Web Manager University - Spring 2007

Class Title: Meeting Federal Web Requirements and Best Practices

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Seminar Description

Are you familiar with all the federal web requirements that affect your agency website? In this seminar, you’ll get a broad overview of federal requirements, including OMB Policies for Federal Public Websites and other laws and regulations that relate to managing the content of federal websites.

You’ll also get a quick overview of the latest best practices for implementing the requirements. We’ll cover the most important things you should be doing to manage your content, measure performance, and ensure good usability.

In the second half of the class, we’ll hear how the Veterans Health Administration has developed their own internal policies, guidelines, and training to ensure they’re meeting federal requirements and best practices. We’ll end with a spirited contest to test the knowledge and skills you learned during class. So plan to learn, meet your peers, and have some fun.

Class Outline

What You’ll Learn

• A quick overview of federal web requirements, including:
  
  
  • E-Government Act of 2002
  • OMB Policies for Federal Public Websites
  • Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
  • Section 508 (Accessibility)
  • Digital Rights and Copyright
  • Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
  • Priorities and Schedules for Posting Content
  • Privacy Requirements
  • Web Records
    
    
    
• A quick overview of best practices, including:
  
  
  • Focusing on tasks rather than information
• Avoiding duplicate content within and across agencies
• Providing dates and ensuring content is current
• Using plain language
• Using common content, terminology, and placement
• Following usability best practices
• Using standard metadata
• Developing a web metrics strategy
• How to get found on search engines (search engine optimization)
  
  
• Strategies for developing your own website policies, guidance, and training to ensure compliance with federal requirements and best practices.

Who Should Attend

This is a broad survey class and is intended for anyone who works on a government website (employees and contractors) or anyone who needs to be familiar with federal web requirements and best practices

Seminar Format

Presentation, case studies, question and answer

About the Instructors

Sheila Campbell is the Team Leader for the USA.gov Web Best Practices Team, which provides training, guidance, and practical tools to help government web managers improve their websites. In this role, she oversees Webcontent.gov, Web Manager University, and the activities of the Web Content Managers Forum, a group of over 1,200 federal, state and local web managers. She serves as co-chair of the Web Managers Advisory Council, part of the Interagency Committee on Government Information that recommended policies and guidelines for all federal public websites to comply with the E-Government Act of 2002.

Previously, Sheila served as a Senior Content Manager for USA.gov, the U.S. government’s official web portal. In this role, she managed the redesign of USA.gov (formerly FirstGov.gov) in 2003, led various usability testing efforts, and launched the U.S. government’s first Spanish-language portal, GobiernoUSA.gov.

Before joining USA.gov, Sheila served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Peace Corps, where she coordinated day-to-day operational, policy, and communications activities, including the development of the Peace Corps’ first Intranet. Sheila has a B.A. in Political Science and French from the University of California, Berkeley.

Joyce Bounds is a long time employee of the Veterans Health Administration. She is currently the Director for Veterans Health Administration Web Communications Office. This office provides oversight and accountability of content on VHA Internet and intranet websites.

Joyce serves as the VHA representative on high level agency committees and several interagency committees that focus on web content management strategies. VA has recently completed its governance structure, which combines both centralized and decentralized structures for their web presence. Previously Joyce managed numerous Intensive Care Units, which she says was far easier than creating a governance structure or controlling web content.

Joyce is a member of the Web Managers Advisory Council.