Archive for April 2011
DNS: the final battleground (or ‘how can it cost £14,000 to edit a line of text?’)
I think we're all agreed that government departments outsourcing everything computer-related in one single contract was a mistake. A bit like, say, outsourcing your press office to BT because they spend most of their time working with phones. Where it might well have made sense to contract out your IT infrastructure - you know, putting [...] read on »
Multisite mania: the next phase of our WordPress work for Defra
Late last year, Puffbox helped Defra move its main corporate website over to WordPress. One of the grand concepts underpinning the project was the use of WordPress's multisite (formerly MU) functionality, allowing us to run multiple websites using the same installation. We launched with only one child site, for News - probably the easiest one, [...] read on »
Alphagov screenshots emerge
A very positive Telegraph piece about Alphagov includes what, for many people, will be the first sight of a 'proper' screenshot: That screenshot shows several elements which, from what I've seen so far, define the Alphagov approach. You'll note the lack of Home Office/IPS (who? exactly) branding, the absolute prominence of search, the no-nonsense language, [...] read on »
Cabinet Office’s new Red Tape consultation runs on WordPress
The government's latest crowdsourcing initiative launches today: the Red Tape Challenge takes a slightly more focused approach than previous efforts, naming a specific sector or industry 'every few weeks', pointing visitors at Legislation.gov.uk, and asking them what can be scrapped, merged, simplified or improved. I really like the idea of targeting by sector, but I'm [...] read on »
Permanent Executive Director Digital post advertised
Just posted on the Civil Service jobs website: the recruitment notice for the permanent position of Executive Director Digital, as proposed in the Martha Lane Fox review. It's the position currently being fulfilled on an interim basis by Chris Chant. The position is at SCS2 level, worth £142,000 per year, and promises 'a rewarding role [...] read on »
Directgov meets 95% convergence target
A significant milestone in the evolution of UK e-government was passed last week - very, very quietly. The Cabinet Office had a Departmental Strategic Objective for the 2008-11 spending round, DSO4 if you're interested, to 'migrate more than 95% of the total identified websites to Directgov and Businesslink by 31 March 2011'. Well, Directgov's Tony [...] read on »