# Presentation: 708381

## U.S. General Accounting Office

*Electronic Government:*
*Challenges to Effective Adoption of the Extensible Markup Language*
*(GAO-02-327)*

## Agenda

- Context
- Scope and objectives
- Methodology
- Principal findings
- Recommendations for executive action
- GAO contacts

- April 29, 2002

## Context

- Press reports have characterized the GAO report in widely varying ways:
*Computerworld* (April 5): “GAO says XML not ready for extensive government use.”
*GovExec.com* (April 5): “GAO urges government to adopt XML programming language.”
*GCN.com* (April 5): “General Accounting Office warns of XML pitfalls.”
*Federal Computer Week* (April 8): “XML efforts need focus, GAO says.”
*Washington Technology* (April 10): “Lieberman: Government needs plan for adopting XML.”

- April 29, 2002

## Scope and Objectives

- We performed this review at the request of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.
- The review focused on management issues associated with *broad adoption of XML across the federal government.*
- We were asked to assess:
- Overall development status of XML standards to determine whether they are ready for governmentwide use.
- Challenges faced by the federal government in optimizing its adoption of XML technology to promote broad information sharing and systems interoperability.

- April 29, 2002

## Methodology

- Assessed the progress of major XML-related standards activities;
- Reviewed XML-related public documents;
- Held discussions with representatives from the XML Working Group, OMB, GSA, NIST, DOD, EPA, NARA, SEC, OPM, and Amtrak;
- Held discussions with private sector representatives, including Microsoft and the XBRL Consortium.
- We conducted the review from April 2001 through January 2002.

- April 29, 2002

## Principal Findings

*XML is being broadly implemented both commercially and in government.  Examples in the federal government include SEC, EPA, DOD, and many others.*
*The XML Working Group has many successful activities underway, focused primarily on education and outreach.*
- Monthly working group meetings;
- Xml.gov website;
- Coordination with other groups, such as state governments.

- April 29, 2002

## Principal Findings

*Despite progress, a complete set of standards for implementing XML is only partially in place.*
- Technical standards are generally well-established;
- Business standards are less well-established.
*The federal government faces challenges in realizing XML’s full potential.*
- Implementing XML presents pitfalls;
- Federal input to standards bodies has not been consolidated;
- Interoperability depends on an effective cross-agency registry;
- Implementation is more effective in an architectural context.

- April 29, 2002

## A Complete Set of Standards for Implementing XML Is Only Partially in Place

- Technical standards—such as XML 1.0, XSL, XML Schema, and others—have been largely worked out by W3C and already in use.
- Key XML-related business standards—such as ebXML, RosettaNet, UDDI, and others—are not as mature.
- Standards-setting organizations in the private sector are creating various XML business standards—both horizontally and vertically—that are in part overlapping and incompatible.
- The federal government will need to adopt those business standards that ultimately achieve widespread acceptance; thus it must be cautious about endorsing specific proposed standards in the near term.

- April 29, 2002

## The Federal Government Faces Challenges in Realizing XML’s Full Potential

- Implementing XML presents pitfalls:
- Risk that redundant data definitions, vocabularies, and structures will proliferate;
- Potential for proprietary extensions to be built into systems that would defeat XML’s goal of broad interoperability;
- Potential for new security vulnerabilities to be introduced in existing systems and networks.

- April 29, 2002

## The Federal Government Faces Challenges in Realizing XML’s Full Potential

- No explicit governmentwide strategy for XML adoption has been defined to guide agency implementation efforts and ensure that agency enterprise architectures address incorporation of XML.
- Strategy could include:
- Defining governmentwide interoperability goals;
- Endorsing XML as a preferred format for cross-agency data sharing and specifying the kinds of data and systems that would be most affected;
- Specifying a governmentwide registry as a way to coordinate data and structure definitions;
- Establishing a process for designating preferred XML standards and how they are to be used.

- April 29, 2002

## The Federal Government Faces Challenges in Realizing XML’s Full Potential

- No process has been defined for consolidated collaboration with commercial standards bodies to ensure that government requirements are identified and incorporated.
- The federal government has a need for at least some unique data and structure definitions.
- To date, federal agencies have participated individually in standards setting activities.
- Consolidated input could present a better face to industry and have more clout.

- April 29, 2002

## The Federal Government Faces Challenges in Realizing XML’s Full Potential (Contd.)

- XML interoperability across the government depends on an effective cross-agency registry.
- The government does not yet have an operational registry of government-unique XML data structures that systems developers consult when building or modifying XML-based systems.
- Issues include:
- Funding,
- Management (OMB) commitment,
- Policies/guidance for operations and maintenance,
- Policies/guidance for use.

- April 29, 2002

## The Federal Government Faces Challenges in Realizing XML’s Full Potential (Contd.)

- If not implemented in the context of an enterprise architecture,  XML is likely to provide only a patchwork solution to systems interoperability.
- Data element definitions and structures are likely to overlap in function or be completely redundant.
- There is a temptation to implement XML quickly and cheaply as a narrowly-focused data exchange solution.
- Broader gains in interoperability require a greater upfront commitment to address data standards issues.

- April 29, 2002

## GAO Recommendations for Executive Action

- OMB, working with the federal CIO Council and NIST, should develop a strategy for governmentwide adoption of XML to include:
- Developing a process with defined roles, responsibilities, and accountability for identifying and coordinating government-unique requirements and presenting consolidated, focused input to private sector standards-setting bodies;
- Developing a project plan—including timeframes and resources—for transitioning the pilot XML registry effort into an operational governmentwide resource;
- Setting policies and guidelines for managing and participating in the  governmentwide XML registry, once it is operational.
- Federal agencies should address XML in their enterprise architectures.

- April 29, 2002

## GAO Contacts

- David L. McClureDirector, IT Management IssuesE-mail: _[mcclured@gao.](mailto:mcclured@gao.gov)__[gov](mailto:mcclured@gao.gov)_Telephone: (202) 512-6257
- John de FerrariAssistant Director, ITE-mail: _[deferrarij@gao.gov](mailto:deferrarij@gao.gov)_Telephone: (202) 512-6335
- Steven LawSenior Analyst, ITE-mail: _[laws@gao.](mailto:laws@gao.gov)__[gov](mailto:laws@gao.gov)_Telephone: (202) 512-7203

- April 29, 2002

- Full text of the report:
- _[http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02327.pdf](http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02327.pdf)_
- Or at:
- _[http://xml.gov](http://xml.gov/)_

- April 29, 2002