I have had the opportunity to organize enterprise-level government information across several public sector fields, including:
:: Energy
:: Security, and
:: Consumer finance
The sweet spot throughout my career has been “blue sky” projects that transform systems. Here are some stories about the results I’ve achieved.
Career Highlights
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I led the bureau contact center’s first content governance initiative for knowledge management. We got results by implementing smart strategies to:
- Lead content strategy and lifecycle content management for a KB inventory of nearly 1,800 English and Spanish articles. Coordinate a team of four content managers who cycle through maintenance, updates, and additions that amount to over 2,500 touchpoints annually. Managed a shift in content strategy to be future-ready for OmniChannel and chat by mapping over 500 knowledge base assets to public-facing versions.
- Build strong program operations. This involves creating standard operating procedures and an automated workflow for publishing, as well as establishing a chartered community of practice that meets monthly to enhance collaboration.
- Recruit content stewards to serve as Subject Matter Experts so every article has an owner. To institutionalize this new role at the organization, we model industry best practices with clear roles and responsibilities for contract teams and SMEs.
- Optimize digital content by transitioning from a print orientation. We use consistent templates for article types to promote trust, plain language, and support both usability and readability. With business intelligence tools in place to track and manage our backlog, we have adopted authoritative version control.
- Deliver robust program assessments. Our metrics include a “State of Mosaic Knowledge” benchmarking report, a knowledge maturity model framework, scorecard quality audits, usability testing via structured interviews, and system usability score surveys.
An Entrepreneur’s Story
Emerald Strategies. I served as an influential partner on several enterprise-level government engagements, including projects at the World Bank, the US Air Force, and the US House of Representatives.
- At the World Bank, I did the fieldwork for the first-of-its-kind web management audit. This research set the stage for significant changes in how these platforms operate.
- While working as the USAF CIO’s primary user experience advocate, I helped enhance usability and service level agreement standards. This effort benefited both the intranet and phone channels.
- During the U.S. House of Representatives engagement, I worked with the client to develop their first set of performance standards and guidelines. The backbone of the work involved over 200 confidential website evaluations, which were briefed back to lawmaker offices.
eGov Accomplishments
Early career. Before recharging consumer outreach at DOE, my career included posts as Media Director of the DC office of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, and chief spokesperson for US Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich.
Department of Energy. I served as the Director of Consumer Information at the U.S. Department of Energy, as a Presidential appointee during the Clinton Administration. There, my efforts resulted in a new look and a new name for the agency’s website, www.energy.gov, as well as a new gateway for callers: 1-800-DIAL-DOE. Government Executive Magazine recognized energy.gov among the “Best Feds on the Web”.
Department of Homeland Security. As Web Communications Director at the Department of Homeland Security, I shaped new federal and Secretarial mandates to consolidate agency websites. I led the agency-wide effort to consolidate CMS tools and migrate content to a common platform. Under my leadership, DHS established a new web governance body that developed agency-wide standards and policies. We also closed or migrated outdated and duplicative websites. As a result, the agency saved money and improved online services. After its launch, an independent study recognized the new DHS.gov website as one of the top two best-performing websites in the federal government.
Meet Kathy McShea Erville >> Experience | Awards | Testimonials | Projects