Section 7.3 Cost Estimating Methodology Directive By March 1, 2014, a complete recommendation must be submitted to the Governor, Chief Financial Officer, President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The recommended website(s) design must provide an intuitive and cohesive user experience that allows users to move easily between varied types of related data. The recommendation must also include a cost estimate for implementation of the design. Methodology In the January 21, 2014 meeting, the UETF adopted a recommended design intended to result in a cohesive and intuitive website presentation. In order to complete the recommendation report, the impact and cost of the recommended design must be determined. To accomplish this task, two cost approaches will be considered. Approach 1 The managers of the state-managed websites that have been identified to be in scope will be provided the recommended design and asked to provide a cost estimate to accomplish the desired improvements. Specifically, the managers of the 11 state-managed websites will be contacted (see Appendix A) and requested to consider the design recommendations, provide comments or/and assumptions, and provide a cost range to accomplish the recommended design. A summary of the costs provided will be considered as part of the final recommendation report. Approach 2 The 2013 U.S. PIRG Following the Money 2013 report published in March 2013 gathered costs from several states on the costs to start up and maintain a transparency website. An average of the information provided in that report, applicable to the State of Florida, will also be considered as part of the final recommendation report (see Appendix B). User Experience Task Force Page 1
Appendix A Request to Website Managers Memorandum To: <insert name> <insert website> From: Maureen Olson, Staff Director User Experience Task Force Date: February 5, 2014 RE: Request for Transparency Website Modifications Cost Estimates Priority: HIGH- Information needed by February 10, 2014 I. ACTION ITEM REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Please complete the attached checklist (Appendix A) and return to Dawn Creamer at Dawn.Creamer@MyFloridaCFO.com no later than February 10, 2014. II. BACKGROUND During the 2013 legislative session, the Florida Legislature enacted CS/HB 5401, which was approved by the Governor. Chapter 2013-54, Laws of Florida modifies and amends the Transparency Florida Act, Section 215.985, F.S. In addition to making many changes and updates to existing transparency website, the legislation also created the User Experience Task Force. The four member User Experience Task Force(UETF) is charged with reviewing all relevant state-managed websites, providing options for reducing the number of transparency websites without losing detail data, and providing for linking expenditure data with related invoices and contracts. The UETF must submit a recommended website design that includes a cost estimate for the implementation of the design as part of the complete recommendation due March 1, 2014. User Experience Task Force Page 2
III. IN SCOPE WEBSITES At the initial meeting of the UETF, a work plan was developed to accomplish the mission of the Task Force directed in the Transparency Florida Act. The first task on the work plan was to develop an inventory of the websites meeting the prescribed criteria. CRITERIA The in-scope websites are defined as existing state-managed websites that provide public access to state operational and fiscal information. Using this criteria, the UETF determined that your agency s transparency website, identified above, was identified to be included in the scope of the Task Force. IV. REQUEST IMPACT and COST ESTIMATE In order to complete its assignment, the UETF must produce a cost estimate for the implementation of the recommended design. The efforts of the UETF over the last few months have resulted in the recommendation of one landing page to be linked to the websites with in-scope information. The UETF has developed a list of high-level design requirements for this landing page, intended to reduce the number of duplicative websites, link the expenditure data with invoices and contracts, and provide an intuitive and cohesive user experience. These requirements will have varying impacts to the 11 in-scope websites, as they may need to be incorporated into the individual in-scope websites linked to the landing page. As these requirements are general requirements, the UETF understands that some assumptions will be made by the website owners to provide the requested cost information. However, the UETF requests that you give the best estimate of the costs or other impact to your agency to implement these high-level requirements. If any changes to statute are needed, please note this in the impact. To assist you with estimating the costs, a brief check list is provided in Appendix A. Please complete this check list and return to Dawn Creamer no later than February 10, 2014. SUMMARY This request does not ask you to initiate any changes or modifications to your agency website(s), only to assess the impact of potential changes listed in the recommendation. The information received from this request will be incorporated in the final report that will be submitted to the Governor, the Chief Financial Officer, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on March 1, 2014. User Experience Task Force Page 3
Please contact Dawn Creamer at 850-413-1522 or Dawn.Creamer@MyFloridaCFO.com if you have any questions or would like further information. Thank you, Maureen Olson Cc: Jason Allison, UETF Chair Information Technology Policy Advisor, Executive Office of the Governor User Experience Task Force Page 4
Appendix A - Impacts and Cost Estimate No. Requirement Category High Level Requirement 1 Navigation The user should not have to drill down more than 6 clicks from the main page on any topic. 2 Navigation The user should be notified if the selected link will transfer then to another site and be provided the option to return/remain within the site. 3 Navigation Identify similar or like information and group that information in one area within the site. 4 Navigation All headings, lists, graphics, and other design considerations such as color schemes, fonts and spacing should be consistent throughout the site. 5 Navigation There should be a consistent and predictable layout from page to page as related to the function and location on the page. 6 Navigation Breadcrumbs should be provided throughout the navigation of the site. 7 Navigation The organization (content map) should be provided. 8 Data All data currently provided on the website should be provided in a uniform format. 9 Data All data currently provided should be provided in a download standard format such as CSV. 10 Data All data currently provided should be provided in a browser readable format such as PDF. 11 Data All data currently provided should be searchable on the site. 12 Data All data currently provided should be displayed in a graphic format relative to the topic. 13 Features HELP should be provided on the main page. 14 Features Contact information, site ownership, and last update date should be provided as appropriate. 15 Features An option for FEEDBACK should be provided on all pages. 16 Features Social media resources currently available should be accessible. 17 Features Sites should consider subscription based alerts. 18 Technical Website should be compatible with major web browsers and the list of support browsers should be published and readily accessible. Assumptions and Comments* Cost ** User Experience Task Force Page 5
* This column is provided to allow the agency to qualify, through assumptions or general comments, the cost information provided. ** Cost information should be provided in terms of a range. This should be a total cost estimate, including software, hardware, contract resources, state resources, etc., that is anticipated to meet the requirement. The cost range should include a minimum and a maximum based on the assumptions provided. Considerations: It is the intent of the design to provide consistent and intuitive navigation that includes: Responsive Design Verified though User Testing Include site analytics Provide Browser compatibility with current versions of Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. Consistent Navigation Professional copyrighting Content Management Feedback forms User Experience Task Force Page 6
Appendix B Excerpt from US PIRG Following the Money 2013 Report March 2013 Online Transparency Costs Little The benefits of transparency websites have come with a surprisingly low price tag, both for creating and maintaining the websites. Several states including Delaware, Georgia, Ohio and Oregon created and update their websites with funds from their existing budgets. For websites that required a special appropriation or earmark, the cost is usually less than $300,000 to create the website and even less to keep it updated. (See Table 1.) For states that are concerned about the costs of contracting out to expensive information technology programmers, New York City this spring will also provide its top-notch code for free in an open source format. Table 1 State Start-Up Costs Annual Operating Costs Alabama $125,000 Less than $12,000 Alaska $5,000 Nominal Arizona $72,000, plus existing staff time Approximately $83,000 Arkansas $558,000 $175,000 Colorado $200,000 from existing budget, plus existing staff time $169,400 from existing budget Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Approximately $28,000 from existing budget Illinois Approximately $100,000 Approximately $10,000 Iowa Less than $75,000 $6,000 Kansas $150,000 from existing budget Kentucky $150,000 $10,000-$15,000 Louisiana $325,000 Minimal Maine $30,000 Maryland $65,000 $5,000 Massachusetts $540,000 $431,000 Michigan Minnesota Mississippi $2,200,000 $400,000 Missouri $293,140 from existing budget Less than $5,000 Montana Nebraska $30,000-$60,000 Approximately $10,000 Nevada $78,000 $30,000 New Hampshire User Experience Task Force Page 7
New Jersey New Mexico $230,000 $125,000 New York North Carolina $624,000 $80,600 North Dakota $231,000 $30,000 Ohio Oklahoma $8,000, plus existing staff time Approximately $3,600 Oregon Pennsylvania Approximately $300,000 Primarily existing staff time Rhode Island South Carolina $30,000 in existing staff time Existing staff time South Dakota Not tracked (nominal) Tennessee Texas $310,000 Utah $192,800, plus existing staff time ($100,000) $63,400, plus existing staff time ($133,400) Vermont Virginia $500,000 from existing budget $400,000 from existing budget Washington $300,000 West Virginia Wisconsin $30,000 $11,300 Wyoming $1,600 User Experience Task Force Page 8