February 17, 2023
In the spirit of transparency and candour, Kevin and Kelsey publish weeknotes reflecting on the what and why for their team.
Kelsey’s notes
I’m back from a week off last week, but am still battling a cold from early February — so, there was some typical February/post-holiday work fog this week. And, typical for a post-holiday week, it was filled with catch-up on files and checking in with the team.
A few key EPD pieces —
- I watched last week’s sprint review for the Environmental Protection Division’s (EPD) Product Team ADA and it was great to see the engagement and questions from the program staff on the prototypes of the new digital application — sprint reviews doing what sprint reviews are supposed to do: provide real time feedback on the work in progress.
- An EPD design team retro was a great space to share what’s worked over the last few months and opportunities for improvement. It identified needs around clearer roles and responsibilities, knowledge sharing and priorities as the work grows to include multiple lines of service in the division. With our EPD design practice growing to include policy staff, we need to clearly communicate design methods and be clear on the intention of how we engage with program teams. As always, thanks to Jackie for coordinating this retro! (*standard reminder that retros are invaluable).
The key standout of the week —
Launching the (beta) Elk Valley Water Quality Hub — a new website that provides information and data on water quality and regulatory activities in the Elk Valley (Qukin ɁamakɁis) of southeastern B.C. The site increases transparency on mining industry compliance with regulatory permits and tells the story of mining and its impact on the Elk Valley and local communities.
Launching the site was a cross-ministry effort and included the great team at GeoBC and subject matter specialists at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. The site audience spans the spectrum of non-technical community members to detail-oriented scientists, which was a tough line to walk when drafting content. What is plain language to a community member may be incorrect or misleading to a scientist! Looking back, we operated on a shoestring team for content support (on what is a very content-heavy website) — a definite reminder on the value of a dedicated content designer joining the team early on any digital service build.
It was my first time working with the ArcGIS platform and I had a big learning curve on its capacity to make data more accessible and handle content pages. I’m looking forward to seeing how the site is received and evolves in the coming months!
Kevin is prepping for a week off next week, so he’s offline on Weeknotes until later this month.
The opinions and views expressed in this post are solely the author’s and do not represent those of the Province of British Columbia or any other parties.
