How Transparent is Federal Web Management?

The WelchmanPierpoint offices are located in Baltimore, MD. So what, you ask?  Well, Baltimore is about 40 minutes by train from Washington, DC, so, we have a lot of federal government clients. We didn't plan it that way, it just worked out like that.  As it turns out, that's not a bad thing.  Federal government agencies for the most part have pretty messed up Web sites. And that's what we like: big, super-bad, un-navigable Web site atrocities. It's even better if they are run by completely log-jammed, back-stabbing, passive-aggressive bureaucratic organizations. I'm not saying that's the way the Federal government is...but it's possible, right?
 
The latest mantra we hear rolling up Interstate 95 from Web Managers in the Federal sector is a stream of 'open government/Gov 2.0/transparency.' It's loud, strong, and when translated, seems to mean “those big, bad, lobby-money-taking, evil management, political appointee, elected ­official types in the government need to have the whistle blown on them. We're going to wield our Web 2.0, blogging, mash-up, Twitter swords and conquer the beasts!”
 
Good. Needs to be done.
 
But drop the sword while you're at it, Federal Web Manager, and conquer your own transparency beast.
 
I am small business owner, a government contractor, and a US citizen. So, from time to time, I have to interact with Government Web sites to get things done. And even with a deep insider's view of Government Web management, I can't for the life of me figure out how Web Managers and various agencies determine what goes on the Web and what doesn't. How does that decision-making process work?
 
After 10 years of working with these people, I kind of know the answer:  there is no real decision-making process.

You guys just shovel content and applications onto the Web and when some of it hits pay dirt and is popular, you run the flag up the pole and say look at us! And if it's not popular? Well, from what I can tell, you just leave it on the server forever, or until someone important in the organization says they don't like it, at which point you take it down. That doesn't sound like a citizen-centered plan, and it doesn't sound like a particularly transparent process.
 
If the Web is as important as we say it is then shouldn't the decision-making processes behind how it is managed be just as transparent as the decision to open a new regional office, build a dam or fund a particular program? Right now decisions about the Web are controlled by an elite group of well-meaning Web Managers who spend federal dollars and operate largely with no plan and zero accountability.
 
I know that Federal Web Managers want to believe that they are operating transparently just because they work with Web-based technologies that foster collaboration. And I know that Federal Web Managers believe in open government and transparency. But, believing isn't doing. And being a Web Manager doesn't make you exempt from the same accountability standards that should exist for the rest of government employees.  So, while you’re making recommendations for how the rest of government ought to operate, come up with some for yourselves as well.

Here's a few to get you started:
 

1. Figure out how to collaborate within your organization so that citizens can have a better Web experience. Tear down the bureaucratic walls within the information management arena. I'm tired of wading through content, data, and documents from the government as if they are disconnected sets of information. As a citizen, I don't care if they come from three different parts of the organization, or that the document management boss thinks the Web management guy is jerk. Clean up your information house so I can get more useful information in the formats that I want, when I want.
2. Tell us who is in charge of the Web. I want to know who is in charge of the Web at every Federal organization. I know that maybe some federal agencies don’t know who is really in charge of the Web within their organization--so, figure it out! And then make sure it’s communicated clearly to the public (and including “contact webmaster@fedagency.gov” in your footer doesn’t count!)
3. Step up to accountability. OK, it has been about 10-15 years probably since your Web site went online. It’s time to treat the Web like it’s the substantive entity that it has become. That means operating to a budget, eliminating Web redundancy, providing measurable results and contributing to the running of sensible government through the creation, deployment and management of mission-centered applications, data, and content. 
   

It’s a fascinating and interesting time in the history of the Web. There's so much opportunity and so much going wrong all at the same time. One thing is clear, though. In the Federal sector, amidst all this dysfunction, there exists a genuine eagerness to get the Web right -- to support the mission of our government by creating a great online user experience for citizens. The intent is there. Now, live up to it with action.