1. Towards a Unified Publications System at the U. S
Towards a Unified Publications System at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Michael D. Levi
MSIS ’05

2. Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS
Project Goals
Generate all publications output from a single system
HTML, Print, Fax, etc.
Eliminate data inconsistencies
Introduce a common platform for functional expansion and metadata
Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS

3. Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS
Project Overview
Building on existing Table Generation System (TGS)
Expand to include different styles of tables
Expand to include more sophisticated process flow
Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS

4. Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS
TGS Architecture
Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS

5. Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS
Technical Challenge
Camera-Ready Copy
PDF or Excel
Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS

6. Organizational Background
IT mirrors org chart
Power lies in programs
Stove pipes with little incentive for collaboration or communication
Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS

7. Managerial Challenges (1)
Generalized systems have a history of failure
Must driven by program, not by technology
Must have dedicated support and maintenance
Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS

8. Managerial Challenges (2)
Eight separate organizational units working together:
3 program offices
3 project offices
Office of Publications
Division of Data Dissemination Systems
Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS

9. Development Strategies
Program sponsors with concrete business needs
Rational Unified Process (RUP)
Multiple iterations
High risk areas first
Start small, then expand
Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS

10. Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS
Addendum
XML Schema and examples available upon request
Towards a Unified Publications System at BLS