DotGovWatch

McKinsey's Advice for Spending Billions Better

nospam@example.com (Coby Logen) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:27:40 -0500

McKinsey contributed its advice about what the future of e-government needs in its report E-Government 2.0 (PDF) last week.

At times the report simply reads like the wish list of every government web professional. Yet, it is good to have McKinsey's reputation backing up the recommendations.

McKinsey mentions the need to elevate web sites and web applications to a strategic, essential element of each agency's business. The report recommends accomplishing this by holding the "line of business" managers accountable for web application successes or failures and supporting them with cross-functional teams.

This would be a huge step in the right direction.
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The Open Government Conversation Continues

nospam@example.com (Coby Logen) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:49:43 -0500

The White House is leading a first-class discussion on Open Government.

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the White House has been blogging about and moderating a public conversation about Open Government for a few weeks, and they recently put out a great summary of the discussion about Collaboration proposals.
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Shout Out for Utah.gov

nospam@example.com (Coby Logen) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:23:29 -0500

Utah.gov is quite an impressive site!

The best part is that Utah.gov isn't just innovative and sexy, but also well-organized and easy to use.
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Government Website Discussions Ought To Be Ubiquitous and Continuous

nospam@example.com (Coby Logen) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:55:59 -0500

Regulations.gov is setting a fine example through Regulations.gov Exchange.

On the Regulations.gov Exchange, users can discuss upcoming design changes on Regulations.gov. This is an excellent idea to get user feedback, and a step in the right direction, but there are actually three ways to improve the system even further.
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How You Can Shape the Future of Open Government

nospam@example.com (Coby Logen) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:49:09 -0500

If you care about government openness, transparency, and participation, now is the time to plug into the White House's Science & Technology Blog. The White House is holding a high-level discussion on this blog over the next week where readers can contribute to open government principles.
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Welcome to the Federal Web Renaissance

nospam@example.com (Coby Logen) — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:31:09 -0500

It is a good time to be a Federal web professional.

When I began this blog a few years ago, the innovative spirit of the Federal web community was greatly restrained by the staid attitudes of Federal executives and Administration appointees.

This is changing fast—and in favor of innovation.
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Ballot Usability Problems May Strike Again

nospam@example.com (Coby Logen) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:06:29 -0500

The course of history changed in 2000 due, almost indisputably, to ballot design.

Despite the will of U.S. voters, a usability problem with the infamous "butterfly ballot" in Palm Beach County, Florida allowed George W. Bush to become President of the United States.

Every state in the country is bracing for record voter turnout next week. And usability problems will surely cause more incorrect or disqualified votes this year. Although it is too late to change ballots or voting interfaces for this election, it is never too late to reflect on what more can be improved.
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Marcus Peacock, EPA Blogger Shows Real Leadership

nospam@example.com (Coby Logen) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:47:47 -0500

It is rare to find a government executive who will take a risk, but Marcus Peacock is one.

Mr. Peacock is the Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and he has shown real leadership with his push to use blogging to support EPA's mission. In July 2007 (coincidentally, when DotGovWatch also began) he began The Flow of the River. It created the momentum to establish EPA's newer, larger blog: Greenversations, which Mr. Peacock now writes for.

There has been a good deal of discussion among federal web managers regarding the pros and cons of blogging. But in general, government managers are afraid…afraid of criticism.
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Utah Senator Crusades for Bureaucratic Gobbledygook

nospam@example.com (Coby Logen) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:37:23 -0500

Senator Bennett from Utah is single-handedly quashing the most commonsense, bi-partisan bill this year–a requirement that the U.S. government write clear, concise, and intelligible English. And he is doing so based on a misreading of the bill.

Never mind the bill's near unanimous (376-1) passage in the House. Never mind that the bill simply reiterates an active Executive Order and memoranda from Presidents Clinton, Carter, and Nixon. And never mind that millions of Americans are befuddled by bureaucratic forms every day.

One senator from Utah has concerns, so it will not go to a vote.
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Obama's Campaign Web Team Is Asleep at the Helm

nospam@example.com (Coby Logen) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:43:19 -0500

Barack Obama has an attractive campaign website with some nice online grassroots tools for volunteers. Nonetheless, Obama's campaign Web team is making some novice mistakes as the campaign progresses.

A well-done usability evaluation performed by the Catalyst Group in August found that McCain's website is generally easier to use than Obama's website.
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