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DCD Blogs/Lessons from the Field (view source)
Revision as of 12:51, 28 June 2018
, 12:51, 28 June 2018added sebastien section
So much! Working in partnership with the Netherlands (and others!) on a re-build of the core collaboration platform. A whole-of-government design system. The launch of GCmessage as a Government-wide instant messaging and team chat platform. A single sign-on solution and the integration of GCcollab and GCconnex into a single platform. Spending another year with this amazing team.
So much! Working in partnership with the Netherlands (and others!) on a re-build of the core collaboration platform. A whole-of-government design system. The launch of GCmessage as a Government-wide instant messaging and team chat platform. A single sign-on solution and the integration of GCcollab and GCconnex into a single platform. Spending another year with this amazing team.
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-----[[File:Sebastien Lemay Profile.jpg|left|frameless|315x315px]]Sébastien Lemay
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'''GCcollab:'''
@Sebastien.Lemay
'''Twitter:'''
@smellems
'''Who are you and what do you do?'''
My name is Sebastien Lemay! I am a free software user and advocate. I am an application developer (mainly web), systems administrator (more and more in the cloud) and database administrator. I am currently on assignment with Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), in the Digital Collaboration Team (GCTools). In addition to organizing the 2017 GCTools Programming Marathon, I am involved in the development of the GCTools and the implementation of strategies for the adoption of open standards and the use and publication of open source software by the GC.
'''What is a highlight/special achievement from the last year?'''
The main task of my assignment at TBS was to organize the GCTools Hackathon! We have booked the entire ISED Services Lab, which has a capacity to accommodate 80 people, with the aim of filling it. In collaboration with the organizers, we planned all the details, approvals, workshops, promotion, website, GCconnex and GCcollab groups, team training, food, tables, gaffer tape, sound and Wi-Fi. Although we had a lot of registrations, I was very nervous the first day, wondering if people were coming. Fortunately, about 70 were there to learn how to participate in the development of the GCTools and add or propose new features. A web accessibility discussion group formed naturally in a corner, and there were tests with screen readers and other tools. I had never organized such a big event (or small ones for that matter). It was an intoxicating experience, outside my comfort zone, which also allowed me to meet many interesting people.
'''What is a lesson from the last year?'''
At the beginning of my research on programming marathons and how to organize them, I found a [https://hackathon.guide guide] that was very useful and that I referred to several times. One of the things I discovered in this guide is that a programming marathon is not necessarily a competition, but rather an opportunity to bring the community (users and developers of the GCTools) together and provide the time and space for participants to work on issues that interest them and/or learn something new.
'''What are you excited about for the coming year?'''
In late 2017, TBS posted (on GitHub) a draft white paper, ''Open First'', to inspire the new Enterprise Architecture Review Board (EARB) in setting baselines for open standards and open source software. These standards would influence procurement, as well as the development of a digital strategy, to promote the adoption of open standards and the use of open source software. I hope 2018 will be the year we see news that the GC is adopting open standards, strongly encouraging departments to use open source software, and releasing as much code as possible under open source software licenses.