Architecture Forum - Jan 30, 2025

• Key Message: CHEFS has evolved through multiple iterations into a scalable and flexible system supporting various government services.

  Team’s Approach:

  • Focus on solving real problems rather than just building features.

  • Engage with users early, gather feedback, and iterate continuously.

  • Collaborate within a network of teams that contribute to shared components.

  CHEFS' Core Workstreams:

  1. Learning from Users: Exploration, discovery, and proof of concept (POC).

  2. Delivering Value: Implementing pilots, open betas, and scaling enterprise solutions.

  The Nexus Framework:

  • A lightweight agile approach to collaboration.

  • Enables stakeholders to co-develop and pilot solutions with iterative feedback loops.

• Purpose: To define client needs and design proofs of concept before scaling solutions.

  Team Members:

  • The team comprises UX, service design, enterprise architecture, client success, and Scrum mastery experts.

  Roadmap Focus Areas:

  • Q4: Multi-tenancy (Tenant Manager) – Linking related forms under a common initiative.

  • Q1: Team Manager – Improving user role management for form access.

  • Q2: AI-driven form assistance – Exploring Forms GPT to enhance user experience.

  • Q3: Workflow improvements – Enhancing automated processes and access to transaction records.

  • Q4: Continuous evaluation – Assessing impact and refining existing features.

  Call to Action:

  • We are seeking participants for upcoming Proof of Concept (POC) projects.

• Purpose:  Transition successful proofs of concept (POCs) into scalable, production-ready solutions.

• Team’s Responsibility:

  • Run limited pilot programs to test new features.

  • Transition features into open betas and eventually full enterprise deployment.

  • Oversee DevOps, operational maintenance, and bug fixes.

CHEFS Value Roadmap Highlights:

• Q4:

  • Event Streaming & Subscription Service: Improves real-time data synchronization in forms.

  • Enhanced Mapping Component: Supporting Natural Resources Ministry’s Road Use Permit Project.

  • BC Services Card Integration (Limited Pilot): Testing authentication improvements.

• Q1:

  • Expanding Event Streaming to wider beta testing.

  • Scaling BC Services Card support from pilot to beta.

• Q2:

  • Initiate a multi-tenancy pilot.

  • Moving CHEFS to a gold cluster for enterprise scalability.

• Q3:

  • Team Manager pilot.

  • Launch Form Analytics pilot to provide insights into form usage.

• Q4:

  • Implement ongoing improvements & refinement of features.

• Call to Action:

  • Participants are needed for pilots, especially Event Streaming, Multi-Tenancy, and BC Services Card Integration.

CHEFS Training & Support

• Users can seek support via the MS Teams channel and technical documentation.

• Future goal: Integrate Forms GPT for AI-driven assistance.

Mapping & Spatial Data in CHEFS

• Current Capabilities: Supports points, polygons, circles, and base map selection.

• Future Possibilities: Exploring ways to make spatial data compatible with Esri ArcGIS products (GeoJSON format).

• File Uploads:

  • Currently supported are KMZ, KML, and various file types as attachments.

  • Planned: Integrating file uploads into anonymous forms.

CHEFS Form Features & Technical Questions

• PDF Summaries: Uses Carbone templates for customizable PDF outputs.

• Embedding Forms: Can be added via iFrames, including MS Teams integration.

• URL Persistence: Form URLs remain permanent even after revisions.

• High-Level Summary for Management: A one-pager document will be shared via weeknotes in MS Teams.

5. Afternoon Usability Testing Session

• Two sessions available:

  1. Technical Usability Testing

  2. Design Usability Testing

• Objective:

  • Gather feedback on user experience improvements.

  • Identify areas that need better accessibility and ease of use.

Summary Takeaways

• CHEFS is evolving based on user-driven feedback and iterative improvements.

• Two main teams focus on learning from users and delivering scalable solutions.

• Major roadmap developments include multi-tenancy, AI-driven assistance, event streaming, and spatial enhancements.

• Open calls for collaboration on pilots and testing new features.

• Ongoing usability improvements to enhance accessibility and user-friendliness.

Facilitator: Ari Hershberg

• Goal: Gather feedback from participants on usability, challenges, and suggestions for improvement in CHEFS (Common Hosted Enterprise Form Service).

• Focus Areas:

  • Technical aspects of CHEFS (form design, exports, API integration).

  • Usability and user experience feedback.

  • Improvements in filtering, form submission handling, and accessibility.

• Contact for follow-up questions: Matthew Hall, Ari Hershberg, or Mohammed.

Key Technical Feedback from Users:

1. Exporting Forms and Data:

   • Issue: Users struggle with exporting multiple versions of a form, leading to a cumbersome data retrieval process.

   • Suggested Improvement: A bulk export capability that includes all form versions.

2. Time-Based Form Submission Limits:

   • Users requested a way to set a deadline for responses (e.g., for scheduling events like meal orders).

   • CHEFS already includes a scheduler feature, but it needs to be more user-friendly.

3. Landing Page Navigation:

   • Issue: Users expect to see a list of existing forms first instead of being taken directly to form design when logging in.

4. Enhancing API & Integrations:

   • Request: Examples of successful API integrations across government ministries.

   • Response: CHEFS has been used for land-based investment tracking, business registration, and cross-agency coordination.

5. Feature Dependencies & Progressive Complexity:

   • As new features get added, they create dependencies that increase complexity.

   • Suggested solution: Introduce progressive disclosure (more straightforward UI initially, with advanced options revealed when needed).

   • Proposal: "New User vs. Advanced User" toggle to cater to different expertise levels.

Key Usability Concerns:

1. User Experience & Intuitiveness

   • Feedback: Many users found CHEFS not user-friendly for first-time users that aren’t tech savvy.

   • Comparison: Users felt Microsoft Forms was easier for non-technical users.

   • Suggested Fixes:

     • Better UI guidance: Tooltips, onboarding guides, or contextual help.

     • "Getting Started" templates for common use cases.

     • More visual design, less technical jargon.

2. Managing Form Access & User Roles

   • Issue: Users forgot they needed to assign team members after choosing restricted form access.

   • Suggested Fix: Allow adding members upfront, instead of only after setting up the form.

3. Filtering & Sorting Submissions (for Admins)

   • Issue: No way to assign, filter, and track submissions by team members in the CHEFS dashboard.

   • Current workaround: Export submissions to CSV/Excel and filter manually.

   • Requested feature: Built-in column for submission ownership (who is working on which task).

4. Document Export & Formatting

   • Pain point: Some users had very large PDFs (100+ pages) with redundant data.

   • Suggested Fix: Provide smarter formatting options when exporting forms.

Planned Enhancements for CHEFS

• Export & Versioning Fixes: Enable bulk exporting of all form versions.

• Form Access Management: Improve team member assignment visibility.

• Usability Improvements: Simplify UI for new users (progressive disclosure, better tooltips, pre-built templates).

• Submission Tracking Enhancements: Add assignee tracking & filtering options.

• Workflow Improvements: Integrate deadline settings into form submission logic.

Support & Resources for Users

• Best way to get help:

  • General questions: CHEFS MS Teams channel.

  • Feature requests: Submit feedback via Fider (CHEFS feature request tool).

• Upcoming Training & Workshops: More hands-on sessions and tutorials will be developed based on feedback.

Final Takeaways:

• CHEFS is powerful but needs usability refinements.

• Balancing technical complexity vs. user-friendliness is a key challenge.

• Community feedback is critical to shaping future improvements.

Overall Summary Takeaways

• CHEFS is powerful but needs usability refinements.

• Balancing technical complexity vs. user-friendliness is a key challenge.

• Community feedback is critical to shaping future improvements.

Overall Summary Takeaways

• CHEFS is evolving, but new users struggle with onboarding & form design.

• Better filtering, export options, and UI enhancements are needed.

• Planned roadmap updates will focus on improving usability & admin controls.

• Users are encouraged to participate in future testing & feedback sessions.