Onboarding: Michael Skinner #17809
Labels
Facilities
Facilities products (VAMC, Vet Center, etc)
Onboarding
for onboarding new CMS team members
sitewide
Projected start date: 4/22/24
Team info
Welcome to the Sitewide Team! 👋
We're thrilled to have you join us on this journey! 🎆🎉🙌
The onboarding materials below are organized by:
There's a lot to digest but don't worry, you'll have an onboarding buddy to provide support, your Delivery Manager can answer questions, and 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! 😊
Our mission
In contract language:
The VA's north star is to "continuously deliver high-quality digital experiences for the benefit of all Veterans and their families." From a CMS-perspective, our vision is to craft a seamless editorial experience that empowers editors to create Veteran-centered content.
Our team
The Sitewide contract team consists of 2 product teams: Facilities and Public Websites. Our teams are cross-functional and consist of Product Manager, Delivery Manager, UX (Research, Design, Content strategy, Accessibility), Backend engineering (full-stack/Drupal), and Front-end engineering. We also closely collaborate with the CMS team and Platform teams who own the platforms we build on.
Day one
Day one
Your top priority is any onboarding paperwork provided by Contract Onboarding folks. Start tasks below after that.
Process & Principles
People
Week one
Week one
The goals of this week are:
Access & Delivery
Paperwork
You'll receive an email from A6 COS 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.
Process & Principles
People
Context & History
After Fingerprinting / SAC Adjudication
After Fingerprinting / SAC Adjudication
After you've been fingerprinted and received government confirmation (SAC Adjudication), your Delivery manager will add you to VA Slack and VA Github.
Note: Prior to eQip transmittal, the VA may grant network access. However: VA contractors should not access the VA network until the eQIP has been transmitted to the DCSA. Please refrain from accessing VA network (via CAG, Azure or otherwise) and do not request a temporary access password until you have submitted your eQip and received a transmittal notice.
Slack
@public-websites-team
,@facilities-team
. Also@sitewide-engineers
for eng.)Channels
#proj-sitewide
#sitewide-program
, and your team channel e.g.#sitewide-public-websites
,#sitewide-facilities
Github / Zenhub configuration
Github + Zenhub are the tools required for sprint boards, epics, estimates, and issue tracking for our team, as well as code version control. To work successfully:
Github documentation
Sprint boards:
You can view team sprint boards using either the Github view with Zenhub browser extension enabled, or the Zenhub webapp view.
General VA Access
The VA.gov Platform team manages VA.gov tooling and network access. In order to receive access to many tools you'll need day to day, you must file a Platform orientation ticket and complete the required steps in that ticket. (There may be some overlap with steps in this ticket -- if you have feedback on how we could reduce overlap, send notes to your Delivery Manager!)
SOCKS proxy: SOCKS is a VA Network proxy that will allow you to access some VA systems from your local machine, without being on the VA network or a virtual machine. To gain SOCKS access, you must complete your Platform orientation ticket. More details on SOCKS in the "After eQip Transmittal notice received" section.
Week two
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 complete your eQip in order to unlock SOCKS access, as it will give you access to our systems so try to prioritize that.
Context & History: What products do we support?
Access & Delivery
After eQip Transmittal notice received
After eQip Transmittal notice received
VA Network access
After you receive eQip Transmittal notice, you should receive an email confirming that you have been approved for remote access. The VA network is required in order to access Drupal CMS and other VA tools. VA Network access typically requires a VA Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card with a chip reader.
VA network: SOCKS proxy (after your Platform Orientation)
SOCKS is a VA Network proxy that will allow you to access some VA systems from your local machine, without being on the VA network or a virtual machine. Until your paperwork is approved and you receive a PIV card, using the SOCKS proxy can provide earlier access to some VA Network tools. Configuring SOCKS is the first priority when your eQip transmittal is received, for anyone who will require access to Drupal (UX, engineers, Product Management, etc.). If your role doesn't demand immediate access to the CMS, you may be able to wait until you receive a PIV.
To gain SOCKS access, you must:
When those are in place:
Setting up SOCKS can be a complex process. Post in #sitewide-program Slack channel if you need help from a current member - we're happy to help.
VA Network: Virtual Machines
The VA Network can also be accessed on Virtual Machines (VMs), using either the Citrix Access Gateway (CAG) or Azure.
If you need virtual machine access prior to receiving your PIV card, You can contact Enterprise Service desk via provided instructions to set up your remote desktop access manually.
Once you have a temporary password, you can get on the VA network to access the links below. See VA network remote access options.
If on Windows:
Windows users must use the Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD).
If on Mac / Linux:
Mac users will also use Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) eventually. As of Aug 2023, if you are a new hire on Mac, you are a guinea pig. Do your best with these instructions, ask your DM for help if they don't work, and ask your DM to update this issuetemplate with correct notes after it's all sorted out. Mac users have 2 options:
Drupal
Drupal is the VA's content management system (CMS) of choice. For anyone on our team, it's beneficial to have a CMS user account so you can login, look at settings, and understand how Drupal works at a high level. If you need help completing the technical steps here, schedule 30 mins with your Delivery Manager.
Tugboat demo environments
Tugboat is a development server platform where you can preview CMS code changes pre-production, along with staged changes from branches in other code repos (content-build & vets-website). SOCKS is required for Tugboat access.
Month one
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.
People
After background check cleared
After background check cleared
This is your last access hurdle! Congratulations.
After your background check is complete, you will get an email to get your Personal Identify Verification (PIV) card.
Review a video about the benefits of the PIV card and VA network access.
PIV card will help you get remote VA network access.
Discipline specific onboarding (UX, developers, helpdesk, etc.)
I've left the Engineering and UX onboarding sections in here for your reference, as there might be a few things there that interest you. But you're primarily responsible for the PM section below.
Onboarding for Product Managers
PM Role expectations & access
Platform governance
The VA's Platform team provides guidance and oversight on quality for things like Research studies & recruitment, Design system implementation, Accessibility requirements, test coverage expectations, and requirements for launches. Product Managers guide teams through this process, so it's beneficial to get familiar with their guidance documentation:
CMS Collab Cycle
As of April 2024, the CMS Collab Cycle will be integrated into the Platform Collab Cycle. New documentation is TBD.
Tracking features shipping
Product Managers are often involved in launch day activity and change management. Our environments are complex, and where the code was written will have a lot to do with when it deploys or how simple launch day will be. It's beneficial to build a basic familiarity with our environments, for that reason.
Onboarding for Engineers
Onboarding for Engineers
VA Platform documentation
Dev environment configuration
Each repository includes READMEs to help with setup.
Repositories
Build systems / Environments
content-build
andvets-website
, through Dev > Staging > ProdVA Design system (DS)
The VA Design System and our products are always iterating, so you'll find our products in various states of compliance with current Design System guidance. We expect that any new development in the front-end uses VA Design System components wherever possible, and that we identify opportunities to bring older products up to modern usage of the DS. It's important to get familiar with the DS to inform your work.
If you ever see places we should be using the DS and aren't, surface those to your Product Manager!
Tools & Resources
Onboarding for UX members
Onboarding for UX members
Your discipline lead will assist with onboarding tasks / calls.
(Passcode: QPg1Pn9#) for context on our UX work.
Tools
Install tools and request access from your DM, if not already provided
Team-specific onboarding (Facilities, Public Websites)
Facilities Team Onboarding
Onboarding for Facilities
Your priorities on the team
Now you get to start thinking about your actual job. 😉
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