Potential capabilities - Enterprise-CMCS/cmcs-eregulations GitHub Wiki

Out of scope for pilot

Potential capabilities! This is a companion to Pilot stage.

What are additional services we might want eRegs to offer to fulfill stakeholder needs?

What would we need to provide to deliver that?

[Illustrated below] There is a way to author arbitrary cross-reference data: a specific phrase in the reg content always matches to a specific link (for example, Part B of title XI of the Act, section 1104 of the Affordable Care Act, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT)
When reg text says a reference to a range of reg that eRegs contains, it links you to it within eRegs; on the target page, it appropriately displays the contents somehow (such as highlighting the range)

We also tested pop-up previews, but we had mixed results - this would need further study to determine if it's a viable concept:

[Illustrated below] Display search results as a hierarchy according to part and section number
Search is able to search for simple synonyms for your keyword (such as the full version of an abbreviation), drawing from an existing source of data
Search is able to search for fuzzy synonyms for your keyword (such as multiple alternate phrases), drawing from an existing source of data [thesaurus]
[Illustrated below] Search results display hand-written additional material (such as "related searches"), in addition to keyword results [thesaurus]
Search box has type-ahead search suggestions, drawing from an existing source of data [thesaurus]
Search results display semi-automated additional material (such as "related searches") from a different source, in addition to keyword results
When you click a search result, your search term remains highlighted on the content page (and the highlights can be dismissed)
[Illustrated below] When you're in search, there's a "Back to Regulation Text" button that tracks where they were coming from
If search tracks where you come from, the search results page includes the context AND the left sidebar is collapsed by default

People have a menu of shortcut links to key topics in a part, to help them find what they're looking for

Regulations outside Title 42 relevant to Medicaid and CHIP (such as Title 45 Part 95)

Site is optimized to show up at the top of Google results for reg citation searches

eRegs tracks and keeps a list of where you've been and helps you get back to what you've seen (local history, no auth)
People can add lightweight "bookmarks" for reg pieces (saved locally)

[Illustrated below] You're able to view a reg part as it was effective on a past date, on a rule-by-rule granular level, using the annual editions plus parsing changes in Federal Register rules

We tell the user when there is a proposed change that affects the part they are viewing (including a link to the NPRM)
Ability to view final but future-effective versions and compare them within eRegs
Ability to view proposed versions and compare them within eRegs

There's a way to copy the text of a piece of reg with one click. When you paste that text from eRegs to Outlook desktop email on Windows, it looks reasonable (to the degree we're able to control this).
There's a way to copy a link to a range of paragraphs
When people share a link to eRegs on a tool like Slack, there's a meaningful snippet of content
When you're looking at a piece of reg content, you see labels telling you the citation style info for what you're looking at in a way you can copy-and-paste (subpart, part, section)

Each part can have a set of definitions data (terms that should be defined and the paragraphs they should link to)
There is a way to author the definitions data (to select the terms that should be defined and the paragraphs they should link to)
[Illustrated below] A definition inline links to its source location in the reg content (a specific paragraph from the definitions list within the reg)
[Illustrated below] A definition inline presents a preview of its text

We display a list of the custom content we use to power our thesaurus in search (groups of terms + regs they are associated with), as a reference and to support oversight

The homepage provides a plain language description for each part
There is unobtrusive inline/embedded content throughout eRegs that provides tips to help new reg readers learn how to use regs, such as explaining NPRMs, Reserved, etc
We include (or link to) core background knowledge like how the federal policy hierarchy works (the difference between statute, reg, and guidance, etc)
We offer recorded video demos of how to do various policy research tasks with eRegs

Add annotations to pieces of reg text
Label pieces of reg text with personal keywords and view by label
Tracked history and bookmarked regs are persistent, not dependent on local storage