>> RON RABORG: GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.
>> [AUDIENCE]: GOOD MORNING. >> RON RABORG: FROM WHAT
I'VE SEEN SO FAR TODAY, AND I HAVE ONLY BEEN HERE FOR
A LITTLE WHILE, BUT VERY INTERESTING STUFF,
I HOPE YOU'VE GOT YOUR CAFFEINE FOR THIS NEXT SEGMENT.
>> [LAUGHTER] >> RON RABORG: ONE THING,
THE ONE SLIDE THAT ALEX PUT UP THAT I THOUGHT WAS INTERESTING,
WAS, YOU KNOW, THE TWO WEBSITES, SSA AND IRS, THE MOST VISITED?
I THOUGHT THE INCIDENT CAME UP THE GOVERNMENT GIVETH AND THE
GOVERNMENT TAKETH AWAY. >> [LAUGHTER]
>> RON RABORG: BUT ANYWAY, THAT'S WHY MY POWERPOINT
COMES UP HERE. I'M GOING TO TALK
ABOUT DATA QUALITY. I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT
SOME OTHER ASPECTS OF WHAT'S GOING ON HERE AT SSA.
OKAY. EXCELLENT.
WOW! THEY PASS QUICKLY.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT.
YOU PROBABLY HEARD SOME OF THIS ALREADY.
IF IT'S REPETITIVE, I APOLOGIZE, BUT WE'RE GOING TO GET A LITTLE
BIT INTO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT LINK TOGETHER THAT FORM SOME OF
THE FABRIC OF OPEN GOVERNMENT. AND I AM GOING TO TALK MORE
INTERNALLY THAN EXTERNALLY AND WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE AT SSA.
AND SOME OF THESE THINGS I THINK WILL RESONATE WITH YOU BECAUSE A
LOT OF THESE ARE IN PARTNERSHIP ACROSS THE AGENCY.
AND YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF THOSE. BUT YOU KNOW ABOUT THE OPEN
GOVERNMENT DIRECTIVE THAT WAS RELEASED IN JANUARY 2009 AND IT
HAD THREE PRINCIPLES: TRANSPARENCY,
PARTICIPATION AND COLLABORATION. I'M GOING TO TALK PRIMARILY
ABOUT TRANSPARENCY AND DATA ASPECTS OF TRANSPARENCY.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM, THERE ARE FOUR BASIC AREAS OF
TRANSPARENCY: DATA AND THE QUALITY OF DATA.
SPENDING. RECOVERY, IN THE RECOVERY ACT.
AND PERFORMANCE. IF YOU CAN'T MEASURE IT,
YOU DIDN'T DO IT, THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT THAT MEANS.
OKAY. YOU PROBABLY KNOW ABOUT
SOME OF THESE BUT LET'S GO THROUGH THEM VERY QUICKLY.
DATA.GOV WHERE WE RELEASE OUR HIGH-VALUE DATASETS.
AND THE KEY ELEMENT THERE, I THINK, IS VALUE.
I LOOK AT IT FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
I WEAR SEVERAL HATS IN THE AGENCY.
I'M THE DEPUTY FOR QUALITY PERFORMANCE.
I'M ALSO THE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT OFFICER AND I'M THE
DATA QUALITY OFFICER. SO MY INTEREST, REALLY, IS
THAT THAT DATA THAT'S RELEASED IS NOT ONLY HIGH VALUE,
BUT HIGH QUALITY. AND I HAVE TO GIVE A SHOUTOUT TO
ALLEN, ALAN LANE DOWN HERE AND COMPANY FOR GETTING ALL THAT
DATA OUT THERE THAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR, 16 DATASETS WITH,
I BELIEVE, FIVE MORE COMING AND BY THE END OF '10 --
>> SPEAKER: AND WE'VE GOT ABOUT 22 OF THEM RIGHT NOW.
>> RON RAYBORG: TWENTY-TWO? >> SPEAKER: [INDISCERNIBLE]
>> RON RAYBORG: YEAH, I THINK THAT'S BEEN A NOBLE EFFORT,
BUT WE'RE OBVIOUSLY PUTTING MORE UP AND WE WANT TO MAKE
SURE THAT DATA IS VERY GOOD WHEN WE DO THAT.
USA SPENDING, CONTRACTS, GRANTS AND PERIOD ASSISTANCE
INFORMATION WHICH WE WANT TO EXPOSE THAT AS WELL.
RECOVERY, TRACKS ALL OF THAT MONEY THAT WENT OUT FOR UNDER
THE RECOVERY ACT AND HOW THAT'S BEING USED.
AND THEN PERFORMANCE. THIS IS THE LINK TO WHAT I
TALKED ABOUT WITH MY ROLE AS THE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT OFFICER.
IT'S WHERE WE HAVE OUR AND OTHER AGENCY HIGH-PRIORITY
PERFORMANCE GOALS. THE GOALS THAT THE AGENCY
CONSIDERS THEIR HIGHEST LEVEL THAT WE'RE BEING TRACKED TO.
OKAY. DATA QUALITY OFFICER,
THAT'S ONE OF MY HATS, RIGHT? NOW, ANY OF YOU -- HOW MANY OF
YOU HAVE AN IT BACKGROUND? A LOT.
OKAY. WE ALL KNOW ABOUT DATA, RIGHT?
IF YOU HAVE DATA IN MORE THAN ONE PLACE IT'S GUARANTEED
TO BE DIFFERENT, RIGHT? IF WE HAVE A LOT OF
DATA THAT'S SUSPECT, ESPECIALLY DATA THAT ORIGINATED
IN SOURCES THAT WERE PAPER, LOOK AT THE NUMITIVE FILE,
ORIGINATED VERY EARLY ON. YOU KNOW, IT HOUSES OUR ID DATA.
BUT AS IT'S TRANSITIONED OVER TIME IT'S GOTTEN MORE, I'LL SAY,
HIGHER QUALITY AS IS A LOT OF OUR OTHER MASTER FILE DATA.
WE WERE REQUIRED BY OMB TO COME UP WITH A SHORT-TERM AND
LONG-TERM STRATEGY FOR DATA QUALITY.
AND I'VE GOT TO TELL 'YA THAT WE'RE ON TRACK AND I
FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT THAT. SHORT-TERM WE WERE TO
BEGIN WITH FINANCIAL DATA, PARTICULARLY DATA AROUND
ACQUISITIONS, GRANTS, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
WE RELEASED A CERTIFICATION AND I HAVE TO ACTUALLY SIGNOFF
AND SAY THAT THAT DATA IS OF HIGH QUALITY.
AND WORKING WITH BUDGET AND FINANCIAL FOLKS,
WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT. AS TIME MOVES FORWARD ON THE
SHORT-TERM STRATEGY, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT OTHER DATASETS.
NOW, YOU HAVE TO THINK TO YOURSELF, THOSE OF YOU WITH AN
IT BACKGROUND OR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN
ASSOCIATED WITH DATA, THIS IS A BIG UNDERTAKING.
IN FACT, IT'S ENORMOUS. BECAUSE WHAT IT SAYS IS WE'RE
GOING TO LOOK AT EVERYTHING, ALL OF OUR DATA,
AND CERTIFY IT AS HIGH QUALITY. SO THE LONGER TERM STRATEGY FOR
DATA QUALITY MOVING FORWARD IS A GOVERNANCE MODEL RISK ASSESSMENT
ON THE EXISTING DATE, GOVERNING PRINCIPLES,
COMMUNICATIONS AND MONITORING. WELL, WHAT DOES
ALL OF THAT MEAN? WELL, WHAT IT SAYS IS YOU HAVE
TO GO IN WITH A STRATEGY WHERE YOU EITHER, YOU CAN SWALLOW THE
800-POUND, THE ELEPHANT OR THE GORILLA WHOLE, OR YOU
COULD COME AT IT FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
YOU CAN SAY WHAT ARE OUR MOST USED DATA ELEMENTS OR MOST
PROBLEMATIC DATA ELEMENTS AND START THERE AND START ASSESSING
THE QUALITY OF THAT DATA, HOW IT'S BEING USED AND DO YOU
MAKE SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES TO THAT DATA SO THAT WHEN WE DO RELEASE
IT EXTERNALLY, THAT WE'RE RELEASING DATA THAT WE CAN
ALL FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH. THAT WE'RE RELEASING SOMETHING
THAT WE FEEL LIKE HAS VALUE AND IS HIGHLY, HIGHLY ACCURATE.
SO GOING FORWARD, THE LONG-TERM STRATEGY IS VERY COMPLEX.
IT INVOLVES ALL OF OUR MASTER FILES.
SO YOU CAN SEE THIS IS NO SMALL TASK.
WE DO HAVE A DATA QUALITY PLAN. IT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY OMB.
IN FACT, IT WAS HELD UP AS ONE OF THE BEST SO FAR IN GOVERNMENT
WHICH I FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT AND WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD
WITH OUR LONGER TERM STRATEGY. IF WE'RE STARTING TO BUILD
IT NOW AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO ATTACK THAT.
AND AS YOU KNOW, TAKING ON INITIATIVES LIKE THAT ARE VERY,
VERY DIFFICULT. AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS IF
YOU MAKE A CHANGE TO A DATA ELEMENT SOMEWHERE, OBVIOUSLY
EVERY DOWNLINE SYSTEM AND PROCESS THAT TOUCHES THAT PIECE
OF DATA, HAS TO BE VALIDATED AND/OR CHANGED TO REACT TO THE
NEW VALUE OR THE NEW ELEMENT OR THE NEW DEFINITION.
SO THIS IS AMBITIOUS. IT ISN'T JUST AN OFFICE OF
QUALITY PERFORMANCE ITEM. THIS INVOLVES EVERYONE IN THE
AGENCY IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. OKAY.
THE OTHER HAT THAT I WEAR, A PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT
OFFICER FOR THE AGENCY. NOW, THIS PREEXISTED THE OBAMA
ADMINISTRATION, THIS, THIS ROLE. BUT IT IS KEY, ACTUALLY,
TO OPEN GOVERNMENT. SO THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
ACTUALLY EMBRACED THIS CONCEPT OF A PERFORMANCE
IMPROVEMENT OFFICER. AND BASICALLY THE ROLE SO FAR
HAS BEEN TO IDENTIFY WHAT ARE CALLED THE HIGH PRIORITY
PERFORMANCE GOALS OF THE AGENCY AND TO GET THEM PUBLISHED,
BUT THEN TO -- AND THIS IS EVEN MORE KEY, I THINK,
THAN GETTING THOSE GOALS OUT THERE -- WAS TO IDENTIFY WHAT
ARE CALLED GOAL LEADERS. AND THOSE GOAL LEADERS ARE
RESPONSIBLE FOR REPORTING ON THOSE FOUR GOALS.
AND THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE ACTUALLY PRACTITIONERS.
THEY AREN'T TALKING HEADS LIKE ME.
THEY'RE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THAT DATA
AND CAN TALK ABOUT IT. AND I'LL TELL YOU HOW
SERIOUS OMB IS ABOUT THIS. WHEN THEY WANT TO SPEAK ON THESE
HIGH-PRIORITY GOALS, THEY DON'T WANT TO ME, THE PIO.
THEY WANT TO TALK DIRECTLY TO THOSE GOAL LEADERS
ABOUT THOSE GOALS. SO YOU MIGHT ASK
WHAT ARE THOSE GOALS? RIGHT NOW THOSE GOALS ARE
INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ONLINE APPLICATIONS, I MEAN,
THAT'S MOM AND APPLE PIE. WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE TO THE
INTERNET AS MUCH AS WE CAN. ISSUE MORE DECISIONS FOR PEOPLE
WHO FILE FOR DISABILITIES. SO THAT'S NOT JUST TIED TO ONE
LEVEL OF THE PROCESS, THAT'S THE ENTIRE
DISABILITY PROCESS. IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE
EXPERIENCE ON THE TELEPHONE, FIELD OFFICES AND ONLINE.
OKAY, WHAT'S OUR HIGHEST LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SERVICE?
WHICH CHANNEL IS THE BEST IN TERMS OF RIGHT NOW?
>> [INDISCERNIBLE] >> RON RAYBORG: WALK-IN TRAFFIC.
NOW, AS TIME GOES FORWARD, YOU KNOW WE'RE GETTING
INCREDIBLY HIGH SCORES ON THE, ACSI SCORES ON THE ONLINE,
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY ATTRACTING MORE PEOPLE.
AND OF COURSE THE MEDIA CAMPAIGN IS ATTRACTING MORE PEOPLE.
THE 800 NUMBER IS ON THE DECLINE TO A DEGREE.
BUT WE NEED TO WORK ON ALL OF THOSE CHANNELS AND PARTICULARLY
THE ONES WHERE WE'D LIKE TO SEE PEOPLE MOVE TO ONLINE
AND MORE 800 NUMBER. AND WE ALSO HAVE TO MOVE TOWARD
MORE QUANTIFIABLE GOALS -- I'M SORRY -- QUALITATIVE GOALS
VERSUS QUANTITATIVE TO SAY NOT ONLY DID SOMEONE COME TO THE 800
NUMBER, BUT DID WE ANSWER THAT QUESTION CORRECTLY THE FIRST
TIME SO THAT THEY DON'T NEED COME BACK TO THE 800 NUMBER OR
WALK INTO A FIELD OFFICE WHICH EXACERBATES OUR PROBLEM.
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S OUR THIRD GOAL.
AND THEN STEWARDSHIP OF OUR PROGRAMS.
YOU CAN SEE A TREND AND, YOU KNOW,
WHEN YOU LOOK AT RECOVERY.GOV, HOW DID WE SPEND THE RECOVERY
ACT MONEY, RIGHT? BUT THERE'S A TREND NOW AROUND
IMPROPER PAYMENTS AND MISSED ENTITLEMENTS IN OMB.
YOU CAN SEE THERE'S LEGISLATION OUT THERE AROUND
IMPROPER PAYMENTS. THERE'S A MOVE AFOOT THAT THE
STEWARDSHIP OF THE PROGRAMS IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT TO THE
CUSTOMER SERVICE ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM.
DID WE PROVIDE THE RIGHT CHECK TO THE RIGHT PERSON
AT THE RIGHT TIME. THAT'S BECOMING EVEN MORE
CRITICAL AS TIME GOES FORWARD. SO YOU'RE GOING TO SEE US FOCUS
MORE ON THAT GOAL AND I WOULD SAY YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A FOCUS
AROUND THAT GOAL PROBABLY IN GOOD STEWARDSHIP, GOOD SPENDING
OF OUR FUNDS, MOVING FORWARD TO OUR NEXT AGENCY STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE HAVE, AS I SAID, WE HAD DESIGNATED GOAL LEADERS
AROUND THESE HPPG'S, BUT WHAT I NEED TO SAY ABOUT
THEM IS THEY'RE TIED TO OUR CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN.
AS WE DEVELOP A NEW ONE, IT WILL CASCADE DOWN THE NEW
GOALS GOING FORWARD. OKAY.
SO THE STRATEGIC PLAN. EVERYBODY IS FAMILIAR WITH THE
CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN, RIGHT? THE GOALS IN THAT, YOU KNOW,
REDUCE THE DISABILITY BACKLOG, IMPROVE THE DISABILITY PROCESS.
THERE IS A STEWARDSHIP GOAL. THERE ARE TWO OBJECTIVES
THAT UNDERPIN ALL THE GOALS RELATED TO HR AND
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. THE ASP ACTUALLY LINKS ALL OF
THIS TOGETHER IN MY MIND. YOU'VE GOT, THE ASP HAS
TO RESONATE EXTERNALLY. IT HAS TO RESONATE
WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS. IT HAS TO RESONATE
WITH THE PUBLIC. IT HAS TO RESONATE WITH
CONGRESS, WITH OMB. IT HAS TO RESONATE WITH SOCIAL
SECURITY ADVISORY BOARD. IT HAS TO RESONATE
WITH OUR EMPLOYEES. SO IT'S VERY KEY THAT AS THAT
ASP MOVES FORWARD, THAT IT EMBRACES ALL THE ASPECTS
OF OPEN GOVERNMENT. THESE ARE ACTUAL WORDS FROM
SHELLEY METZENBAUM WHO IS IN OMB AND INVOLVED IN PERFORMANCE.
"THE ASP IS A VALUABLE TOOL FOR COMMUNICATING A COMMON
VISION FOR THE FUTURE. "IT SHOULD INFORM AGENCY
DECISION MAKING. "INVITE IDEAS AND
STIMULATE INNOVATION. "AND ALIGN RESOURCES AND
GUIDE DECISION MAKING." WELL, I HAVE TO SAY THIS:
THE ASP ACTIVITIES HAVE BEGUN. AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD, YOU CAN
SEE THAT THE KEY THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING AROUND DATA QUALITY,
AROUND PERFORMANCE, AROUND BEING ABLE TO MEASURE, MEASURE THINGS,
THIS ADMINISTRATION IS VERY METRICS DRIVEN.
SO IT'S GOING TO BE CRITICAL THAT WE HAVE AN ASP THAT
RESONATES WITH ALL THE PEOPLE I TALK ABOUT,
BUT ALSO HAS THE UNDERPINNINGS OF ALL THESE ASPECTS OF OPEN
GOVERNMENT THAT ARE LISTED HERE. OKAY.
THAT'S ABOUT ALL I HAD. I JUST WANTED TO FOCUS ON THE
DATA QUALITY INITIATIVE. DATA QUALITY UNDERPINS
EVERYTHING THAT WE RELEASE EXTERNALLY.
OBVIOUSLY AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD WE WANT THE DATA TO BE BETTER.
AND ALSO PERFORMANCE. YOU CAN ONLY ASSESS PERFORMANCE
IF YOU HAVE HIGH-QUALITY DATA TO UNDERSTAND HOW
WELL YOU'RE DOING. I THINK IT'S VERY SIMPLE.
AND I THINK GOING FORWARD THOSE ITEMS WILL BE UNDERPINNINGS OF
OUR OPEN GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE. I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE ANY TIME
FOR A QUESTION OR TWO. >> SPEAKER: ANY QUESTIONS?
GREAT. VERY GOOD.
THANK YOU, EVERYONE. >> RON RAYBORG: OKAY.
THANK YOU. >> [APPLAUSE]