USER EXPERIENCE TASK FORCE
Meeting Minutes
Date: December 18, 2013
Time: 2:30 PM
Place: Larson Building, Room 116
Next Meeting: January 21, 2014
Place: Larson Building, Room 116
Task force members attending:
Appointed by Governor Rick Scott
Jason Allison, Information Technology Policy Advisor, Executive Office of the
Governor (Chair)
Appointed by Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater
Charles Ghini, Chief Information Officer, Department of Financial Services (Vice
Chair)
Appointed by Senate President Don Gaetz
Barbara A. Petersen, President, First Amendment Foundation
Appointed by Speaker of the House Will Weatherford
Jordan Raynor, Co-founder and Partnerships Director, Citizinvestor - via telephone
Meeting began at 2:31 PM
1. Call to Order Chair Allison began the meeting by welcoming all User Experience Task Force
members and all members of the public in attendance.
2. Roll Call The Administrative Assistant called the roll. All Task Force members were in
attendance.
Agenda item #2 was closed.
3. Chairman’s Opening Remarks Chair Allison thanked Vice Chair Ghini for chairing the last meeting. He asked if
anyone had any comments or questions from the last meeting. None were presented.
Agenda item #3 was closed.
4. Discussion of Completed Tasks From Last Meeting
Chair Allison addressed the document containing all action items from the last
meeting. Both Chair Allison and Vice Chair Ghini discussed the action items and
concluded that there were no pending action items.
Chair Allison asked Dawn Creamer to provide an overview of the progress of the
project. Ms. Creamer showed the Work Plan Schedule as of December 18, 2013. She
stated that 1.0 has been completed, that 2.0 and 3.0 were being discussed at the current
meeting, and that 4.0 was in progress by Jordan and Barbara. She stated that the Task
Force still needed to determine the dates of the meetings to discuss 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0.
However, no major delays have been identified and the Task Force is still on track to
produce the final recommendation by March 1, 2014.
Agenda item #4 was closed.
5. Discussion of Item 2.0, Reducing Number of Websites Chair Allison began explaining the recommendation for 2.0, produced by him and
Renee Fargason. He stated that they primarily focused on the federated nature of the data,
and that they did not have time to fully vet consolidation of all of the data given the time
frame. Jordan Raynor asked if the issue is combining all of this information in one
website was not feasible. Chair Allison stated that it was feasible, but it would require
extensive statutory changes in order to make it happen. The approach, while not ideal if
starting from scratch, deals with the realities of management of the information. Vice
Chair Ghini agreed. However, he stated that the Task Force should separate data that is
out there for access purposes from the transparency data.
Barbara Petersen stated that the problem with using links from the main page is
that all of the existing websites look and feel different, and some standardization is
needed. Chair Allison explained that, at this time, the sources would need to remain
intact.
Chair Allison explained the format of the recommendation (see User Experience
Task Force Work Plan, Section 2.0 document), and asked for feedback from the Task
Force Members. Vice Chair Ghini stated that the concept is very similar to the concept
that his team put together, and stressed the consistent look and feel.
Ms. Petersen asked if someone looking for all of the contracts that, for example,
Cicso has with the State would have to go to four different websites to find the
information. Chair Allison stated, “In the near term, yes.” He agreed that it was not ideal
for the public, but this was the reality of the situation. The new site would present the
“authoritative sources” for the information – the user would not have to scour the
agencies to find other sources of the information for which he was looking. A logical
approach would be a phased recommendation.
Vice Chair Ghini stated that even if they were starting from scratch, the funding
and support may not be available. This is a sensible approach. Also, the speakers at the
SME meeting (Christina Smith) stated that improving the systems that create the source
data is also very important.
Jordan Raynor stated that, while he understands the situation, that does not mean
that all of the data could not feed into one website, i.e.; data mart. Chair Allison stated
that it would have to be a later phase considering the existing resources. He agreed that it
should be included in the recommendations as a possible ultimate goal.
Vice Chair Ghini stated that the focus needs to be on standardization and
normalization of look and feel, search terms, disclaimers, etc. Barbara Petersen stated that
we need education, both for the public, but also for government. She gave a few
suggestions for ways to make the user experience better, i.e.; vendor drop-down lists.
Vice Chair Ghini also stated that normalizing object codes will help to educate
government and to be more efficient.
Chair Allison stated that ongoing governance will be needed for the
recommended website. He stated that it should be ongoing and dynamic, and should
continue to grow through time. Vice Chair Ghini suggested an ongoing board-type
governance that reviews content. Vice Chair Ghini also suggested that agencies building
new systems should consider transparency when building them.
Barbara Petersen discussed the difference between transparency and access, and
she suggested making the data more digestible for the public. Chair Allison asked what
she is seeing in her review of other states’ transparency websites, i.e.; standardized
reports. She stated that is varies. Some of the websites (Texas is one) have both
transparency and access to the raw data. Others have data translated into a pie
chart/consolidated format. Chair Allison stated he sees this approach as a goal.
The Task Force reviewed the document discussing task 2.0 recommendations.
Chair Allison went through each column and explained the recommended linkage and
moves of data. The life-cycle or “landing” page he suggested was FLSunshine.gov.
Agenda item #5 was not officially closed, but the Task Force moved to item 6.
6. Discussion of Item 3.0, Linking Financial and Operational Data Vice Chair Ghini discussed task 3.0 recommendations. Showing page 5 in the
document, Vice Chair Ghini described the “swim lane” approach shown in the
recommendation. He stated that he and his staff tried to respect the financial
responsibilities and statutory authority that exist.
Barbara stated that the two documents (2.0 and 3.0) are very similar. She
described the headings on the Texas transparency website, and they are also similar. All
stressed a simple layout that can expand in time.
Vice Chair Ghini discussed the review his group completed of each website. He
explained the difficulties that he and his staff had with asking questions of the agencies.
This highlights the need to educate staff within the agencies about the transparency
information and about their own websites. He also suggested that the recommendation
should include help for members of the public making public records requests. He stated
that the only aspect missing from their review was the public input. Barbara Petersen
stated that she will be re-posting the press release requesting public comment and
extending the deadline. She will also reach out to the Florida News Service.
Vice Chair Ghini moved to adopt a combination of the framework presented in
the two documents - four basic categories presented in 2.0. Barbara Petersen Seconded
the move. Chair Allison stressed making sure that dependencies are in order. He asked
Eliza Hawkins if she had any concerns relating to ordering/context. She recommended
that budget bullets be in a more logical order in terms of when they come out – make it
more sequential. Susan Wilson stated that new members of the legislature are educated
about the process, and they could leverage much of the existing documentation for the
education of users.
Dawn Creamer asked if the Task Force would like a combined write-up of these
two tasks into one chapter. The Task Force stated that it is reasonable considering the
similarity.
Action item – Staff create a list of items to be included on the landing page.
The Task Force discussed the work that Barbara Petersen was doing to review
other states’ websites. Ms. Petersen asked for clarification of the difference between two
of the tasks – other states’ websites vs. those others relating to public sector. The staff
and other Task Force members stated that others include municipalities, federal,
education, etc.
The Task Force members stated that many of the look and feel details of the
website will be more fleshed out after 4.0 is completed.
Mr. Ghini took a moment to explain updates to FACTS – Purchase Orders were
released on Friday, December 13, 2014 and code to release Grants if being written now.
Agenda item # 6 was closed.
7. Other Discussion –
Scheduling of next meeting. Susan Wilson asked for consideration of her schedule
and that of Eliza Hawkins for the first two weeks in January – Committee Weeks in the
House and Senate.
Chair Allison asked about the compilation of these recommendations as chapters
of the final product. Staff members stated that they are already drafting chapters as the
work is completed.
Barbara Petersen asked if Chair Allison would like for her to reach out to the
Associated Press about a presentation during their annual meeting on January 29, 2014.
Chair Allison stated that it is less than a month from final deliverable, and would not
want good ideas to be excluded because of time constraints.
Barbara Petersen also asked if there were any issues with reposting the press
release requesting public comment and extending the date. No issues.
Chair Allison asked staff to set meeting dates, decision made for the morning of
January 21, 2014.
Chair Allison noted three items to direct the conclusion - the strategic direction,
practical next steps, how to get there.
Chair Allison also discussed making Floridasunshine.gov the “landing” page.
Vice Chair Ghini asked if we could start mocking up possibilities. Susan Wilson asked
that the Task Force wait until section 4.0 is presented.
Dawn Creamer asked if the next meeting should be on the 31st – due date on the
Work Plan Schedule. Based on availability for January 30, the date was confirmed. A
date for the February meeting was discussed but not confirmed.
Agenda item #7 was closed.
8. Public Comment Lynn Salter (present) stated that the agenda on the website was incorrect – it
stated that the next meeting was still on December 6, 2013. The .pdf version of the
agenda was correct, but the web page contained the incorrect date. This was noted by
Chair Allison and Vice Chair Ghini and DFS staff to be corrected.
Agenda item # 8 was closed.
9. Adjourn Chair Allison adjourned the meeting at 4:40PM.