York Info Partnership Portal 101 Workshop

1. York Info Partnership Portal 101 Workshop Enterprise Portal - An Effective Environment for Electronic Service Delivery May 25, 2007. Jury Konga, Manager GIS Services Information Technology & Resources Division, Corporate Services Department Town of Richmond Hill

2. Overview • What’s our goal …. • Portal – a definition and evolution • eGov Portal Service Delivery- business drivers, access scenarios, supporting technologies • Portal Functional Roles & Website Differentiators • Web Portals in Action … some snapshots • Portal Benefits & Some Takeaways

3. listen & meet the needs of your clients Our Goal - Service Excellence- Don’t lose sight of the Basics? Internal Clients External Clients Service Excellence The basis for Service Excellence is relatively “simple” Business Data (80% geospatial) Policies, Standards & Processes Info Technology Human Resources $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Business Imperatives Corporate Assets Enabling Tools Intellectual Capital Service delivery – there’s the challenge D

4. The front counter will always be needed Faxing information is still a popular delivery mechanism Service by phone will continue Electronic service delivery comes in many forms and continues to change Public Service Delivery at Work- A Reality Check on the Continuum Service begins & ends with the customer …. their technology goes from A to Z C

5. The e-Government Portal - What are we talking about? • The term “web portal” or “portal” has quickly become another abused/confused buzzword ….. many perceptions • For our purposes, let’s consider the eGov portal as the primary Internet “gateway” to your information and eGov services • It is a single gateway for users, such as employees, customers and company’s partners to log into and retrieve corporate information, company history and other services or resources • How accomplished? • SOA has a role as the design architecture for development • Portal “software suite” together with industry standards bring the portal to life

6. The e-Government Portal - How the “Portal” has Evolved … and continues

7. Source: “The Portal Guide” V1.0, Government of Ontario eGov “Portal” Service Delivery- The business drivers C

8. Secondary Access Channel Access Scenario Primary Access Channel Access Broker Assisted access through GIC or private issuer Physical Electronic P o r t a l s P O R T A L Assisted access through Call Centre Operator Hardware Electronic Voice Direct access through Computer Telephony Interface (CTI, IVR, WAP) Electronic/Voice Applications Direct access through Computer, PAT, or Kiosk Electronic Data OPS Portal Domain eGov “Portal” Service Delivery- The Access Scenarios Access directly over the web or through brokers and secondary channels, services are ultimately provided through a portal. Source: “The Portal Guide” V1.0, Government of Ontario

9. “Portal Functionality” eGov Portal Service Delivery - Some Key Supporting Technologies Components of Massachusetts Portal - figure from the eGov Strategic Plan

10. eGov “Portal” Service Delivery- Some Key Functional Roles & Website Differentiators • Aggregation • address disparate content sources & common service needs • Integration • leverageenterprise applications & IT infrastructure • Presentation • consistent interface, user interaction & portal “experience” • Access • common access mechanism, different access levels • De-centralized Content Management • Business groups manage content; administrator manages rights • Customization & Personalization Source: Derivative of “What is a Portal”, Ray Valdes, Gartner; NYS Portal Day, Dec. 4, 2001.

11. eGov “Portal” Service Delivery- Some Key Functional Roles & Website Differentiators • Focus on two key differentiators – Customization & Personalization (some cross-over is seen) • Customization • Consider this function relating to groups of people (e.g. staff business units, external partners, public stakeholder groups) • Via a secure login, a member (with an access profile) of the group has access to information and services allowed for that group – “role based” • Controlled by portal administrator, authorization and authentication • User can further filter preferences of the group for their needs • Personalization • Consider this function being unique to an individual • Can be further personalized to account for typical user activities (e.g. always goes to news section) • Allows user to define a profile of preferences related to information and services (e.g. MyHomepage; subscription to newsletters)

12. eGov “Portal” Service Delivery- Portal as a collection of Portlets • Portlets are pluggable user interface components that are managed and displayed in a web portal. Portlet applications include email, weather reports, discussion forums, and news. • Many sites allow registered users to personalize their view of the website by turning on or off portions of the webpage, or by adding or deleting features. This is usually accomplished by a set of portlets that together form the portal. • Portlet Standards – Example. The Java Portlet Specification (JSR168) enables interoperability for portlets between different web portals. This specification defines a set of APIs for interaction between the portlet container and the portlet addressing the areas of personalization, presentation and security. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portlets

13. eGov “Portal” Service Delivery- Portal as a collection of Portlets

14. eGov “Portal” Service Delivery- Portal Benefits … Reusable Components • Remember SOA … think of some Building Blocks for your Portal such as the following • Shopping Cart - For online purchase of products or services • Chat - This allows users to chat online • Calendar - Shows events or lets users post events • Search - Keyword or phrase search of the whole site • Application/Service Request Form - Visitors can complete an application and send it directly to service provider business group • Survey and Poll - Get helpful information about visitors coming to your site • Links - Allow visitors to add their favorite links

15. eGov GIS Web Standards/Specifications- Key Organizations • The following is not an all inclusive list but provides the insight that standards work is significant, ongoing, and must be integrated with any eGov portal development • World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) • Web Services Interoperability (WS-I) • International Standards Organization (ISO) • American National Standards Association (ANSI) • Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) • Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE) • Object Management Group (OMG) • Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) .. Web services focus • National “geo” standards organizations State, Provincial and local government organizations • In addition to standards organizations, there are a multitude of task forces, working groups and some who focus on “specifications” not standards e.g. Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) C

16. The eGov Portal- A Portal Industry Snapshot

17. The eGov Portal - Web Portal … Winners in Action - Canada • The Government of Canada site has been noted in several studies as been the “best example of an e-Government site ”www.gc.ca/main_e.html • Three primary gateways: • Canadian Citizen & Residents • Canadian Business • Non-Canadians Next level (used to) focus on services and client groups as well as “life events” such as the ‘lost wallet’ – now, again we have a new look

18. The U.S. Government has a clean look & feel to site visitors www.firstgov.gov Similar gateways: Citizen Business/Non-Profits Federal Employee G-toG The Non-Resident (e.g. visitors) is not highlighted as in Canada’s site Once again – new look The eGov Portal - Web Portal … The U.S. Federal Site

19. The eGov Portal - Web Portal … The Australian Site • The Australian Government also has a clean look & feel to visitors http://www.australia.gov.au/ • Similar gateways: • For Australians • For Business • About Australia (Visitors) and • Government • Federal sites had reached a similar “look& feel”, now, they’re changing yearly

20. Great Search Engine Simple Selection of your area of interest Extensive eServices and simple “How Do I?” section Addressing the multi-cultural needs of their clients The eGov Portal … Winners in Action – Washington State Washington State has been a perennial star in eGov; 2nd in eServices & 1st overall as the Digital State – a few of personal observations on the new 2004 site http://www.access.wa.gov/ D

21. The eGov Portal … Winners in Action – Washington, D.C. • Washington D.C. voted #1 in 2003 by CDG • Home page has the “goods” and makes effective use of “real estate” Resident’s Page provides effective access to various info & services “eServices” link provides access to specific transaction services –notice tab approach again http://www.dc.gov/index.asp D

22. The eGov Portal … Winners in Action – Province of Ontario • Ontario has different design but similar components to Washington state • Note the “Search”, “News”, “Online Services”, & “Popular Topics” Online Services – by topic or client type Online Services for Individuals – notice in life events … the infamous lost wallet! www.gov.on.ca/mbs/english/index.html .. another new version D

23. the eGov Portal - Key Takeaways • Highlights to consider • We’re in the service delivery business • It’s meant to meet our clients’ needs – relate to them • It should be an enterprise “product” • SOA and Portal technology supports efficient and effective electronic service delivery • Rome wasn’t built in a day – plan, develop and deploy within rationale expectations • Undertake iterative development and deployment • There’s a lot to know – seek external expertise • EVERY organization is different and the “eGov portal” will evolve over time as resources and priorities are provided