Onboarding: Dave Pickett

[davidmpickett]

Welcome to the VA.gov Modernization Team! 👋

We're thrilled to have you join us on this journey! 🎆🎉🙌

Our vision is to craft a seamless editorial experience that empowers editors to create Veteran-centered content. In April of 2022, we also assumed responsibility for a portfolio of front-end products and sites.

The onboarding materials below are organized by chronological time to complete (day one, week one, week two, month one); and main category (why, how, who, what). There's a lot to digest but don't worry, your Delivery Manager will guide you, you'll have an onboarding buddy to provide support, and we'll also introduce you to your workstream's lead to help with specific things related to your discipline (UX, DevOps, Drupal Engineering, etc). In addition, you'll have the support of the entire team, who have all gone through this process before and are eager to answer any questions that arise. Come back to this ticket any time to refresh your knowledge on a specific topic covered below.

Have fun and we look forward to getting to know you! 😊

Projected start date: 6/16/2022

• Onboarding buddy (short check-in meetings the first week): @JayDarnell
• Team name: Facilities
• Delivery Manager name: @RWEagans
• Product Manager name: @kevwalsh @dsinla
• Discipline lead name: @valerierunde

Day one (ideally led by the Program Manager but Delivery Managers can step in)

How?

• [x] Read through our team norms, which will also give an overview of how we apply the USDS playbook and VA.gov platform code of conduct.

  Who?

• [x] Who is on the team? Read your team members' user manuals and copy the template to add your own.

  What?

• [x] Onboarding questionnaire (what do you already know in regards to tooling, context, history, etc)
• [x] Contract - Discuss which contract you are on with your Delivery Manager or Program Manager. Your contract will determine your paperwork process.
• [x] Read the VA.gov platform mission and goals.
• [x] Open a VA.gov Platform onboarding ticket. The VA.gov Platform team manages VA.gov tooling and network access. In order to receive access to the SOCKS network proxy (described later), you must complete this Github issue, and attend a Platform orientation. That will result in adding you to the VFS Platform roster. If a Platform orientation isn't available for several weeks, sign up for the next available slot, then mention your Delivery manager and/or Clarence on your Platform ticket to expedite SOCKS access.

Week one

The goals of this week are: 1) get background paperwork completed as quickly as possible and 2) start gaining context for what we're doing and why.

Paperwork:

• [x] Wait to receive an email directing you to the paperwork you should fill out for secure access to relevant VA systems. Federal contractors are required to complete many of the same forms as federal employees. If you're not sure which you contract you are on, ask your Delivery Manager.
• PTEMS contract paperwork information will be sent by Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH/Liberty). If you are PTEMS and use a Mac, you will need to install Microsoft Word in order to use the paperwork checklist provided by your BAH contact. Contact your company's IT for assistance, if needed.
• VFS-CMS or Sitewide Crew contract paperwork will come from A6.
• [x] Complete & submit your initial paperwork per contract instructions, including setting up your fingerprinting appointment. If you are PTEMS in contact with Booz Allen Hamilton, be sure to name your files and zip/encrypt them per the checklist instructions.

Why?

• [x] Why is VA.gov using a Drupal CMS and how is our success measured? Read the objectives and key results.
• [x] Watch the Drupal GovCon presentation about the project.
• [x] Why are Vet Centers important to Veterans? Watch the 2-minute YouTube video.
• [x] Why are VA Medical Centers changing their websites? Watch the 2-minute YouTube video.

  How?

• [x] How does the team work in an agile environment?
• [x] How do Agile 6, CivicActions, Friends From The City, and Kind Systems work together on this project? Discuss with the Program Manager.
• [x] Who is our team? View this Mural diagram
• [x] How does the team fit into the larger OCTO ecosystem? View this Mural diagram
• [x] How does OCTO fit into the VA universe? And how is VA structured? View this Mural diagram

Who?

• [x] Complete your personal information in the official team roster. Note: this is separate from the Platform ecosystem's roster.
• [x] Make your Google calendar publicly accessible, showing free/busy time. This will allow team members in other organizations to easily schedule with you. See Mark your calendar as public.
• [x] Let's start introducing you to the team and key stakeholders. If you're on a meeting where you don't know someone, feel free to kickstart an introduction. Everyone in the ecosystem is friendly and interested in connecting.

  When?

• [x] Familiarize yourself with our team's shared calendar and add in any known dates. This is where we coordinate upcoming out of office (OOO). Choose "Calendar" = OOO and "Event type" = whatever is relevant.

Week two

The goal for this week is to get you set up with the tools you need to be successful. We will pair you up with a buddy on the project that is in your same discipline to help inform which ones are relevant and which aren't. The most important thing is to get set up is SOCKS as it will give you access to our systems so try to prioritize that.

When?

• [x] Check your calendar for invitations to team ceremonies.
  • [x] Scrums
  • [x] Planning sessions
  • [x] Refinement sessions
  • [x] Demos
  • [x] Retros

    What products do we support?

• [x] Review the editor onboarding slides.
• [x] Read the product sheets (PDF download).

All team members need to review the following (note that with the exception of SOCKS, most of the tools will have been setup for you or requested by your Delivery Manager. This list is for you to verify along the way):

• [x] Github for issue tracking and document sharing

  • [x] VA.gov request instructions - Your Delivery Manager should have already requested this for you so double check with them before submitting a new request.
  • [x] Intro to CMS Team Github
  • [x] CMS team list - Same as above.
  • [x] New to Github and markdown? Learn about writing on Github or watch a tutorial video
  • [x] Zenhub extension instructions - You'll need to install this on your preferred browser.

• [x] SOCKS proxy request to access some VA network tools. The VA network is required for Drupal CMS and other VA tools and usually requires a VA ID card (PIV or Smartcard). Until you get your paperwork approved and ID card, SOCKS proxy is a back door to some of these tools. This is the first priority for week two. For the request, select the label for your team.

  • [x] Platform orientation. This should have been requested on day one as part of the Platform onboarding ticket but is here as a reminder that this is a blocker for SOCKS access as you'll need to get added to their ecosystem roster in order to proceed.

  • [x] Request a Github personal access token first. You only need to do the "repo" panel in that form and leave the other panels as is. It may take a day or two for the SOCKS proxy request to be fulfilled before you can complete the rest of the SOCKS process. This can be a complex process. Post in CMS-Team Slack channel is you need help from a current member - we're happy to help.

  • [x] Optional Core Tunnel set up for SOCKS proxy on all browsers on Mac

  • [x] Slack for instant messaging. Your Delivery Manager should have already requested this for you, but if not, view the request instructions in the link above.

  • [x] Review Slack etiquette.

  • [x] Update your profiles in Slack (in the A6 and DSVA workspaces), add a calendar link

  • [x] Your Delivery Manager should add you to appropriate Slack user groups for the DSVA workspace (e.g. @sitewide-cms-team, @platform-cms-team, @cms-helpdesk, @public-websites-team, @facilities-team. Also @cms-engineers-group for eng.)

  • [x] You should be in the following slack channels:

    • [x] A6/agency workspace = #proj-vagov-team
    • [x] DSVA workspace = #cms-team, and your team channel e.g. #cms-platform, #sitewide-public-websites, #sitewide-facilities
    • [x] This is a description of other channels that ought to be on your radar. Note that many are going to be dependent on which workstream you're in (DevOps, Helpdesk, UX, etc.). Feel free to join whichever you think will aid you and your work. Some channels have changed recently.

• [x] Confluence for team resources and calendar

• [x] Google Drive for team documents. Generally, VA doesn't use Google products. Use Github or downloadable files when sharing with VA.

• [x] Trello for project management

• [x] What do I need to know about my discipline on this team (DevOps, Engineering, Helpdesk, ID, UX)? Discuss with your discipline lead.

• [x] What applications or discipline-specific tools are needed? Discuss with your discipline lead.

• [x] Schedule a touchpoint with our Change Management specialist, Denise Eisner to learn how the practice plays out on our project.

Discipline specific onboarding (UX, developers, helpdesk, etc..)

Onboarding for Instructional Design members

• [x] Touch base with UX leads for next steps (Val Runde - FE UX; Suzanne Gray - Drupal UX)

Onboarding for UX members

• [x] Attend design onboarding call 1: You are here
  • The CMS and the products we support
  • Who are our users?
  • Research
• [x] Attend design onboarding call 2: Project history and opportunties
• [x] Attend design onboarding call 3: Design processes
  • Wireframing elements
  • Airtable database
  • Required documentation for design at VA
• [ ] Get oriented with the stuff of design
  • Log in to make sure you have access to the design tools used on this project
  • [x] Mural
  • [x] Figma
  • [x] Airtable
  • Review existing design assets to get a feel for where things are at
  • Make sure you have the following font families on your machine:
    • Lucida Grande download from fontsgeek.com
    • Source Sans Pro download from Google Fonts
    • Bitter download from Google Fonts
• [ ] Build empathy with our users
  • Complete a CMS simulation (you’ll need SOCKS proxy access first)
• [x] Attend 1:1 w/ Kauff (maybe Clarence and Kev too)
  • Let’s talk about your skillsets and interests and which project initiatives you might want to take over.
• [x] Attend the Platform Crew's orientation to VA.gov research. Ask your DM for details or ping in #vfs-platform-support

Month one

By this point you should have enough context and access to be able to start contributing. Work with your team to identify specific issues to focus on.

Who?

• [x] Who are our VA points of contact? Discuss with your Delivery Manager or Product Manager.

• [ ] Who should we know on the platform teams? Discuss with your Delivery Manager or Product Manager.

• [x] Background history of the ecosystem

  What?

• [x] Complete any VA-assigned trainings in the TMS system. If the TMS learning modules malfunction, assign yourself the print version of the module. (Ask in #proj-vagov-team if you need help.)

• [x] When you are notified to complete your e-QIP (the online version of the federal standard investigation form, SF 86), it will require a lot of background information. Review page 7 of the SF 86 guide in advance for the list of information you'll need to collect to complete e-QIP

• [x] You'll receive an email confirming that you have been approved for remote access, using Citrix Access Gateway (CAG). You can contact Enterprise Service desk via provided instructions to set up your CAG access manually, if you need access prior to receiving your PIV card.

• [x] After your background check is complete, you will get an email to get your Personal Identify Verification (PIV) card. Contact your local VA office (where you got your fingerprints taken) for information about getting your PIV card.

  • [x] Review a video about the benefits of the PIV card and VA network access.
  • [x] PIV card will help you get remote VA network access. See VA network remote access options
  • [x] Azure virtual desktop is recommended for Windows
  • [x] Mac users should follow these CAG download instructions
  • [x] Purchase a card reader, if you don't have one. A6 IT recommends these options: USB or USB-C
  • [x] Use your PIV card to access CAG. You must access CAG every 60 days or your access will be expired.

• [ ] What is Drupal?

• [x] Learn about the different Drupal environments

  • [x] If you are using a non-VA laptop for development you will need follow the instructions on Github to trust the VA Root Certificate Authority (CA) in your browser(s)
  • [x] Drupal production environment access (SOCKS or VA network required) - ask your Delivery Manager, Product Manager, or CMS Team helpdesk to set up an for you for prod.cms.va.gov. Standard practice is to have minimal access in prod (content editor or even a blocked account) and full admin access in lower environments.

• [ ] Tugboat demo environments

  • [ ] Tugboat for engineers
  • [ ] Tugboat for non-engineers SOCKS required

• [x] Google Analytics: Request access to Google Analytics

  • [ ] Opt out of Google Analytics collection on VA.gov.
  • [ ] Opt out of analytics for Platform's website. You will not get a confirmation message and will have to do this for every browser and every time you clear cookies.

• [ ] View short presentations on specific topics. Topics include site alerts, release and deploy, Facility API, etc.

• [ ] Browse the VA Drupal CMS Knowledge Base articles.

Month two

What additional tools do you need access to?

• [ ] Mainly for helpdesk folks: CMS Support distro group

[cmaeng]

@davidmpickett even though all the tasks may not be complete i'm closing this ticket out for reporting purposes. feel free to refer back as needed.