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IT Strategic Plan 2005-2009

U.S. Department of Labor
FY 2005-2009
IT Strategic Plan
September 2005

 

Secretary's Message - Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. ChaoInformation Technology is transforming the American workforce and workplace. President Bush's Management Agenda, which includes the goal of Expanded Electronic Government, has helped the Department of Labor more effectively utilize and manage its technology resources. In FY 2005, the Department was the first and only Federal Agency to achieve "green" status scores in all five areas of the President's Management Agenda.

The goals presented in this IT Strategic Plan show how the Department of Labor will use information technology to support our Departmental strategic goals:

  • A Prepared Workforce
  • A Secure Workforce
  • Quality Workplaces
  • A Competitive Workforce

The Department of Labor is well on its way to becoming a Digital Department. As information technology transforms our world, DOL is using this technology to open the channels of communication between the Department and the people we serve. We are also using information technology to provide training, information on available jobs, and new opportunities to conduct business electronically. To prepare American workers to be competitive in the 21st Century workplace, we will use the new technologies available to help workers access the tools they need to adapt to this new era of empowering technology.

This IT Strategic Plan will help the Department ensure that our workforce remains safe, secure, prepared and competitive as we face the challenges ahead.

CIO Message - Patrick Pizzella, Chief Information Officer

Assistant Secretary Patrick PizzellaAt the Department of Labor, it is our mission to help workers and their families share in the American Dream. To do so, we work to ensure that American workers are prepared for the opportunities that face them, can depend on fair wages, secure benefits, and safe working conditions, are afforded quality workplaces, and can compete in the economy of the 21st Century.

Information technology plays a critical role in helping us achieve these goals. As the information age continues to unfold, the foresighted and well-planned use of information technology can be a vital enabler of mission success all across the Federal government. Our information technology professionals are key collaborators. They continually seek cost-effective, reliable, secure, and innovative solutions through which to deliver the Department's services to the American public.

Information technology helps enable mission success. As such, our information technology initiatives must be closely aligned with the needs of those who carry out the Department's mission. They must also align with the broader framework provided by the President's Management Agenda, and relevant legislation and guidance. The strategic planning process provides an opportunity for clarifying and strengthening these alignments.

This IT Strategic Plan is a living document. Fresh challenges will surely confront us as we move forward as a Department. We will revisit the strategic planning process on a regular basis and adjust the plan as necessary to ensure that it remains a sound framework for guiding our activities.

Agency, Bureau, and Office Participants in the Information Technology Strategic Plan Working Group

  • Appeals and Review Boards
    • Administrative Review Board (ARB)
    • Benefits Review Board (BRB)
    • Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB)
  • Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
  • Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
  • Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
  • Employment Standards Administration (ESA)
  • Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
  • Office of the Administrative Law Judges (OALJ)
  • Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM)
  • Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP)
  • Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)
  • Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
  • Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
  • Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
  • Office of the Solicitor (SOL)
  • Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
  • Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS)
  • Women's Bureau (WB)

Executive Summary

This Information Technology Strategic Plan provides a framework to guide our Information Technology (IT) efforts at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for the next five (5) years. The plan confirms the critical role of Information Technology as an enabler of success in achieving the four strategic mission goals of the Department, namely, a prepared workforce, a secure workforce, a quality workplace, and a competitive workforce.

In developing this plan, the Department adopted a comprehensive strategic decision making process that recognizes and honors the critical contributions of the individual Agencies, Bureaus and Offices. This plan is the product of both a collaborative group effort and a formal strategy formulation procedure enacted over a period of six months.

In seeking the best IT strategy for the Department there were several challenges that had to be faced:

  • DOL's IT Program exists within a heterogeneous environment where important differences in business goals must be supported.
  • The IT Program operates within a complex mission and business environment with DOL's twenty-five (25) Agencies, Bureaus and Offices.
  • Presidential, legislative, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other key stakeholder directives continually modify any IT strategy.
  • DOL is challenged to continue to achieve results-driven performance by balancing appropriate IT resources.

The Department of Labor created a blended IT strategy that adopted an IT strategic framework, an IT strategy and a set of five IT strategic goals. These five goals provide a practical guide and a scope within which the Department will focus its IT planning, development and management.

The five (5) IT strategic goals are:

  1. E-Government: Ensure IT initiatives and investments are customer-focused, results-oriented, market-based, and cost-effective.

  2. Enterprise Architecture: Develop and maintain an Enterprise Architecture that is reliable, adaptable, scalable and driven by business and technology requirements.

  3. IT Management and Governance: Promote cost-effective IT solutions by sharing and implementing best practices, collaborating on projects and initiatives, and ensuring interoperability where appropriate.

  4. Security: Provide a secure IT infrastructure that proactively assures integrity, confidentiality, and availability of DOL data and information systems.

  5. Human Capital: Develop and maintain a high quality, competitive IT workforce.

Using these strategic goals as a basis for justification, the Department has developed a comprehensive catalog of IT initiatives currently underway or planned.
This catalog includes initiatives that relate to federally-defined management and results goals (Presidential, e-Gov, etc.) along with those initiatives defined at the Department and individual Agency level. These initiatives are described in terms that make clear their alignment with the mission of the Department, and the strategic program goals of the Agencies. The timeframes and performance measures are projected to assure that these initiatives are carried out in a timely and effective manner. This strategy will evolve and sharpen to improve business delivery through the use of information technology.