Government as a Service: Architecting govCMS

Architecting any solution can be tricky to get right. With different requirements, sometimes unknown but important functionality and often several stakeholders to satisfy.

How then, is a successful Whole-of-Government solution engineered? One that is able to take the needs of the many, and place it into one codebase.

This session discusses the process taken by Acquia in conjunction with the Department of Finance to make govCMS a success. We'll be explaining:

- How broad solutions can be engineered;
- The decisions needed to keep govCMS from bloating;
- The benefits this entire project brings to the Drupal community and to Australia;
- How you can contribute

Transcript

1. Government as a Service Architecting govCMS Adam Malone Technical Architect Acquia
2. About me →Professional Services @ Acquia →Drupal age: almost 4 →typhonius most places online →Didn't realise typhonius was a species of toad
3. About Acquia →Founded in 2007 →Products, Services, Training, Certification →>600 employees globally →>20 employees in APAC →We're hiring! Rest of World APAC Australia New Zealand Singapore
4. In the beginning
5. ! govCMS service and distribution ! Started with aGov as the foundation - a Drupal distribution for Australian government websites ! Enhanced with our requirements ! Agencies will have options for things like search ! Can be used by all levels of government What is govCMS?
6. ! Because it supports: ! the government’s policy for eGovernment and the Digital Economy1 ! the government’s Open Source Software Policy2 ! the Australian Government Cloud Computing Policy (version 3)3 ! Follows best practice service design, based on the Australian government’s emerging Digital Service StandardTBA Why was govCMS created?
7. ! Private distribution available now ! Private distribution available to Acquia service providers ! Private distribution has enhancements specifically for Acquia Cloud Site Factory ! Public distribution will be available from drupal.org and GitHub ! Regularly updated for security and feature enhancements govCMS Distribution
8. ! Principle 3 of the Australian Government Open Source Software Policy: Australian Government agencies will actively participate in open source software communities and contribute back where appropriate ! Functionality created by one agency can be made available for all ! Due diligence timeframes will be shorter Government Reuse
9. ! Depending on current platform and technical resources there are options ! Self service or use service providers to conduct a migration ! Agencies can choose to do a redesign of their site ! Professional services will be available How agencies get on govCMS
10. The problem
11. Government online? →Questions →Who has used a government website? →Who enjoys using government websites? →How many work for a government department? →Who is satisfied with development/authoring experience?
12. Leapfrogging giants
13. Patterns
14. govCMS Patterns →Pattern 1 →govCMS OOTB ! →Pattern 2 →Transitionary state →Platform evolves to meet requirements →Pattern 3 →Custom
15. The technical bits
16. Many departments, one govCMS Agency govCMS Platform govCMS Core
17. Acquia Cloud Site Factory →SaaS application for Drupal →Simplifies multisite management and operation →Granular access per site/group →Many sites, one codebase →Site duplication →Theming flexibility
18. Tooling →Drupal →Drush Make →Phing →Composer →PHPCS →Behat →Git →Travis CI
19. Architecture
20. Platform build
21. Patch workflow →Regularly scheduled releases →Prepared for hotfixes →Distribution →Feature branch workflow
22. There's a module for that! →Critically define requirements →Solve the unspoken question →Consider the platform, not just the site
23. Keeping the codebase lean →No need to recreate the wheel →Change management becomes easier →Leveraging the community →Remember what brought us here
24. Testing →Code →Syntactically correct →Drupal coding standards →Cyclometric complexity →Functional/Behavioural →Behat
25. Behavioural testing Feature: govCMS Google Analytics ! Ensure the govCMS Google Analytics account is added. ! Scenario: Check that the GA markup appears Given I go to the homepage Then the response should contain "UA-12312312-1"
26. The benefits
27. Benefits to agencies →Setup cost drastically reduced →Elimination of lengthy procurement/tendering process →Security/IRAP assessment completed →Increase agility →24/7 Support →Pro-active alerting →Security updates
28. Benefits to Australian residents →Familiarity →Rapid iteration and development →Savings passed on
29. Benefits to government employees →Freedom to contribute →Agile process →Modern tools →Transferable skills →Contributing to Open Source
30. Benefits to the Drupal community →Flagship Drupal exemplar →Mandate to contribute enhancements →Increasing skills in Australia
31. How to contribute
32. Be a part of govCMS →Agencies →Community →Partners
33. Get ready to try govCMS →Fork us on GitHub →https://github.com/govCMS ! →Download from drupal.org →https://www.drupal.org/project/govcms
34. Resources → http://www.communications.gov.au/digital_economy → http://www.finance.gov.au/policy-guides- procurement/open-source-software → http://www.finance.gov.au/policy-guides- procurement/cloud
35. Questions? @adammalone ! typhonius ! adam.malone@acquia.com ! https://www.adammalone.net ! https://www.acquia.com ! govcms@finance.gov.au