1. Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle Ron Berry August 14, 2011

2. Achieving transparency in the era of the 24 hour news cycle In the current climate of the 24 hour news-cycle, a small mistake in reporting erodes public trust and casts doubt upon transparency. Information needed to support transparency is typically decentralized and stored in an array of systems managed by various business units – thus accurate reporting relies upon effective integration of data. Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle 2 August 14, 2011

3. The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (S. 2590), enacted in 2006 requires the full disclosure to the public of all entities receiving federal funds. The website USAspending.gov created in December 2007 as a result of this act, is maintained by the Office Of Management and Budget. Transparency by Legislation Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle 3 August 14, 2011

4. The ability to look at performance across agencies in greater detail is key to building public trust and supporting transparency. Transparency through the Net Number of payments by state Number of contracts by Zip code Number of constituents served by Congressional District Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle 4 August 14, 2011

5. Veterans Affairs – Case Study 300,000 person cabinet level department Three semi-autonomous administrations Aging mainframe based centralized General Leger Accounting system Decentralized accounting transactional accounting sub-systems Early stages of Data Governance Limited Master Data Management Data Warehouses, though mature focused on programmatic reporting and analytics Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle 5 August 14, 2011

6. Veterans Affairs – Case Study VBA's mission is to provide benefits and services to veterans and their families in a responsive, timely and compassionate manner in recognition of their service to the Nation. 57+ billion in annual benefit payments Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle 6 August 14, 2011 Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration National Cemetery Administration Veterans Benefits Administration Compensation & pension Loan guaranty Vocational rehabilitation & employment Education Insurance

7. Veterans Affairs – Case Study Ability to consistently report benefits payment information Ability to identify and count distinct beneficiaries Ability to address data quality in an environment going through major system transformations Ability to integrate data managed through the cloud Ability to understand common data (I.e., Common Terminology) Reporting Challenges Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle 7 August 14, 2011

8. The data warehouse to the rescue Developed monthly detailed benefit level extracts Integrated data with state, zip- code and other demographic information Solution did not address consistency of reporting Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle 8 August 14, 2011

9. Data Governance, the missing link VA has expedited the implementation of a department-wide Data Governance program and Master Data Management initiative intended to: Establish organizational bodies to address enterprise information Formalize business rules and decision rights (how we "decide how to decide") Make individuals accountable for shared data that may be used externally Provide monitoring, controls, and other enforcement methods Foster meta-data development to improve the shared understanding of data Formalize and measure data quality Consistently identify constituents through an Identify resolution solution Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle 9 August 14, 2011

10. How it is being implemented TRIGGER EXAMPLES Business Process Improvement Project Modernization Blueprint Project Info Exchange Project E-Gov Project Implement adopted data standards KEY Points Standardizing/ adopting data that is shared or exchanged. Not always a single implementation of a standard Review business references and artifacts with Principal Data Stewards(s) Collect, Identify, Design, and Document data requirements. Perform business and technical stewardship coordination Develop, and Submit Data Submission Package with concurrence of Principal Data Steward Resolve comments with Principal Data Steward(s) Resolution period: 2 weeks Formally conduct cross-functional review, and Adopt proposed data standards Formal Review period: 3 weeks 1 2 3 4 5

11. Lessons Learned Without data governance and MDM, there is high risk that data may be inadvertently released No two governance and stewardship programs are the same – each is unique Adopt as many of the best practices as possible The best approaches to governance and MDM maintains the enterprise focus while implementing iteratively Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle 11 August 14, 2011

12. Relevance to NASA Similarly challenged financial reporting processes Data warehouse programs currently programmatically focused The complexity of this organization creates risks for inadvertent mistakes in external reporting Opportunity to target data governance initiative towards external regulatory compliance Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle 12 August 14, 2011

13. About Me Currently employed with Grant Thornton, LLP, Global Public Sector (GPS) serving as a director managing large data warehouse projects. Twenty eight years of expertise in information technology, providing programming, enterprise architecture, project management, and product support to large financial services organizations, Government Sponsored Entities (GSE), telecommunications companies, and public sector clients. Prior to joining Grant Thornton, served as a Director at Oracle. Prior to Oracle, managed Enterprise Architecture Planning for Fannie Mae. Currently supporting a large data warehouse at the Department Of Veterans Affairs participating in the implementation of an agency- wide Data Governance program. Achieving Transparency in the 24 Hour News Cycle 13 August 14, 2011

14. Questions Ron Berry, Director Grant Thornton, LLP, Global Public Sector 333 John Carlyle Street Alexandria, VA 22304 Tel: (703) 637-3012 E-mail: Ron.Berry@us.gt.com