Part 3 - Button Lessons Learned & Team Testimonials

In part 3 of our community sharing, we wanted to talk about a few projects and share a couple of Button team testimonials. We value you and this community and want to share our experiences on a personal level. The “real” experiences of our people.

In this issue, our areas of learning include; finance & budgeting, collaborative governance, and crisis management & resilience.

The business side of digital projects includes finance and budgeting, and many projects operate within budgetary constraints and funding cycles. We have gained an understanding of public finance processes, budgeting practices, and resource allocation strategies. This knowledge is valuable in managing project finances and optimizing resource utilization as part of delivering on time and on budget.‍

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Button Team Testimonial

Project Name: Connecting Communities BC (CCBC). Canadian Federal Government launched the Universal Broadband Fund as part of a $3.225 billion initiative to connect all Canadian households to 50/10 internet by 2030. As part of the Stronger BC Economic Plan, BC's Minister of Citizens' Services pledged to match the $415 million in federal funding allocated to BC to achieve a combined federal-provincial funding of $830 million and to connect all BC households by 2027.

First Name: Elliott

What I Learned: I participated in conducting user research, service design, and UX/UI design of the entire  process. I achieved this by integrating myself into the business area and becoming close with clients to help them understand, define, improve, and work through their process. Through the Design phases of Discovery, Exploration, Testing, and Listening, we uncovered areas ripe for digital transformation to help them run the CCBC program, which involved receiving applications, assessing them, coordinating with a Federal funding agency, administering funds, monitoring projects, and publicly share the benefits to Canadians. I was able to guide the business area in making program decisions because they were caught up in conducting other programs. I became the go-to person who knew the most about the policy, contracts, and processes that the Federal Ministry (ISED) had used to administer similar programs in the past. It was an education in learning about government funding programs and how we can efficiently assess risk and deal with it (mitigation, deferral, acceptance). It was rewarding to see the program come to fruition and work closely with those who have a keen eye for being good stewards of the public fund as well as service providers who wanted to bring 21st-century technology to traditionally underserved areas.

An environment where collaborative governance is applied ****as part of digital projects often involves partnerships between government agencies, private organizations, and non-profit entities. We understand how to work within collaborative governance models, foster partnerships, and leverage collective expertise to achieve project objectives.

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Button Team Testimonial

Project Name: Launch Online Grant Program. The Stronger BC Economic Recovery Plan, B.C.'s Ministry of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation launched the Launch Online Grant program to support citizens with small and medium-sized businesses.

First Name:  Mike

What I learned: Button worked alongside Alacrity to rapidly build a grant program designed to help small and medium-sized brick-and-mortar shops convert to an online solution in order to adjust to the challenges brought about by Covid. The work involved a significant amount of focus on accessibility and progressive enhancement and laid the groundwork for what would become Button’s open source Toolkit/component library that is in wide use within the BC Government today. The amount of trust that the Province placed in Button and Alacrity, and the expertise they brought, was very encouraging to see. The degree of collaboration between public and private enabled a very timely delivery of a high-quality product/service in a time of crisis, and it was personally rewarding to support a program of this scale that truly helped people.

Crisis management and resilience on digital projects may encounter unexpected challenges or crises. We need to be nimble, manage and respond to such situations, ensuring project resilience and continuity. This experience has built our ability to handle adversity and uncertainty.

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Please come back for Part 4 soon.