Strategy Markup Language (StratML) Part 1 is an XML vocabulary and schema for strategic plans.  Its purposes include but may not be limited to the following:


• Facilitate the sharing, referencing, indexing, discovery, linking, reuse, and analyses of the elements of strategic plans, including goal and objective statements as well as the names and descriptions of stakeholder groups and any other content commonly included in strategic plans.
• Enable the concept of "strategic alignment" to be realized in literal linkages among goal and objective statements and all other records created by organizations in the routine course of their business processes.
• Facilitate the discovery of potential performance partners who share common goals and objectives and/or either produce inputs needed or require outputs produced by the organization compiling the strategic plan.
• Facilitate stakeholder feedback on strategic goals and objectives.
• Facilitate updating and maintenance of  discrete elements of strategic plans without requiring review and approval of the entire plan through bureaucratic channels, thereby helping to make the strategic planning process more agile and responsive to stakeholder feedback and changing circumstances, thus helping to overcome the tendency of strategic plans to become outdated "shelfware".
• Reduce the needless time, effort, inconsistencies, and delays associated with maintaining data redundantly in myriad "stovepipe" systems rather than referencing the authoritative sources.
• Enable agencies to comply with the provisions of subsections 202(b)(4) & (5) and 207(d) of the eGov Act, which respectively require agencies to:
  • Work together to link their performance goals to key groups, including citizens, businesses, and other governments, as well as internal Federal Government operations; and
  • Adopt open standards (e.g., StratML) enabling the organization and categorization of Government information in a way that is searchable electronically and interoperably across agencies.
Note: On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed H.R. 2142, the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA), into law as P.L. 111-352. Section 10 requires agencies to publish their strategic and performance plans and reports in machine-readable formats. StratML is such a format.

StratML Part 2 extends Part 1 to include the basic, minumum additional elements required for performance plans and reports, including stakeholder roles and performance indicators.

StratML Part 3 will specify additional elements addressing the data requirements implicit in GPRAMA and perhaps additional purposes as well, e.g., geospatial referencing.

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CURRENT WORK & RESULTS

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The next StratML Committee teleconference has been scheduled for Thursday, February 9, at 11:00 a.m.


• December 1 meeting agenda & minutes & action items from November 3 meeting

On December 9 Owen Ambur led a birds-of-a-feather discussion StratML and social media at the Strategic Planning Innovation conference in New York City. See:
• Conference brochure. (The abstract for Owen's presentation is at the top of page 8.)
• Owen's presentation in PowerPoint (PPT) & XML Paper Specification (XPS) & Portable Document Format (PDF).

StratML Glossary compiled by Owen Ambur using this XSD and stylesheet

The Committee has begun consideration of Part 3, which will extend Parts 1 and 2 to include additional elements, as outlined below.


• A stawman draft of the schema for Part 3 is available but is under review by the StratML Committee and subject to change.
• On June 1, 2011, Art Colman created a data dictionary documenting in readily comprehensible form the structures and definitions of the elements in the schema as of that date.



• The data requirements implicit in the GPRA Modernization Act (GPRAMA) will be a central focus of Part 3.
• OMB has documented in a draft entity relationship diagram (ERD), dated December 6, 2011, the extensions to StratML Part 2 they are planning to incorporate into the performance data standard (PDS) for the Performance.gov site to address the additional data requirements of the GPRAMA.
• Some of those requirements are documented in this compilation prepared by Owen Ambur on December 11, 2011. He has also:
• Annotated the Act to document provisions already addressed in the elements of StratML Parts 1 & 2 as well as those yet to be addressed in Part 3;
• Compiled a preliminary mapping of the elements of the Performance.gov site in HTML or Excel format; and
• Begun developing an InfoPath form demonstrating how the requirements of the GPRAMA might be met. For those who don't have InfoPath, some screen shots (of the May 27 version of the form) are available in .docx (MS Word) as well as HTML format. The HTML rendition includes bookmarks that are cross-referenced in the annotated rendtion of the GMA.
  • Note: The form is based upon an evolving draft of the schema for Part 3 that the StratML Committee is now reviewing and is subject to further change.
  • On July 27, 2011, Art Colman created a spreadsheet comparing StratML Part 2 to a strawman draft for Part 3.
  • On June 1, 2011, Art Colman created a data dictionary documenting in readily comprehensible form the structures and definitions of the elements in the schema as of that date.
• Compiled an expanded "kitchen sink" strawman draft schema and InfoPath form containing additional elements that may or may not warrant inclusion in StratML Part 3.
• For those who don't have InfoPath, screen shots are available in MS Word (.docx) and HTML formats.
• See also the Performance.gov site and OMB Memorandum M-11-31, Delivering an Efficient, Effective, and Accountable Government, August 17, 2011

Other elements that are candidates for consideration in Part 3 include the following:
• Geospatial referencing of organizations, goals, objectives, and stakeholders
• Gannon Dick's thoughts on "encoded resources" (e.g., country codes), February 7, 2010
• Citation of relevant legal or other authorities
• Categorization of goals and objectives based upon various taxonomies, such as:
• The four "measurement areas" set forth in the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) Performance Reference Model (PRM)
• The three-tiered taxonomy of "business functions" set forth in the FEA Business Reference Model (BRM)
• The three-tiered taxonomy of Themes and Budget Functions set forth in the data dictionary for the Performance.gov site
• Owen Ambur has begun testing a schema fragment for documenting multi-layer taxonomies, e.g., the Themes and Budget Functions incorported in the Performance.gov site. See this example.
• Organizational relationships, such as those set forth in OMG's Organization Structure Metamodel (OSM) and/or Dave Reynolds' organizational ontology; and/or the business schema being developed by the Freebase community
• A generic <Relationship> element enabling any element within StratML documents to be related to any other element by referencing its <Identifier>
• Note: StratML Part 2 includes the Relationship element as a child of PerformanceIndicator to enable users to link inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes to each other in the ValueChain, if they wish
• Point of contact elements as children of the Stakeholder element to enable automated transmission of input and feedback to designated points of contact for each Goal and Objective
• Personal attributes of individuals and groups of Stakeholders
• Version control at the element level, perhaps by applying a time/date element or attribute
• Subjective (qualitative) ratings and weightings of performance as alternatives when quantitative metrics are not feasible, as provided by GPRAMA and OPM's SES Performance Management System (SESPMS).
• Referencing of <Project>s and <Program>s and perhaps also Systems and Investments
• See, for example, Project Management XML Schema (PMXML) & the data model for program evalutions in ExpectMore.gov
• Application of the <Identifier> element at the root (plan/report) level.
• Strategy formulation frameworks and/or methods
• Core Competency and Value Proposition
• See also Andre Cusson's proposals

StratML Part 1, Strategic Plans, was approved as an American national standard, ANSI/AIIM 21:2009


• The schema is available at http://stratml.net/StrategicPlan.xsd.
• AIIM is pursuing its establishment as an international (ISO) standard. The StratML project has been registered at ISO and assigned number ISO/NP 17469-1.
• Five nations -- Canada, South Africa, China, and Korea in addition to the U.S. -- have agreed to work on the international standard. The summary results of the voting on the ISO ballot are available on AIIM's StratML announcements listserv.

StratML Part 2, Perfomance Plans and Reports, was approved as an American national standard on August 8, 2011, and has been published as ANSI/AIIM 22:2011.


• The schema is available at http://www.aiim.org/documents/StratML_Schemas/PerformancePlanOrReport.xsd and http://xml.gov/stratml/references/PerformancePlanOrReport20101215.xsd.
• Here are some test/use cases for StratML Part 2:


1. The Government Accountability Office's (GAO) FY 2009 Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) in StratML Part 2 format - Plain XML text & with Styling
2. The U.S. Merit System Protection Board's (MSPB) FY 2010 Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) in StratML Part 2 format with Styling
3. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) FY 2010 Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) in StratML Part 2 format - Plain XML text (with InfoPath processing instruction) & with Styling
4. The CIOC/AIC's Emerging Technology Subcommittee's (ETS) charter in StratML Part 2 format - Plain XML text (with InfoPath processing instruction) & with Styling
5. Department of Labor (DOL) FY 2009 Performance Budget Overview in StratML Part 2 format - Plain XML text & with Styling
6. CIOC Architecture and Infrastructure Committee (AIC) Work Plan 2011-2012 - Plain XML text & with Styling
7. Executive Order - Delivering an Efficient, Effective, and Accountable Government (EOEEAG) - Plain XML text & with Styling
8. Publication Practices for Transparent Government: Rating the Congress (PPTGRC) - Plain XML text & with Styling
9. Government Spending Transparency: "Needs Improvement" Is Understatement (GST) - Plain XML text & with Styling
10. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) - Plain XML text & with Styling
11. AIIM Integrated System Development (ISD) Committee - Plain XML text & with Styling
12. Network of European Stakeholders for Enhance User Centricity in eGovernance (NET-EUCEN), Network Policy White Paper - Plain XML text & with Styling
13. The StratML Commmittee's (SMLC) 2011 annual report is being drafted in StratML Part 2 format - Plain XML text & with Styling
14. OPM's SES Performance Management System (SESPMS) - Plain XML text & with Styling

The official namespace for the schema for Part 1 is http://stratml.net, where the schemas for both Parts 1 and 2 are available.
• Note: The link to the schema for Part 1 was temporarily lost when AIIM transitioned to a new CMS. It has now been restored and is available directly at http://www.aiim.org/documents/StratML_Schemas/StrategicPlan.xsd A copy is also available at http://xml.gov/stratml/references/StrategicPlan.xsd

A registry of StratML products and services is being maintained on AIIM's site
• See also the listings of forms and prototypical services below.

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FORMS

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During the development, piloting, proof-of-concept phase, more than 700 strategic plans, containing more than 10,000 objectives, have been rendered in StratML Part 1 format, using (thus far) seven different authoring/conversion tools, including:


1. Microsoft InfoPath forms for StratML Part 1, Strategic Plans & Part 2, Performance Plans and Reports
• For those who do not have InfoPath, screen shots of the Part 1 form are available in MS Word format.
2. Business Web Software (now Firmstep) AchieveForms using the form on their demonstration site (Seems to have been taken down.)
3. PDF Fillable form for Part 1
• Duane Nickull of Adobe has expressed his intent to develop a PDF Fillable form for StratML Part 2.
4. Xopus form for Part 1 (available in Spanish as well as English.)
5. Microsoft Word - See the StratML Quick Start Guide for MS Word Users compiled by Ictect
6. Joe Carmel's XForms form for Part 1 - See his About StratML XForms page
7. Andre Cusson of 01 Communications is working on an XForms form and sub-forms for StratML Part 2. Andre's form was derived from but extends Joe's form. Whereas Joe's form can be used to create and edit StratML Part 1 files, Andre's can be used to create either Part 1 or Part 2 files. However, unlike Joe's form, Andre's form creates valid Part 2 files even if the Part 1 option is used. That means the information needed for performance plans and reports can subsequently be added without having to tranform the Part 1 files.

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DOCUMENTS

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The most current and complete listing of plans in the StratML collection is available at http://xml.gov/stratml/drybridge/index.htm. The previous listing that formerly appeared here will be maintained for some period of time for archival/referencing purposes at http://xml.gov/stratml/docindexOLD.htm.

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StratML SEARCH & OTHER PROTOTYPICAL SERVICES

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1. Andre Cusson of 01Communications has developed a StratML portal, including a StratML statistics page
• He has also provided a stylesheet that works with both StratML Part 1 and Part 2 files.
• He is working on an XForms form and sub-forms for StratML Part 2. Clicking on the button at the top toggles from a StratML Part 1, Strategic Plan, form to a Part 2, Performance Plan or Report, form and vice versa. The Part 2 form displays the Stakeholder Role and Performance Indicator elements, whereas the Part 1 form does not. See his documentation of his XForms efforts and particularly the documentation for his Part 2 form.
• See also his draft MS Word template for StratML Part 2.
• For information on his StratML-related efforts, see this page on his DNAOS site.


2. Since StratML documents are plain text (XML) documents posted on the public Web, they are readily available for indexing by the search engines, like Google, albeit on an uncertain schedule. Thus, the major search engine indices may not contain the most recent submissions.

   WWW StratML

3. Matt MacKenzie and Duane Nickull of Uberity are working on a JSON/MongoDB-based StratML indexing/browsing/query service.



4. Joe Carmel's StratML demos:
   • Sortable tabular listings of goals, values and stakeholders identified in plans in the StratML collection. Click on the column headings to sort in ascending or descending alphabetical order. Note: Subsections 202(b)(4) & (5) of the eGov Act require agencies to work together to link their performance goals to key groups and use information technology in delivering government information and services to those groups.
   • Atom Protocol demos displaying the <Mission> and <Vision> statements and showing how many times each <Stakeholder> and <Value> has been expressed by various kinds of organizations whose plans have been included in the StratML collection. (Best viewed in MSIE 7 or higher. Values are distinguished from Stakeholders by hyphens.)

   U.S. Federal Agencies
   Small Agencies
   State & Local Agencies
   Nonprofit Organizations
   International Government Agencies
   Educational Institutions
   Other Plans
   

   • See also:

   • Joe's XMLDatasets tabular display of StratML documents to which additional documents can be added by using the Submit Query field. Click on the File Name links to see the tabular XML Sets view of each plan. Click here to see how the StratML schema appears in Joe's XSL Appliance Tool for the Web using Christopher Maden's style sheet.
   • The XForm form that Joe is developing, including his About StratML XForms page.
   • Joe's Atom-enabled listing of StratML files by Wikipedia topics

5. StratML parsing demonstration by Ari Knausenberger, Strategi Consulting, which produces a tag cloud for the top 50 most frequently used <Goal> <Names>. The strategic plans in which each of those goal names occur can be retrieved by clicking on the tag name and scrolling to the bottom of the page to see the results. The most frequently occurring goal name is Education and it is used in the default query. The second most frequently used goal name is Advocacy, followed by Leadership, Membership, Infrastructure, Collaboration, Partnerships, Representation, Communication, and Research, rounding out the top ten.



6. In XML Simplicity's editorial portal, StratML documents can be edited in online Authentic. Here is a brief description provided by Keith Matthew:
• XML Simplicity's (now Computer Composition of Canada, Inc.) StratML service provides powerful, yet easy-to-use, collection browsing and filtering of StratML documents. Users have complete control over collection display settings, such as sorting, grouping, highlighting, charting, downloading, column selection, etc. Documents are available for fast dynamic download in XML, PDF, RTF, and HTML formats. Editing of the StratML XML documents is available in either an offline or online word-processor like interface, that ensures consistent and correct XML source data.


7. Mark Logic's StratML search service prototype contains all of the plans in the collection as of February 8, 2010. Please contact Owen Ambur for the user name and password to access Mark Logic's prototype.



8. Pooyan Zamanian's StratML authoring, editing, and transformation portal, which is available in Farsi and English, enables the creation of strategic plans and the conversion of the "raw" (plain text XML) StratML files to XHTML using XSL Transformation. After entering the portal with the "guest" username and password (54321), users who have Microsoft's InfoPath forms application can download the form from the Strategic Plans page, enter the data, and upload the plan. (Plans that have been previously uploaded will also be available for editing and re-uploading.) After uploading, the user is re-directed to result page to view the transformed plan as it appears in XHML format on the Web.



9. StratML Tagging with Microsoft Word: Quick Start Guide, Pradeep Jain & Vivian Dey, Ictect, September 25, 2009 - DOC | PDF
• A Strategic Communications Plan converted to StratML format by Owen Ambur on December 22, 2009, using MS Word with the assistance of the Quick Start Guide. (Note: Since the purpose of this exercise was to test the Guide and not to produce a "pretty" document, it has not been edited for appearance, to include all of the elements of the StratML core, or to remove verbiage that does not fit neatly into the elements of a StratML document.)


10. Ken Holman of Crane Softwrights has compiled HTML and PDF stylesheets for StratML documents but they are based upon a previous version of the schema that has been supplanted by ANSI/AIIM 21:2009



11. NIST's XML Instance Validation service can be used to remotely validate files against the StratML schema. For additional information, see KC Morris' announcement.



12. Getting Started with the Strategy Markup Language (StratML) Standard, an eBook, by Vision4Standards (Temporarily Unavailable)



13. Liquid Technologies' Liquid XML Studio 2010 is an XML developers toolkit and IDE containing tools for designing and developing XML Schema and applications, with support for StratML and other public standards.
• See especially their documentation of the schema for StratML Part 1


14. The schema for StratML Part 1, Strategic Plans, has been included in Schema Central by Priscilla Walmsley of Datypic.com.



15. Owen Ambur is promoting the notion that political parties and candidates for elective office should be expected (by their constituencies) to post their platforms on the Web in StratML format. To prove the concept, he has begun posting the issue statements of candidates on his personal Web site.



16. Alex Rollin's StratML for Production Groups description (formerly Community Intelligence with StratML project wiki).



17. Thomas von der Elbe's free-range voting demo using StratML to enable voting on the elements of a plan to form a non-profit organization.



18. Alex Glaros' Nationwide Citizen General Suggestion Management prototype application project. See also Alex's site for the Center for Government Interoperability (CGI)



19. Ivan Pedruzzi has uploaded the StratML schemata into the Stylus Studio online catalog repository. In Stylus Studio they can be accessed in the catalog via File -> Document Wizards.. -> XML editor -> User Defined Catalog. A tutorial is available showing how to created PDF forms from schemas using Stylus Studio.

If you are aware of other services indexing or otherwise leveraging the emerging StratML standard and/or StratML documents, please contact Owen Ambur to have a link posted here. We are particularly interested in services addressing any of the prospective purposes of the standard but would be happy to be surprised by useful and creative services we have not yet anticipated.

See also our page listing the <WebAddresses> (URLs) of the StratML instance documents to facilitate reuse, including automated indexing  by search services

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HISTORY of StratML

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Since the history of the StratML standard has become quite lengthy, it has been moved to a separate page.

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SEE ALSO

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• AIIM's StratML Standard Committee Page, announcements listserv & technical discussion listserv
• GAO's scorecard for evaluating strategic plans
• News coverage of StratML:
• Government Computer News (GCN)
• Federal Computer Week (FCW)
• Washington Technology (WT)
• Potomac Technology Culture Examiner Article by Alice Marshall, March 1, 2010
• Search engine queries: USA.gov | Google | Bing | Ask | AltaVista | Yahoo
• Wikipedia articles on: Strategic Planning | Strategy | Stakeholder | Theory of Value | Value Theory - Personal/Culural, Economics & Marketing | Utility | Management | Strategic Management | Program Evaluation | Performance Indicators | SMART | SWOT & PEST Analyses | Critical Success Factor (CSF) | Business Plan | Integrated Business Planning | Group Development | Coaching | Extensible Markup Language (XML) | Markup Languages | Artificial Language | XML Schema | W3C XSD
• Business Rules Group's Business Motivation Model, September 2007
• A proposed high-level model for strategic planning, June 2001
• Perspectives on Strategic Planning in the Public Sector, a monograph by Richard D. Young recommending usage of John Bryson's 10-step model
• Stakeholder analysis techniques, article in Public Management Review, by John Bryson, 2004
• When Did Strategy Become a Four Letter Word? Article by Sandy Richardson, September 27, 2011
• Preparing for Your Journey, Personal Goal Setting, Blog by Sherri MacKey of Luminosity Global, October 28, 2011

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