In recent years, significant improvements in data management and presentation technologies have made it possible for governments to report performance information in new ways. Prior to the development of these technologies, performance information was generally reported in static reports, such as printed annual reports. Technology now allows data to be collected from different operational units and then presented through interactive, web-based dashboards and performance-reporting websites to provide an integrated, multidimensional view of a government’s performance. This advantage can give web-based performance reporting the ability to more efficiently convey understandable information to stakeholders and citizens. Performance reporting websites are dynamic and can be updated on a more frequent basis, or in real-time if technology allows and data are available, ensuring that information is timely. They can also be flexible enough to meet the needs of different audiences. For example, they can be used to combine and organize, or layer, different levels of performance information, allowing users to quickly access information from an overall organizational perspective and to drill down to get a more detailed perspective at the sub-unit level. In addition, performance reporting websites can be made more engaging for users through the use of tables and interactive graphics and maps that allow users to visualize performance information in different ways. Governments at the local and state level in the United States and in other countries have developed performance reporting websites. The purposes of these websites include, for example, compliance with statutory reporting requirements and making information on the goals and performance of government more widely accessible and transparent for those inside and outside of government. Officials from other state governments, who have developed performance reporting websites, emphasized that making regularly-updated and understandable information on goals and performance widely accessible for potential users of information on the site, such as interested members of the general public, legislators, executive branch leaders, delivery partners, the media, key stakeholders, advocacy groups, and researchers can increase oversight and lead to a greater focus within government on the activities and efforts necessary to improve performance. In this way, the websites can also enhance accountability within government and support a culture of performance. These websites can also be used to facilitate communication by providing a shared source of information on goals and performance. According to OMB, the Performance.gov website is intended to highlight the administration’s management initiatives and address the performance reporting requirements of GPRAMA. Figure 1 displays the Performance.gov home page. To comply with the requirements of GPRAMA, the current version of Performance.gov also provides information, which is to be updated on a quarterly basis, on agency and cross-agency priority goals. The pages with information on agency and cross-agency priority goals can be accessed either through individual agency pages on Performance.gov or through the website’s “Clear Goals” page. The information available on agency priority goals includes the strategies being used to achieve each goal, next steps and milestones, performance indicators used to track progress, and contributing programs. Figure 2 provides an example of how performance trends are presented graphically through an agency priority goal page. We recently examined the extent to which 24 agencies implemented selected requirements related to 102 agency priority goals and commented on the 21 agency priority goals of 5 selected agencies. We recommended that OMB could improve agency priority goal implementation by revising its guidance to better reflect interim target, milestone, and cross-agency priority goal alignment requirements and by ensuring that agencies provide complete information about external contributors to their agency priority goals and describe congressional input on the goal’s development. OMB concurred with the recommendations. In addition, GPRAMA requires federal government performance plan information; agency-level strategic plans, agency performance plans, and agency performance updates; and detailed information about each program identified by agencies to be posted on the website. According to OMB’s guidance, these additional features will be added to the website over time. implementation of Performance.gov, including OMB’s projected dates for the inclusion of additional information. OMB Circular No. A-11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget, pt. 6 (August 2012). HowTo.gov is a key source of leading practices for federal website development and management. The website is managed by GSA and designed as a resource to improve how agencies communicate and interact with customers and use innovative tools and technologies to provide services and information. HowTo.gov offers best practices, guidance, and training on strategic planning; federal web requirements and policies; applications, data, and web infrastructure tools; web content management, usability, and design; and performance metrics. According to GSA staff, to provide access to key industry practices HowTo.gov makes available a list of the “Top 10 Best Practices” for federal websites and provides detailed information on how to implement each practice (see table 2). OMB has also encouraged the more widespread application of many of these practices across the federal government in its Digital Government Strategy. In addition to these leading practices for the development of federal websites, lessons learned from the experiences of those who have developed other government performance reporting websites and views of potential users provide useful insights that could help inform the continued development of Performance.gov. OMB staff stated that, thus far, the specific legal requirements of GPRAMA have been the primary framework used to guide efforts to develop Performance.gov. They have been focused on working to comply with these requirements by providing information on agency and cross- agency priority goals and by establishing a phased development plan for integrating additional information from agency strategic plans, performance plans, and performance reports and the inventory of federal programs. OMB and GSA staff members have said, however, that the leading practices provided by HowTo.gov will help guide the future development of Performance.gov. Leading practices for the development of federal websites from HowTo.gov recommend identifying the purposes of a website and the ways in which specific audiences could use a website to accomplish various tasks, from finding relevant information to commenting on a government regulation to conducting a transaction, and then structuring information and navigation to help visitors quickly complete these tasks. According to HowTo.gov, this is important because people often visit government websites with a specific task in mind, and if it is not easy to find the information they want to quickly complete that task, they will leave the site. Providing guidance about the tasks that can be accomplished on a website, along with explanations and navigation assistance, can help website users successfully achieve their objectives. Similarly, some officials we interviewed from other governments with experience developing performance reporting websites emphasized the importance of understanding and articulating the purposes that a performance reporting website is designed to achieve. They noted that the audiences the website is designed to serve, along with the intended uses of a site, should influence its design and content. For example, the main purpose of the state of Michigan’s dashboards is to provide citizens with a quick reference to see how the state is performing in key areas and whether trends are moving in the right direction. To fulfill this purpose, according to Michigan officials, the dashboards were designed to be simple, easy to access and navigate, and provide the public with an at-a- glance overview of the state’s progress. Users interested in more information on a specific performance measure can click on the link for that measure and will be directed to a separate page with trend data and information on why the measure is significant. A prominent link at the bottom of the page also allows them to provide direct feedback on the dashboard. The dashboards are supplemented by departmental “scorecards” that include relevant performance measures to inform internal departmental management and decision making. An example of the Michigan Education Dashboard is shown in figure 4. GPRAMA provides direction on the purposes and audiences for Performance.gov. In addition to specifying the types of information to be made available on the website, the act states that information on the website “shall be readily accessible and easily found on the Internet by the public and members and committees of Congress.” OMB’s written guidance states that Performance.gov “serves as the public window on the Federal Government’s goals and performance in key areas of focus,” and will be “the single, government-wide performance website required under the GPRA Modernization Act.” OMB’s written guidance and information on the website also say that Performance.gov will make information about cross-agency and agency-specific goals and performance easier to find for the public and Congress, as required by GPRAMA, as well as for delivery partners, agency employees, the media, and other stakeholders. Lastly, the guidance specifies that the website will “support coordination and decision-making to advance shared goals.” An analysis of statements from OMB and GSA staff, agency officials, and feedback we obtained from potential users, however, indicates that there are varying expectations regarding the primary audiences and uses of Performance.gov. For example, OMB and GSA staff emphasized that they have viewed Performance.gov as a tool for agencies to support cross-agency coordination and efforts to achieve agency goals. Consistent with this, OMB staff said that Performance.gov has been used to facilitate conversations between OMB examiners and agency managers about progress on agency priority goals. While officials we interviewed from the five agencies said that OMB has collected feedback from agencies in the development of Performance.gov, officials from four of these agencies also said, however, that Performance.gov is not being used as a resource by agency leadership or other staff. According to agency officials, agencies have information sources tailored to meet their needs, and Performance.gov does not contain critical indicators or the ability to display some visualizations used for internal agency performance reviews. Agency officials stressed instead that they view Performance.gov primarily as an external reporting tool so that the public and other external stakeholders can get a sense for how agencies are performing on key priorities. For example, an agency official noted that a key function of Performance.gov is to make performance data more readily available in one place so that members of the public and external stakeholders do not have to go to individual agency sites to collect information on agency goals and performance.