, content, and web API policy and operationalize agency.gov/developer pages
Overall Status: not-started
1.2.1. Document policy for architecting new IT systems for openness by default
URL of policy:
Describe policy:
1.2.2. Operationalize /developer page
URL of page:
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 additional high-value systems
Overall Status: in-progress
2.2.1. Make 2+ systems (datasets) available via web APIs with metadata tags
2.2.2. Publish plan on future activity
Name of system: Immigration Statistics Data Services
Description of system: The current method of storing reports on the web and at Data.gov is not meeting customer demands for access to Immigration Statistics data. The Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) would like to pursue moving the data to a more accessible site and provide improved query and extraction capabilities. The current web site only provides access to canned reports and users are constantly asking for specific profiles which OIS staff must develop individually.
Scope of system: both
Main Customers: Internal and external customers interested in leveraging Immigration Statistics data.
Name of system: Traveler Redress Data Services
Description of system: DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program improves the travelers experience with updates and corrections to inaccuracies in records used for screening, reviewing the possible causes of additional screening, and providing a Redress Control Number that travelers can use to prevent misidentifications of passengers. The new data and mobile app for Traveler Redress will provide travelers with the capability to initiate a claim for redress or check the status of their redress case using any mobile device.
Scope of system: both
Main Customers: Internal and external customers interested in leveraging Traveler Redress dat
5.3. Evaluate the government-wide contract vehicles in the alternatives analysis for all new mobile-related procurements
Overall Status: not-started
Paragraph on policy:
6.3. Ensure all new digital services follow digital services and customer experience improvement guidelines
Overall Status: not-started
Paragraph on policy:
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: in-progress
URL of plan:
7.2.1. Report on services
Service Name: TRIP
Service Description: TRIP
System Scope: external
Primary customers: Public
Service Name: Enabling TRIP to be displayed on mobile devices.
Service Description: Enabling TRIP to be displayed on mobile devices.
System Scope: external
Primary customers: US Citizens
Service Name: Border Wait Times
Service Description: Border Wait Times
Service Name: Mobile app for that identifies the crossing time at US borders
Service Description: Mobile app for that identifies the crossing time at US borders
Last updated January 1, 2013 at 2:44 pm