1.
I work for the UK government
@annashipman GDS

2.
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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Open sourcing government

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Anna Shipman
Technical Architect
Government Digital Service
@annashipman

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How we got here

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@annashipman GDS

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The UK’s Government
Digital Service (GDS)
@annashipman GDS

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Our job is to change the
way government works
@annashipman GDS

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GOV.UK
was first
@annashipman GDS

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Worked with eight departments
to improve services
@annashipman GDS

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Digital services so good that
people prefer to use them
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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The owner had to
fill in this form
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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91% user satisfaction
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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45%
of prisoners lose
contact with their
family while inside
@annashipman GDS

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39%
more likely
to reoffend
if not visited
@annashipman GDS

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The prisoner
gave this form
to the guard
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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85% user satisfaction
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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We are supporting
other parts of government
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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The UK government has
committed to making code open
@annashipman GDS

34.
Why we code in the open

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Potential for reuse
@annashipman GDS

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You don’t know what will be
useful to others
@annashipman GDS

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Increases transparency
@annashipman GDS

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It’s also nice to show
what you’re working on
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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Code in the open by default
@annashipman GDS

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The potential downsides of
coding in the open

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It can be difficult to get started
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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Possibility of making mistakes,
e.g. passwords, credentials
@annashipman GDS

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Be able to recover quickly
@annashipman GDS

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Have processes that
make mistakes harder
@annashipman GDS

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Separate code and configuration
@annashipman GDS

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Coding in the open forces you
to do things properly
@annashipman GDS

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When to keep code closed

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@annashipman GDS

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Configuration should be
closed source
@annashipman GDS

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Configuration should be
closed source – maybe
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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Security should be
closed source
@annashipman GDS

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Security should be
closed source – maybe
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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Security thinking has to be
holistic – users, culture, context
@annashipman GDS

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Focus on reducing
mean time to recovery
@annashipman GDS

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Good security works
even if it’s open
@annashipman GDS

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Policy not yet announced
@annashipman GDS

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Code as if you are
going to release it
@annashipman GDS

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No credentials or secrets
@annashipman GDS

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Good commit messages
@annashipman GDS

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Good documentation
@annashipman GDS

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But you would do that anyway!
@annashipman GDS

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We are not perfect

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Change can be very difficult
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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You can do this in
your organisation
@annashipman GDS

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Other people
using our code

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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Coding in the open
vs open source

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We don’t promise
to support it
@annashipman GDS

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We’ve not committed
to maintain it
@annashipman GDS

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There are some
open source projects
@annashipman GDS

86.
@annashipman GDS

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@annashipman GDS

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Originally coded in the open
@annashipman GDS

89.
@annashipman GDS

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Other parts of government
are using it
@annashipman GDS

91.
@annashipman GDS

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Maintaining open source
has challenges
@annashipman GDS

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Getting time to work on it
@annashipman GDS

94.
Open source Thursdays
@annashipman GDS

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Contributors taking it in a
new direction
@annashipman GDS

96.
Talk to people
@annashipman GDS

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What we are doing next

98.
Identify most useful
projects to open source
@annashipman GDS

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Helping teams code in the open
@annashipman GDS

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Increase our OSS contributions
@annashipman GDS

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How you can get involved

102.
Get your organisation
coding in the open
@annashipman GDS

103.
Let me know if you want to
use our code
@annashipman GDS

104.
Come work for GDS!
gds.blog.gov.uk/jobs/
@annashipman GDS

105.
Anna Shipman
Technical Architect
Government Digital Service
@annashipman

106.
@annashipman GDS
Personalised licence plate image credit
• flickr.com/photos/ambernectar/3748854184/
Studies about prison visits
• thinknpc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Investing-in-family-ties.pdf
• webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110201125714/http:/www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/
research-factors-reoffending.pdf
The Digital Service Standard
• gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard
GDS Operations open source
• gds-operations.github.io
Blog posts
• gdstechnology.blog.gov.uk/2016/09/30/easing-the-process-of-pull-request-reviews/
• gds.blog.gov.uk/2014/10/08/when-is-it-ok-not-to-open-all-source-code/
• gdstechnology.blog.gov.uk/2016/01/19/opening-gov-uks-puppet-repository/
• identityassurance.blog.gov.uk/2015/12/21/gov-uk-verify-technical-delivery-update-21-
december-2015/