Susie posed this question on her blog... here is a quick exert of one of the areas that she could she a need for "Citizen Service Platform (CSP) allows government agencies to build and deploy citizen service solutions, with “building block” templates designed to meet a variety of government needs, including:• Communications applications• Citizen portals• Web spaces" taken from Susie Adams post on FutureFed. For the full article go to
http://blogs.msdn.com/uspublicsector/archive/2009/01/29/gov-2-0-what-will-it-take-to-get-there.aspx .
I love that our administration is going to be modernizing or maybe better socializing the way citizens and the government interact. The first thing that comes to my mind, usually when I think about the Federal government, taxes. What are some interesting ways that we (citizens) would like to change how we interact with the federal government? I would love to be able to understand the status of my social security without getting a letter in the mail (maybe I can do this today?), get a history of the taxes that I have paid, how different tax codes have benefited others in my tax bracket, get involved with the new administration's programs, maybe connect with resources to help me make decisions. This is an easy segway into the variety of technical solutions that could be developed or utilized to bring this to fruition. This is my initial thought after reading her article, but I will likely re-visit it many more times, once I have had a chance to truly digest the changes that are on the horizon.
What are your thoughts and what would you benefit from?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Web Developer Needed
Help bring Vorsite.com out of the ice age and work on some other cool stuff too. Vorsite is looking for a smart, flexible, innovative web developer to help transform our static marketing website into an interactive experience that enables us to connect with our customers and partners. We don’t need a PhD level expert in any one area, rather we’re looking for someone who is a quick learner and is familiar with a wide range of web technologies and tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, Silverlight, Flash, server-side scripting (preferably ASP.NET/C#), Visual Studio, Adobe Contribute (or other site editing tools), etc. In addition to coding, should be able to research and identify the best open source and third party products for new feature requests and integrate them into the site. Experience with content management systems and social networking is a plus. Contact us for more information about the position.
Careers@vorsite.com . Please specify in your email how you heard about the position.
Careers@vorsite.com . Please specify in your email how you heard about the position.
Upcoming Vorsite Webinars
Cut your IT costs by 15 to 30%
Get the winning edge in today’s market by coupling the right tools with Vorsite’s expertise.
Upcoming Dates and Registration: https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/ol_2501aot_ccc/Registration.aspx?pageName=0l7jrl53jdm98cn8
Enhancing MOSS 2007 with FAST ESP
Enhancing MOSS 2007 Search with the inclusion of FAST ESP and FAST ESP webparts. Discussion of implementation requirements and lessons learned.
Upcoming Dates and Registration: https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/ol_2501aot_ccc/Registration.aspx?pageName=2xfdvq23sr3q5z7t
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Breaking down information silos - Part 3
Hope that you like Part 1 and 2. Part 3, the conclusion to my post, is about lessons learned.
We adopt the Scrum Framework at Vorsite. Scrum, in my opinion, works particularly well for high risk projects. Customers see deployable components by the end of every 30-day sprint. Yes, we do not know for sure if we can deliver everything we promise since we can only make the best decision base on what we know at a specific point in time. But that does not mean that we under-deliver either since someone will always be pushing the envelope.
Before we start development work, it’s my job to communicate a set of clearly defined end of sprint deliverables. These goals are signed off by all stakeholders and team members. By the end of the 30 days, we measure and reassess where we are with the overall project goal. Mistakes are not as costly since we get early validation/ feedback and have the ability to take immediate actions to do the necessary course correction in the subsequent sprint(s). And from sprint to sprint, project sponsors see visible progress. I secretly suspect that was the reason why Vorsite was approached to take a stab at surfacing the data. Put yourself in the decision makers’ shoes: can you still confidently fund a project if, after 2 years, you still do not see nor use any deployable components? I know it depends on the project scope but you know what I mean.
Another tool I find effective in communicating requirements and managing expectation is to conduct mock up/wireframe review. I always use the most low-tech approach to avoid giving end users and management the misconception that everything is done. I either draw or use MS Paint (!) to cut and paste components to create mock up screens and then walk everybody through key scenarios. It’s a tedious process but you will be surprised how it helps. You, as well as your audience, will be given an opportunity to think things through. But life is of course full of curve balls. I still get surprised once in a while but in general, I get what I ask for and customers understand what they will be getting.
However, I did wish that I have a more diverse group of users for the wireframes review and had the opportunity to interview not just the super users (who are mainly Business Unit Managers) but perhaps a Profit Center responsible, a field agent and even a vendor who uses the tool. After all, these are the other key personas. Without any knowledge of their needs – how do we do a good job in making sure that the solution scales?
Having said that, time frame is always a constraint.
I was grateful the customers decided to keep direct data integration out of the picture. But on hind sight, perhaps we should invest a little more time in planning out data integration. The inability to automate data import will eventually jeopardize the project and that remains as a risk not sufficiently addressed. Also, in the perfect world, we really should establish a closer collaboration with the group who owned the OLAP cube. We are experts in hooking things up in SharePoint, while they are the experts in OLAP cube (and BI) - it really is a win-win situation for both.
In conclusion, this is a fun project. Started off chaotic but we did a good job in scoping the requirements and ultimately delivered a value-add solution. Someone once told me that if I did a perfect job, he doubt that I would learn anything next so I guess room for improvement is always an opportunity to make it even better!
Till the next project! Meanwhile, it’s time for a good glass of wine.
We adopt the Scrum Framework at Vorsite. Scrum, in my opinion, works particularly well for high risk projects. Customers see deployable components by the end of every 30-day sprint. Yes, we do not know for sure if we can deliver everything we promise since we can only make the best decision base on what we know at a specific point in time. But that does not mean that we under-deliver either since someone will always be pushing the envelope.
Before we start development work, it’s my job to communicate a set of clearly defined end of sprint deliverables. These goals are signed off by all stakeholders and team members. By the end of the 30 days, we measure and reassess where we are with the overall project goal. Mistakes are not as costly since we get early validation/ feedback and have the ability to take immediate actions to do the necessary course correction in the subsequent sprint(s). And from sprint to sprint, project sponsors see visible progress. I secretly suspect that was the reason why Vorsite was approached to take a stab at surfacing the data. Put yourself in the decision makers’ shoes: can you still confidently fund a project if, after 2 years, you still do not see nor use any deployable components? I know it depends on the project scope but you know what I mean.
Another tool I find effective in communicating requirements and managing expectation is to conduct mock up/wireframe review. I always use the most low-tech approach to avoid giving end users and management the misconception that everything is done. I either draw or use MS Paint (!) to cut and paste components to create mock up screens and then walk everybody through key scenarios. It’s a tedious process but you will be surprised how it helps. You, as well as your audience, will be given an opportunity to think things through. But life is of course full of curve balls. I still get surprised once in a while but in general, I get what I ask for and customers understand what they will be getting.
However, I did wish that I have a more diverse group of users for the wireframes review and had the opportunity to interview not just the super users (who are mainly Business Unit Managers) but perhaps a Profit Center responsible, a field agent and even a vendor who uses the tool. After all, these are the other key personas. Without any knowledge of their needs – how do we do a good job in making sure that the solution scales?
Having said that, time frame is always a constraint.
I was grateful the customers decided to keep direct data integration out of the picture. But on hind sight, perhaps we should invest a little more time in planning out data integration. The inability to automate data import will eventually jeopardize the project and that remains as a risk not sufficiently addressed. Also, in the perfect world, we really should establish a closer collaboration with the group who owned the OLAP cube. We are experts in hooking things up in SharePoint, while they are the experts in OLAP cube (and BI) - it really is a win-win situation for both.
In conclusion, this is a fun project. Started off chaotic but we did a good job in scoping the requirements and ultimately delivered a value-add solution. Someone once told me that if I did a perfect job, he doubt that I would learn anything next so I guess room for improvement is always an opportunity to make it even better!
Till the next project! Meanwhile, it’s time for a good glass of wine.
SPS and FAST ESP Search Solutions Webinar
We are hosting a LiveMeeting to cover enterprise collaboration and search solutions that are built on FAST ESP and SharePoint.
When: Feb. 17 11:00am PST.
Sign up here... Microsoft LiveMeeting Registration for FAST Presentation
When: Feb. 17 11:00am PST.
Sign up here... Microsoft LiveMeeting Registration for FAST Presentation
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