Fostering Collaborative Problem Solving In The Department of Commerce
by Steve Cooper (Chief Information Officer, Department of Commerce), Dr Tyrone Grandison (Deputy Chief Data Officer, Department of Commerce)
On June 2nd, 2016, the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) for the Department of Commerce (DOC) issued another game-changing announcement — “Github can be used to collaboratively build open source software”*.
Github is a popular tool used by the developer community for version control and collaboratively problem solving.
In May 2016, a technical review of the Github was conducted using the Department’s Technical Review Process, which consists of evaluations in the following areas:
- Terms of Service
- IT Security
- Records Management
- Privacy
- Section 508 Compliance
Various subject matter experts (SMEs) conducted technical assessments in their specific area of expertise and provided their findings to DOC’s Technical Review Board (TRB), which is comprised of Enterprise Architects from the DOC bureaus. Based on these findings, the TRB recommended the use of Github for collaboratively building open source software.
It is hoped that this will be a catalyst for solution development and user engagement in helping the Department — America’s Data Agency — tackle some of the most challenging and potentially impactful problems before us. Join us.
It should also be noted that the Department’s Office of Public Affairs (OPA) has approved the use of Github as a Social Media tool. Please follow the Department’s guidance on using Github available here.
*The authority to use Github is limited to the submitted use case. Please consult with your bureau chief information officer before using Github.
This is also posted at ESA.
