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Infrastructure Work Plan

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

Introduction
As part of the formation of the Web Council and National Infrastructure and Content Manager positions, the Administrator directed the National Infrastructure Manager to develop an annual Web development workplan.  The workplan was to identify priorities for technical infrastructure and public access needs, and also project funding needs for the priorities. 
This workplan is the first submitted in response to Administrator’s 6 December 2004 memo, “Improving EPA’s Web Site,” and associated documents.  The workplan is organized into three general sections:

  1. The first describes projects already underway
  2. The second describes issues related to the Agency’s Web development for which projects have not yet formed, but which might require a project to be added to the workplan.
  3. The third describes issues for consideration by OEI.  These might become projects in which infrastructure coordinators and the Web Council are involved, or might remain under the purview of OEI.

This workplan also explains how infrastructure priorities support Agency Web Governance Principles and national content priorities.  Web Governance Principles were promulgated by Administrator Leavitt as part of the formation of the Web Council and National Infrastructure and Content Manager roles.  National content priorities are under development at this time.  In concert with the Web Council, the National Infrastructure and Content Managers have initiated a process which is proposing national content priorities and ensuring that infrastructure priorities support the Agency’s Web content needs. While this process has just begun and will be continuous, this workplan describes what is known at this time and identifies potential projects for FY 06.

1. Projects Underway

The following infrastructure projects are currently in various stages of implementation under the direction of the National Infrastructure Manager.  Additional information about each is provided below.

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Look & Feel Template Revision

Issue: Making an Agency-wide change to the current EPA Look & Feel template (an XHTML template deployed in every TSSMS area on the Web site) requires a significant amount of work by all the EPA Web masters.
Solution: A new template is being designed using Cascading Style Sheets that will reduce the amount of work required by EPA Web masters for future Agency-wide changes.  While this will require effort initially, it will save the Agency time in subsequent deployments.
Status: The template is in development with expected release in Fall 2005. 
Timeline: Coincident with the Web site Search-engine migration, slated for October-November
Resources: 
OEI:

Each Program Office / Region:

Web Governance Principles Supported: Infrastructure, Unified Design
Content Priorities Supported: CSS and Template Revision – Web Redesign

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Search Migration & Search Engine Implementation

Issue: The Agency’s existing search engine has issues with relevancy of search results, operational concerns and high maintenance labor costs.
Solution: A replacement search engine, Northern Light, was purchased to address these concerns, following a rigorous requirements gathering and analysis process. This new search engine will improve operations and reduce associated maintenance labor costs. Once installed, OIAA is planning a tiered release of improved functionality that will improve the value and usefulness of the EPA search engine.  The new search engine will improve the relevance of search results and the usability of the search interface but these improvements will need to be developed, tested, and implemented over time in order to ensure they are effective and appropriate.
Status:Implementation in progress.  Expected completion: December 2005. (Combined with template revision.)  Implementing the new search query will require changing every page on the Agency’s Web site because it’s a part of the header of each page. Fortunately, this can be mostly automated. The deployment strategy is to schedule an appointment with each TSSMS owner, and the night prior to the appointment, run the conversion programs. At the appointment, search masters will work with the TSSMS owners to ensure the conversion was good and complete, and to resolve any problems. For those who have standard search queries in their TSSMS, there should be only a very modest amount of work for the initial conversion.
Timeline:

Resources:
OEI:                                              

Each Program Office / Region:

Web Governance Principle: Customer Service, Infrastructure
Content Priorities Supported:  Homepage Synthesis

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Web Content Management System

Issue: EPA's Web environment includes several content management systems or quasi-CMS in addition to static HTML file management.  These systems are not functioning across the full spectrum of CMS capabilities and they are not integrated with each other.
Solution: OEI is conducting two Web CMS pilots to gather detailed requirements, develop prototypes and validate effectiveness against business needs.  This includes developing a new target information architecture that addresses the various content types on the EPA Web and a strategy for delivering the content.  This will include the use of Documentum as the content management software.
Status:  Pilot Phase
Timeline:

Resources:
OEI:                                              

Each participant office:             

Web Governance Principle: Infrastructure, Content Currency
Content Priorities Supported:  Putting the Web on a diet; Content Reorganization

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Web Information Architecture

Issue: The Agency needs to improve delivery of information via the EPA Web site in order to ensure the public has easy access to the most useful and up-to-date environmental information.
Solution: EPA plans to improve its delivery of environmental information through the Agency’s Web site by developing a Web Information Architecture.  This target architecture will include a more user-friendly search, audience filters, and contextualized and localized content.  These improvements will help users target their information needs and enable EPA to streamline its content delivery. Additionally, developing a Web information Architecture will assist in restructuring the EPA's Web site which will allow for the reduction of redundant information and pages, the reorganization of the content, and extending the primary homepage navigation to lower-level homepages. 
Status: The contract has been awarded with a completion date of January 2006. Overall, tasks for this effort include conducting focus groups with EPA external customers, analyzing our existing taxonomy, identifying content attributes to support the Web, and developing Documentum (the Agency’s Enterprise Content Management System) test use cases. Currently, we have completed the Information Collection Request (ICR) required to conduct the focus groups and have preliminarily scheduled them.  The draft list of attendees has the prepared.  Additionally, a draft outline of the overall information architecture strategy has been developed and is under review.
Timeline: Projected completion date – January 2006
Resources:  Contract awarded for $100,000.
Web Governance Principle: Infrastructure, Customer Service, Content
Content Priorities Supported:  Content Reorganization; Crisis Communication; Homepage Synthesis; CSS and Template Evolution – Web Redesign

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Hardware Refresh

Issue: EPA’s current technology infrastructure does not meet the Agency’s application support, storage capabilities, or information technology security needs.
Solution: The National Computer Center is improving the technology infrastructure by replacing aging hardware, revamping storage capabilities, and improving information technology security.  The hardware for the static Web sites and Oracle databases in the shared environment will be replaced. Hardware for the staging, Intranet, and public access servers will be affected.  The NCC anticipates moving to the new hardware with minimum service disruption and will work closely with Web site and application owners to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Status: Migration of the Oracle databases is underway. The Oracle database staging environment is complete and several Intranet databases also have been moved. All Oracle databases will be moved one at a time and application owners should have already been contacted to schedule their move. The public access Oracle databases are slated to begin moving in September.  Migration of the staging Oracle application server is complete.
Timeline:

Resources:  TBD
Web Governance Principle: Infrastructure
Content Priorities Supported:  All

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Media Inventory

Issue: Throughout the Agency, web designers, graphic designers, and general staff use photographs, graphics, video and audio clips, and other electronic art on a regular basis.  For many, it is currently difficult to find good resources with Agency approved art that are relevant to the EPA community.  These media are records and are important to have cataloged.
Solution: The Media Inventory would provide a common place for the Agency community to share environmentally-related resources, including all high resolution and low resolution Agency logos, graphics, photographs, video and audio clips, and other electronic media for easy, accessible use across the Agency. Optimized and native formats will be centralized for use by the entire Agency for web sites, publications, internal materials, or other applicable products where appropriate. The repository will allow media to be retrieved via search and made freely downloadable. It will catalog and archive historical photographs that are important to the agency. Furthermore, it will help those not familiar with using graphics in having access to images that are web-ready or print-ready.
Status: Project is in the planning stage. Possible technology approach includes “piggybacking” off of the current EPA Web Inventory Coldfusion server that would support a database using a Coldfusion interface and API for tagging.
Timeline: Roll-out by end of FY06
Resources: TBD
Web Governance Principle: Unified Design, Content Currency
Content Priorities Supported:  General Content Priorities

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Enterprise Customer Service Solution (ECSS) Pilot Expansion

Issue:  A coordinated approach is needed to respond to customer comments and inquiries.
Solution: ECSS is a system for processing and responding to customer comments and inquiries received via the Web and other channels (e.g., hotlines).  It provides new capabilities for standardized processing, tracking, and accountability to ensure timely responses, to ensure consistent responses across the Agency using a central knowledge repository, and to improve Agency responses by assessing system performance and public and stakeholder feedback. The Working Capital Fund Board has approved the ECSS as a service that can be funded through the WCF. 
Status:  Pilot is complete.  System implementation scheduled to begin October 1, 2005
Timeline: Commencing as an Agency WCF service as of October 1, 2005
Resources: TBD
Web Governance Principle: Infrastructure, Customer Service
Content Priorities Supported:  General Content Priorities

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2. Issues and Potential Projects

The following three issues have been identified by National Managers and the Web Council as priorities more related to planning than to hard IT implementation.  The Web Council continues scoping these issues and coordinating with other entities for decisions and next steps.

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Disaster Recovery Plan or Approach

Issue: Currently, there is not a sufficient plan in place to cope with various scenarios if the National Computer Center or the EPA’s Internet Connection is taken off-line for an extended period of time.  OIAA is exploring options and will be seeking support to provide a much more robust approach to downtime and redundancy to ensure that the EPA Web site could be available to the general public.  This project will include Agency’s Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP).
OEI Lead:  Jonda Byrd and Rebecca Astin
IC Lead: Lisa Jenkins
Status:  Options being developed for consideration.

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Web Archival Approach

Issue: Putting the Web site "on a diet" creates some critical issues for the Agency.  We need to have a Web infrastructure that supports posting material, promoting that material to the public for a time and then maintaining access to it but "demoting" it from a prime spot to more ancillary access.  The Web site should be both the current voice of the Agency and a more long-term "library" of Agency actions, messages, and products.  This vision for the Web however, doesn't address the changes that are necessary to make sure navigation pages reflect the current Agency message.  The "record status" of such pages creates a requirement to manage version of Web pages and to manage the status of information over time.  Currently, NARA defines everything on the EPA Web site as a record.  NARA has also not approved any records disposition schedules for Agency Web sites or Web pages.  Therefore, the Agency does not have the authority to destroy anything that is posted to the Web.  Yet there are also no procedures in place to manage Agency Web sites or pages as records.  So, there are two issues here.  Preserving access to older content and the authority to change and/or delete outdated information appropriately.  OIAA wants to work with content owners to address these issues and we want the Agency Web infrastructure to address these issues inherently for all Agency Web sites.
OEI Lead:  TBD
IC Lead: TBD
Status: Urgent but not initiated.

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Metadata Standards Development and Enforcement

Issue: The Agency has operated with a set of metadata standards and a requirement for metadata since 1997.  While the application of metadata has been sporadic at best, it has been used to enhance access to EPA content through the top-level search of the Web site to great affect.  With the implementation of the Northern Light search engine, individual program areas will be able to take similar advantage of metadata to improve search results and manage access to the content available in their individual areas.  Likewise, the current testing of the Web Content Management Systems further rely on metadata to manage the availability and appearance of EPA Website content.  These innovations require a review of the current metadata standards, development, and enforcement/requirements.
OEI Lead:  Richard Huffine
IC Lead: TBD
Status: Currently in maintenance; action needed to revise.

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3. Issues Which Need To Be Addressed With an OEI Lead

The following issues are for consideration by OEI. These might become projects in which infrastructure coordinators and the Web Council are involved, or might remain under the purview of OEI.

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Centralized Web Portlet, Application, Data Mart Planning and Coordination

Issue: There are many stovepiped and cross-media applications on the EPA website (see http://www.epa.gov/epahome/abcdata.htm) but they are provided with a lack of cohesiveness and great potential for confusion and frustration on the part of the public and our other stakeholders in accessing and understanding our data.  There is also the potential for even more confusion should web portals and data marts are allowed to bloom without some sort of centralized coordination.  These tools take a great deal of time and money to develop so it is very important that they be developed to fit well within the EPA web site.  The Web Council will work with the Enterprise Architect to explore options for establishing a framework within which the logical suite of portlets and applications (and supporting data marts) should be offered on EPA's web site.  Having and using such a suite will minimize duplication, stovepiping and confusion so that users can clearly identify and use the tools that will answer their questions and meet their needs.  It will also help developers minimize duplication and overlap.  The framework should include media-specific and cross-media portlets and applications and a means for ensuring their development and maintenance.  Portlets and applications not in the framework should not be developed or should be modified or terminated to fit the framework.  The framework (blueprint) will need to be backed up by enforcement and change management authorities, policies and processes for ensuring that the framework is adhered to and for changing the framework as appropriate.  (Note: Applications include business intelligence and analytical tools, databases, models, document/content systems, database interfaces, GIS tools, etc. - anything to which the public or our other stakeholders have access on the EPA web site.)  
OEI Lead:  TBD 
IC Lead:  Lisa Jenkins 

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Web Applications Standard

Issue: Nearly every application on EPA's website has a different interface.  This makes it difficult for users to move from one application to another on our web site because they must learn a new interface every time.  OPA/OEI has done a nice job of helping us standardize our pages on an EPA look and feel standard.  There is a concern that a similar approach should be taken to standardize other interfaces presented on our web site, like applications and portlets.  Coordinators have discussed the need for a common look and functionality standard for applications on the EPA web site.  The same is true for new types of interfaces being introduced (like web portlets).  The Web Council will raise this issue to the PMO Project Manager for consideration and will coordinate, as needed, on next steps.
OEI Lead:  TBD 
IC Lead:  George Nossa

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Web Statistics 

Issue:  Infrastructure coordinators have identified the need for better Web statistics.  Because this is something NCC has previously managed, the Web Council will ask NCC if it could research and evaluate alternatives the current suite of statistical services.  This effort might be managed as part of research and development, under the XR WCF service agreement.   
OEI Lead:  NCC – Rebecca Astin
IC Lead:  Shhonn Taylor and Warren Beer

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IT Roadmap

Issue:  The Web community is concerned that the NCC takes too long to implement new technologies.  A suggestion has been made by the Infrastructure Coordinators to develop a Web IT Roadmap. This roadmap would ensure current requirements such as a database driven Web and dynamic Web pages are addressed as well as planning for new technologies and enhancements.  The National Infrastructure Managers will work with the NCC to discuss the feasibility of developing this roadmap.
OEI Lead:  NCC
IC Lead:  TBD

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