D
R A F T – 21 FEBRUARY 2003
“E-Forms
for E-Gov” – The Use of XML Standards-Based Applications Pilot Project Team
CIO
Council’s XML Web Services Working Group (http://web-services.gov)
Background:
This team was created in response to a request from the OMB G2G
Portfolio Manager and Federal Enterprise Architecture-Program Management Office
(FEA-PMO) through its Solutions Architects Working Group (SAWG) to provide
information on any electronic forms applications that have been, or are being
implemented by Federal agencies that meet Section 508 and GPEA and that reduce
or eliminate the problems and redundancies being experienced by the agencies.
Background:
The XML Web Services Working group provided an initial response to the
OMB
G2G Portfolio Manager and FEA-PMO on December 26, 2002, organized a pilot
project, solicited comments from the “major players”, developed a work plan, selected
a team lead (Rick Rogers, CEO, Fenestra), and planned for a launch presentation
(February 6th) and for discussion at the Working Group meeting
(March 4th).
Goals
and Objectives: The overall goal is to provide quality
information on
E-Forms
issues in support of the E-Gov initiatives.
Some
detailed goals are:
_ To
document the available E-Forms standards (both public and proprietary) with
an
objective analysis of their strengths and weaknesses;
_ To
recommend a core set of E-Forms standards for use within the government;
_ To
analyze enhancements or changes to the core standards required to support
the
broad range of E-Gov requirements, and to submit these to the standards bodies;
_ To
select a sample of government forms based on a classification framework that
illustrates
E-Forms from different usage contexts and that illustrate different
technical
requirements;
_ To
provide tutorials, examples, and white papers on the E-Forms standards,
particularly
using the sample forms;
_ To
capture the data elements from the sample forms in a common registry, and
to
harmonize common data elements over time;
_ To
document and possibly standardize Web Services transactions required to
automate
the E-Forms workflow process;
_ To
document how E-Forms can support mandatory Section 508 and GPEA
requirements;
_ To
document how E-Forms fit into the overall Federal Enterprise Architecture; and
_ To develop
business case metrics for assessing E-Forms technology benefits.
Process:
All meetings and discussions will be open and the Pilot Team will
actively encourage attendance from both public and private sector stakeholders.
The Pilot Team may form sub-teams to develop specific deliverables and all
deliverables will be posted to the Pilot Teams public web site.
Resources:
The Pilot Team has secured a sponsor agency to provide meeting space.
The Pilot Team will be using the XML Collaborator to register the data
dictionaries, XML Schema, etc. Participation in this Pilot Team will be on a volunteer
basis.
Coordination:
The “E-Forms for E-Gov” pilot will coordinate with the following
groups:
the XML Working Group, the World Wide Web Consortium, other E-Gov
Initiatives,
OASIS, the Industry Advisory Council (IAC), and more as identified.