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President Joko Widodo has officially announced that the capital will be relocated to East Kalimantan and will be inaugurated in 2024, “Indonesia’s new capital is part of the massive transformation in the country!”
Ministries and government agencies will be relocated to the new capital from 2024 to 2045. For a country to become digitally enabled, it will require a massive data migration strategy in which government services are fully integrated, transparent, and secure. A regulatory framework for national digital transformation, encompassing four major domains: internal policy, governance, management, and service, must be established.
What steps need to be taken to ensure a secure effective cloud migration?
The Indonesian government’s “One Data” policy and the digital government environment are expected to have a significant impact on the design of big data architecture and infrastructure. In Indonesia, digital governance policies emphasise establishing stewardship, accountability, roles and decision-making authority for the city’s digital presence.
To avoid misalignment during the implementation of the digital strategy, the Indonesian government intends to establish a well-designed digital governance framework that will fully govern data protection and security.
Policymakers concerned with establishing security and data protection policies that balance the need to protect data with the need to enable secure data flows will always face challenges. To make this work, some governments have imposed stringent regulations, while others have developed a wide range of technical and security policies that overlap with existing international standards, resulting in a complex web of conflicting policies.
However, from a technological standpoint, we will explore the best solutions that will complement Indonesia’s “One Data” policy and practice.
Several trends emerge in the new shift towards the “One Data” policy. The first of which is the transition to “Datafication”. This practical concept has proven to be effective and is expected to deliver as all ministries prepare to migrate data and workflow in preparation to move to the new capital city. It is critical to plan the migration strategically to ensure that data is fully backed up and automated.
Another aspect to consider is expanding on the backup data classification. To guarantee data is always recoverable and available in the event of outages, attacks, loss or cyber threats, ministries must protect all workloads with backups, supplemented with snapshots and replication where appropriate.
This function enhances data governance practices, thereby increasing citizen and investor trust. Further, being prepared by implementing data classification and infrastructure resources can help in combating cyberthreat or data loss has effectively reduced the risk of a data breach.
The Virtual Public Sector Day held on 23 March 2022 is aimed at providing insights and practical solutions that enable the Indonesian public sector to maximise its data capability through comprehensive, centralised data protection, a cost-effective and secure data-driven process during the migration of data to the new capital.
The urgency of cloud modernisation


Kicking off the session, Mohit acknowledges that the pandemic brought significant changes in culture and perspective. In the new normal where remote working has been established, “data has to be readily available,” Mohit opines.
Yet, merely having data is not enough, “Data is oil only when it is used.” Everyone is in the process of realigning the data strategy, configuring their data policy on where data should be kept and how they should be used.
For Mohit, in the future that the world is heading towards, data needs to be accessible, backed up and secured. “You will get hit, it is going to happen,” Mohit claims. “The question is, what is your recovery strategy and how are you managing your data?”
Mohit observes that many governments have rapidly pivoted to build their applications on cloud – due to the elasticity and security that cloud offers. However, he agrees that some data will continue to reside on-prem, which is why hybrid models are embraced.
It is vital to learn how to use your entire set seamlessly. Organisations are dealing with legacy systems as well as “legacy people,” making the point that skillsets need to develop alongside the modernisation journey.
Closing his address, he strongly recommends governments look for specialists to partner with instead of doing everything on their own. “Let the experts do what they do best,” Mohit urges.
“It not only allows the best systems and infrastructure to be put in place but also frees up the organisation’s staff to concentrate on the business and focus on driving growth.”
Data strategies to power a digital government


Raymond Goh Senior Director, Systems Engineering, Asian & Japan, Veeam spoke next on the nuts and bolts of devising a data strategy in the public sector.
“How are we embracing technology? Are you an optimist or a pessimist?”, Raymond asks.
According to Raymond, there will always be pressure regardless of whether one is an optimist or pessimist. Data is exploding and organisations are running out of capacity to store data. There are several implications of that:
- De-duplication and compression to redress the capacity gap
- Feasibility of media technology like object storage architecture
- Intelligent data management that increases efficiency and utilisation
While data management is needed, Raymond acknowledges the challenges that organisations face including manual data classification from different inputs and applying it to compliance, disaster recovery, security or archive strategy. Yet there is hope in that there is cognitive computing and AIto sort, tag, place and automate data movement.
Sharing some of the use cases of data management systems, Raymond highlights the use case in the business continuity plan. Some of the key benefits are as follows:
- Backup Data classification from tier-based archiving to cloud and/or tape to cater for ZB data growth
- Disaster Recovery data classification together with infrastructure resources to combat cyberthreat or data loss
- Using criticality and gap assessments to ensure governance and compliance
Raymond also emphasises that it is a gradual process towards a hybrid cloud model and not “a big bang” approach.


Accordingly, Raymond shares how Veeam helps organisations with digital transformation. For Veeam, there are 5 stages of intelligent data management:
- Backup
Protect all workloads using backups, complemented by snapshots and replication where appropriate, to ensure they are always recoverable and available in the event of outages, attack, loss, or theft.
- Cloud mobility
Provides easy portability and fast recovery of ANY on-premises or cloud-based workloads to Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Azure Stack to maintain business continuity and Availability across hybrid cloud environments
- Visibility
View the full breadth of your data, accompanied by the infrastructure that it passes through and resides on, so that you can pivot from reactive to proactive management for better business decisions.
- Orchestration
Optimise data utilisation across multi-cloud environments with workflows that ensure consistent execution of otherwise manual and complex backup, recovery, and data management tasks.
- Automation
Data becomes self-managing by learning to protect itself with appropriate SLAs (Singapore Land Authority), methods, and locations to meet business objectives or comply with broader IT (Information Technology) initiatives.
From his experience, he concludes that utilising Veeam offers agencies a better data management system that can allow government agencies to provide better and faster services to citizens. Overall, it enables agencies the ability to protect, manage and unleash data.
Enhancing government services and citizen experience through cloud technology


Mohammad Ghozie Indra Dalel, Country Manager, Indonesia Worldwide Public Sector, Amazon Web Services followed with a sharing of how AWS can assist government agencies in their cloud modernisation journey.
According to Ghozie, Forbes has predicted that 80% of enterprise IT will move to the cloud by 2025, asserting the inevitable trend of cloud adoption.
Compared to traditional infrastructure, there are many benefits of cloud computing, including the on-demand delivery of IT resources over public or private networks without the up-front costs and long-term contracts. Apart from that, cloud computing offers pay-as-you-go pricing and the agility to scale up and down.
Ghozie shared that AWS Regions are comprised of multiple AZs for high availability, high scalability, and high fault tolerance. Applications and data are replicated in real-time and consistent in the different AZs.
On the topic of security, Ghozie articulated AWS’ shared responsibility model.
- Security in the Cloud: Customer responsibility will be determined by the AWS Cloud services that a customer selects
- Security of the Cloud: AWS is responsible for protecting the infrastructure that runs all the services offered in the AWS Cloud
Emphasising how industry leaders in Indonesia are building on AWS, Ghozie cited some prominent case examples of how AWS has helped the public sector devise solutions for their workflow.
During the pandemic, the government allocated Kartu Prakerja US$ 1.4 billion in 2021 to offer monetary incentives on top of skills training for those who complete these training courses. However, many attempted to exploit the government programme for their own monetary gain by submitting multiple registrations under different identities.


To make sure more Indonesians can benefit from its programme, Kartu Prakerja worked with AWS to improve and scale its identity verification process. With Amazon Textract’s computer vision technology, it can automatically extract data from copies of personal identification cards in seconds.
In closing, Ghozie concludes by stating that AWS improves operations safely and allows agencies to deploy resources at scale and with speed. He shared that the experience of AWS is something the government agencies can leverage to power their journey towards cloud modernisation.
Power Talk: “One Data” policy – Facilitating interaction between the government and citizens using the right technology
In the next segment, Mohit moderated a panel discussion with the following panellists:
- Habisanti, Country Manager, Indonesia, Veeam
- Raymond Goh, Senior Director of Systems Engineering, Asia & Japan, Veeam
- Setiaji, Chief of Digital Transformation Officer, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia
- Wahyu Andrianto, Head of Data Planning, Analysis & Utilisation, Sekretariat Satu Data Indonesia, BAPPENAS
- Mohammad Ghozie Indra Dalel, Country Manager, Indonesia Worldwide Public Sector, Amazon Web Services
Mohit was keen to gain a perspective on global trends towards cloud adoption and modernisation.


Raymond observes that there is a movement towards intelligent data management. While there are still traditional workloads residing on-prem, there are data that are associated with the applications that are hosted on cloud. He added that there is a need to create an environment to support the applications.
Wahyu concurred with Raymond’s observations that there is design and the use of cloud as the main factor. He echoed Mohit’s perspective that cloud is indeed the future, and in fact “now.”
Ghozie noted that governments all over the world have been reaping the benefits of digital transformation. Many leading countries have been using cloud providers and have a specific policy to implement a cloud-first policy. Apart from that, there are also benefits in data classification where data is stored in different locations.
Setiaji added that the benefits of cloud are closely linked to the drivers of cloud adoption. Data migration often needs to be supported by big and unique infrastructure. Cloud offers scalability, without the need to have extensive manpower to manage the infrastructure, as well as security, because cloud has many systems in place for security.
On the considerations that organisations must bear in mind when moving to cloud, Habisanti commented that having one consolidated data is an ideal situation as it can allow for multiple uses of data. She highlighted that cloud adoption is a journey that happens in phases. The most important consideration for agencies is to ensure that there is clean data. For Habisanti, it is feasible – the key is to pick the right technology and solution, which is what Veeam has expertise in.
Identifying the right data management solution is what Veeam can do to help agencies protect and unleash the data to provide better and faster services to society. Habisanti added that Veeam can protect workloads across all platforms – from legacy systems to cloud. Further, they can monitor to detect malicious activities.


The expected benefits of cloud aside, Mohit was interested to know if there were benefits that Setiaji discovered after starting the journey of cloud modernisation.
For Setiaji, the benefits include:
- Agility: The ability to release the product faster to consumers
- Elasticity: The ability to increase and decrease capacity according to workload
Adding to that observation, Mohit remarked that while Singapore used to be wary about releasing things until they have tested, the urgency of deployment during COVID-19 saw the quick deployment of TraceTogether on cloud. Cloud makes it easy to scale and adapt in an agile manner.
Despite the benefits of cloud, Mohit remarked that there is hesitation in the movement to cloud. Ghozie concurs and said that the main reason is the lack of familiarity. People are not acquainted with cloud and might not have a strategy for moving to cloud.
The reluctance to move to cloud could also be related to challenges that people face, Habisanti suggests. It has to do with the fact that governments and organisations are still locked in legacy systems. She also feels that there is a lack of human resources and skillsets on the journey of transformation – Veeam can help bridge that gap with automation.
Looking for advice for public sector agencies seeking to move towards cloud, Mohit asked Habisanti for her thoughts.
“Regulations have to support the use of cloud,” Habisanti believes. Agencies should not follow the hype and take in any solution. “Learn the needs and details of your business and prioritise what needs to be solved. Not all problems are equally important.”


In concluding the segment, Mohit reiterates the scalability of cloud services which is the flexibility that governments can harness. However, he asserts the need to find platforms and services that can enable organisations to seamlessly transition to cloud.
Interactive Discussion
After the informative presentations, delegates participated in interactive discussions facilitated by polling questions. This activity is designed to provide live-audience interaction, promote engagement, hear real-life experiences, and facilitate discussions that impart professional learning and development for participants.
In the first poll, delegates were asked about what they think will be their organisation’s biggest challenge on data immutability during the capital relocation. Delegates were split between the long time required to recover data from backup (35%) and their customers’ confidence in the company (38%). Others found the compromising of backup copies (19%) as challenging, while the rest cited other reasons (8%).
One delegate shared that his challenge was in getting people aligned to the same understanding and coordinating between data owners. Another opined that having the same understanding of the purpose of the collaboration and partnership is important.
Wahyu added that establishing the standards and regulations is key during capital relocation. Habisanti cautioned delegates to be aware of expectations because when there is a lot of data to compile, there is a need for support systems, the right people and the right technology to support it.
Delegates were asked about their organisation’s expectations on recovery time and recovery points, should there be a disaster, disruption, cyberattack, corruption. An overwhelming majority (87%) expressed the desire to get back in less than 1 hour without any loss of transaction or data, while the rest (13%) said they could wait for up to 4 hours with data losses and downtime.
Mohit highlighted that not all data can be recovered within the first hour or at all and that there is a need to differentiate the criticality of the data. Raymond echoed the point made by Mohit and emphasised the need to classify and identify data that is truly critical for operations.
When it came to data recovery, Ghozie mentioned that there is no one formula. He added that recovering all data can be costly, which is why data classification is critical.
The next question inquired about the delegates’ confidence in their organisation’s data/workload can move securely across platforms/cloud. The majority (41%) are fairly sure, while others were very confident (23%), uncertain (27%) or not confident (9%).
One delegate shared the big concerns when moving workloads across platforms including governance, security, and willingness of the ministries to put data on cloud.
Habisanti said Veeam is one of the solutions when organisations are pivoting towards hybrid solutions – Veeam offers the portability from on-prem to cloud and from cloud to multi-cloud.
On their key concern in their consideration to move to the cloud, most (61%) were concerned about security and governance. The remaining delegates were concerned about the need to re-skill talent (15%), vendor lock-in (8%), operational costs (8%) and other concerns (8%).
Ghozie remarked that security is a concern for many public sector agencies because of a lack of understanding of cloud. Setiaji added that he believes in the security of cloud services and AWS has helped support his organisation manage the training of their staff on the cloud platform.
Mohit emphasised that it is s transformation journey – it is not lift-and-shift because it requires a transformation of applications.
In the final poll, delegates were asked about the area of interest for their organisation and what they value the most. More than a third (39%) were interested in the ease of doing business through a simplified technology consumption model. The rest of the delegates were interested in the visibility into cross-system data and infrastructure to identify unexpected changes and potential risks (26%), tools that can deliver automation in areas like compliance and data classification (26%) and delivering business resiliency through highly available applications and workloads (9%).
Conclusion
In closing, Ghozie emphasised that the needs of the time require new strategies, models, and technological adoption. Working with partners will help public sector organisations tap on the experience of the experts to transform their operations. In doing so, agencies can focus on delivering better and faster citizen services.
Habisanti, Country Manager, Indonesia Veeam thanked all the delegates for their participation and insights on the topic. She reiterated that Veeam can offer the support that organisations need for cloud modernisation and encouraged delegates to continue to have conversations about the ever-evolving technology landscape. She invited the delegates to reach out to her and the team if they had any queries or wanted to explore ways to collaborate.


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GovTech has been recognised by OpenGov Asia for its innovative use of digital technology in transforming the public sector. Through the GovWallet initiative, GovTech has simplified government operations and unlocked new opportunities.
This effort forms part of GovTech’s ongoing work to develop a digital wallet module that enables government entities to securely and promptly distribute funds and credits to citizens and beneficiaries. Agencies no longer must build their own payment systems, and people can get their government payments quickly through apps they already use.
GovWallet facilitates payment tracking for government agencies while providing payment recipients with multiple options to monitor their payment and spending records. Notably, one of its key features empowers agencies to select authorised merchants and regulate payout usage.
GovWallet serves as a backend service module that seamlessly integrates with any government mobile application, including LifeSG and Singpass. This allows users to utilise their credits at PayNow and NETS accepting stores and withdraw cash from ATMs, facilitating financial access for individuals without bank accounts.
Essential insight to build digital payment
While working on SupplyAlly, a system that coordinates the distribution of tangible items like food packs, TT Tokens, and reusable masks during the pandemic, the GovWallet team initiated the Know Your Customer (KYC) research.
Through their collaboration with government agencies, the GovWallet team found that agencies are not only interested in managing the distribution of physical goods but also in disbursing government benefits to eligible recipients. The team discovered that there were limited locations where recipients could utilise their payouts, the widespread acceptance of digital vouchers in the commercial sector.
GovWallet was created to enable citizens to access the widely used SGQR and well-established payment ecosystems, such as PayNow and NETS, without the need for a bank account to complete the transactions. The aim was to expand the range of retailers where beneficiaries could utilise their payouts.
They recognised that a comprehensive approach to addressing security, fraud, compliance and monitoring concerns necessitates a risk assessment. The team engaged with various stakeholders to validate their strategy and output, encompassing both the technical implementation and policy framework.
As part of their pre-rollout plan, they used a separate team to conduct vulnerability analyses and penetration tests simultaneously. These assessments proved valuable in gauging risks, and their insights would inform the future rollout and expansion of GovWallet.
GovWallet is hosted on the Government on Commercial Cloud (GCC) platform and is deployed on Amazon Web Services (AWS). A typical disbursement campaign may require up to 1,600 man-hours to complete.
Their architecture, which is based on AWS’ Serverless framework, allowed them to scale up and down as needed, reducing the amount of manpower required to monitor, maintain and operate the system. Adopting a serverless architecture allowed them to concentrate on making GovWallet more cost-effective, high-performing and responsive to traffic vagaries.
GovWallet has been gaining popularity among both government agencies and citizens. However, as with any other product that requires integration with multiple parties, the GovWallet team needed to maintain close communication with agencies to avoid a drop in collaboration.
They have scheduled regular meetings with various parties, such as government agencies and banks, to keep track of progress and address issues as they arise. They have also worked on numerous disbursement campaigns with multiple agencies.
A noteworthy application of GovWallet was its collaboration with the Ministries of Defence and Home Affairs to disburse S$100 digital credits to over 1 million past and present national servicemen. The system successfully processed up to 1.1 million disbursements and payments, with minimal lag or disruption.
According to the team, communication is critical to the success of any project, regardless of its size. Onboarding a government agency onto GovWallet typically entails the agency, the GovWallet team and a frontend interface for citizens to access payouts, such as LifeSG or a commercial bank.
To be able to move and adapt quickly, all teams must be on the same page in terms of objectives and changes. This allows them to remain agile, quickly adapt to user needs, and benefit more citizens.
When designing the infrastructure or developing the code, the GovWallet team draws on market best practices. Additionally, they conduct routine security reviews of their products to ensure that they remain current with the latest security practices and vulnerabilities.
GovWallet is currently developing a self-service dashboard for agencies onboarding its platforms. This provides greater flexibility in administering government disbursement schemes without necessitating a system-to-system integration with the backend.
They are not restricting their expansion to support digital currency transactions on GovWallet and will continue to collaborate with banks to provide such services as needed.
About the team
GovWallet was originally created as a solution to the issues of higher costs, administrative workload and carbon emissions associated with the issuance of cheques and physical vouchers. As the team resolved these challenges, they partnered with industry players to integrate PayNow and NETS payment gateways into the platform, providing GovWallet beneficiaries access to around 200,000 merchants.
While the product team needs to be aligned with the mission and objectives of the initiative, it is equally critical for senior leadership within each organisation to support the initiative. This support enables the product team to reduce or eliminate potential roadblocks and achieve success.
When it comes to product roadmap planning and the development of user-centric solutions, GovTech collaborates closely with the Smart Nation Digital Government Office (SNDGO).
The GovWallet team places a strong emphasis on close collaboration and maintains open lines of communication with all functional roles involved in the initiative. For example, a developer can communicate directly with the product owner without the need for any intermediaries. This approach reduces the potential for misunderstandings and accelerates the feedback loop.
Regular dedicated checkpoints such as scrum and sprint retrospectives are held by the GovWallet team. During these meetings, the team members are given dedicated and safe time to reflect on and inspect the features they liked and areas for improvement. This practice encourages open communication and helps the team identify ways to improve their workflow and product development process.
In the same vein, the GovWallet team promotes effective interaction by establishing direct communication channels with other teams or departments. They also share their scrum cadence for keeping track of and aligning dependent activities. This enables everyone involved to stay on the same page, fosters collaboration and helps in delivering the project efficiently.
Scrum aided the team by dividing the delivery into two-week sprints. This resulted in a shorter feedback loop, allowing the team to adapt to changes more quickly, especially when deconflicting with other teams.
GovTech fosters an environment where all team members are urged to share their ideas for improving the way things are done or launching new initiatives. They have open communication channels with senior management, who are receptive to feedback and suggestions.
During the planning of their subsequent project phases, the team regularly carries out user research. Team members are encouraged to share any discoveries, improvements or trends they observed with the rest of the team.
The team values one another’s suggestions and takes them seriously, incorporating them into the work backlog when applicable. GovTech provides funding resources for its teams to test their ideas. This fosters an environment of transparency and openness where everyone is seen as a peer and can explore genuine possibilities.
GovTech encourages all employees to be agile, bold, and collaborative. By encouraging a culture of innovation and creativity, they have been able to tap into the diverse perspectives and experiences of its employees, resulting in new and effective solutions.
Through regular forums and open communication, the organisation has created an environment where everyone is empowered to contribute to its mission of using technology to improve the lives of citizens. This approach has not only improved the quality of the organisation’s work but also increased employee engagement and satisfaction.
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GovTech meluncurkan inisiatif dompet digital GovWallet yang bisa digunakan Singapura untuk mengirim uang dan kredit kepada warga penerima program dana bantuan sosial (bansos) pemerintah dengan aman dan cepat. Dompet digital ini membuat pemerintah bisa melacak proses penyaluran bantuan sosial. Sementara bagi warga penerima bantuan, mereka dapat mengetahui pembayaran yang diterima dan melacak riwayat pengeluaran mereka.
Dengan GovWallet, lembaga dan badan pemerintah bisa mengatur bagaimana dana bantuan yang mereka salurkan dipakai oleh penerima. Mereka bisa membatasi agar pembayaran yang dilakukan lewat GovWallet hanya bisa dilakukan di tempat-tempat tertentu saja. Dengan demikian, dana bantuan bisa digunakan untuk hal-hal yang lebih tepat sasaran.
GovWallet bisa digunakan di toko-toko yang menerima pembayaran PayNow dan NETS. Dengan PayNow, warga Singapura bisa melakukan transaksi pengiriman uang menggunakan nomor telepon. Sementara NETS adalah penyedia layanan pembayaran elektronik lokal di Singapura, mirip VISA atau Mastercard. GovWallet juga bisa digunakan di mesin ATM, sehingga warga yang tidak memiliki rekening bank bisa mengambil uang tunai.
GovWallet dikembangkan sebagai modul layanan backend, sehingga layanan ini bisa ditautkan ke aplikasi instansi lain, seperti LifeSG dan Singpass. Sehingga, tiap instansi pemerintah tak perlu lagi membuat sistem pembayaran mereka sendiri untuk mendistribusikan pembayaran.
Cara GovWallet dikembangkan
Inisiatif untuk mengembangkan layanan dompet digital GovWallet muncul ketika mengembangkan SupplyAlly. Seperti namanya, SupplyAlly merupakan sistem yang mengelola distribusi barang fisik, seperti paket makanan, Token TT (token fisik untuk layanan pelacakan COVID-19 Trace Together), dan masker pakai ulang (reusable). Sistem ini dikembangkan saat pandemi COVID-19 dan bisa digunakan untuk kebutuhan serupa setelah pandemi berakhir.
“Saat bekerja dengan lembaga pemerintah, kami mengetahui bahwa mereka tidak hanya tertarik dalam mengelola distribusi barang fisik tetapi juga menyalurkan pembayaran pemerintah kepada warga yang membutuhkan,” jelas tim GovWallet dalam wawancara dengan OpenGov Asia.
Selain itu, GovWallet juga menjadi jawaban GovTech untuk mengurangi emisi karbon dan biaya mahal imbas penerbitan cek dan voucher fisik untuk menyalurkan bantuan pemerintah. Untuk menyediakan layanan dompet digital, tim GovWallet bermitra dengan gateway pembayaran PayNow dan NETS.
Kolaborasi ini memudahkan warga penerima bantuan, sebab mereka bisa membelanjakan dana bantuan di GovWallet yang bisa ditransaksikan ke sekitar 200.000 toko yang sudah terintegrasi di jaringan PayNow dan NETS. Sebelumnya, voucher digital hanya bisa ditukar di sejumlah toko saja. Kini, dengan fitur SGQR di GovWallet penerima dana bisa melakukan transaksi di lebih banyak toko, tanpa harus memiliki rekening bank.
Selain itu, cara ini juga membantu meringankan penyaluran dan pengawasan dana dari pemerintah. Contohnya adalah kolaborasi dengan Kementerian Pertahanan dan Kementerian Dalam Negeri untuk menyalurkan kredit digital sebesar S$100 (Rp1,13 juta) kepada lebih dari 1,1 juta prajurit nasional.
Sistem ini pun berhasil menghemat waktu penyaluran bantuan dari rata-rata 1.600 jam kerja, kini bisa diselesaikan dalam sekejap. Sebagai contoh pada proses pembayaran jutaan prajurit nasional yang disebutkan sebelumnya, kini bisa diselesaikan hampir bersamaan, dengan minim gangguan dan jeda.
Penghematan lain yang dirasakan pemerintah adalah penghematan tenaga kerja yang diperlukan untuk memelihara sistem yang digunakan untuk membangun GovWallet. Tim pengembang memanfaatkan layanan cloud dari salah satu penyedia asal Amerika Serikat yang di-hosting di platform Government on Commercial Cloud (GCC).
Dengan membuat sistem berdasarkan arsitektur tanpa server (serverless framework), membuat sistem GovWallet bisa berperforma tinggi lantaran bisa bekerja fleksibel dan responsif terhadap lonjakan lalu lintas, namun lebih hemat biaya.
Sebagai layanan pembayaran digital yang rentan dengan kejahatan siber, tim GovWallet menyebut kode dan infrastruktur yang mereka rancang sudah menggunakan praktik terbaik di pasar saat ini. Di masa prapeluncuran, mereka melibatkan tim terpisah untuk melakukan penilaian kerentanan dan pengujian penetrasi. Hal ini berguna untuk membantu mereka melakukan penilaian risiko. Pemantauan keamanan terus dilakukan bahkan setelah layanan diluncurkan dan dipakai luas.
“Kami melakukan tinjauan keamanan secara berkala pada produk untuk memastikan produk kami yang sudah ada diperbarui dengan kerentanan dan praktik keamanan terbaru. Saat ini, kami belum mengadaptasi AI atau pembelajaran mesin dalam upaya pencegahan penipuan, namun kami terbuka untuk menjajaki hal itu di masa mendatang jika diperlukan,” jelas tim lagi.
Dalam waktu dekat, tim GovWallet tengah membangun dasbor, sehingga instansi pemerintah yang memanfaatkan GovWallet bisa mengatur sendiri bagaimana skema pencairan dana yang ingin mereka lakukan. Dengan dasbor ini, mereka pun tidak perlu melakukan integrasi sistem ke backend GovWallet. Ketika ditanya soal ekspansi ke blockchain dan mata uang crypto, GovWallet menyebut mereka terbuka untuk mendukung kedua hal itu dan siap bermitra dengan bank jika memang diperlukan.
Membangun efektivitas dan kreativitas tim
Tim GovWallet menyatakan komunikasi adalah hal terpenting untuk menjamin keberhasilan proyek dalam skala apapun. Berdasarkan pengalaman mereka, sinkronisasi informasi dengan sesama anggota tim lain membuat mereka bisa lebih gesit dan memastikan aplikasi menjawab kebutuhan pengguna dan memberi manfaat bagi lebih banyak warga.
Meski GovWallet telah mendapatkan apresiasi warga dan instansi pemerintah lain, namun tim GovWallet tetap memastikan komunikasi yang erat dengan semua pihak agar bisa tetap responsif mengatasi kemungkinan masalah dan mengikuti perkembangan yang terjadi.
Untuk menjaga agar aplikasi dompet digital ini tetap memenuhi kebutuhan pengguna, tim GovWallet, kerap melakukan riset pengguna secara reguler. Tim didorong untuk berbagi insight mengenai tren terbaru dan peningkatan yang bisa mereka lakukan untuk mengembangkan produk. Masukan dari riset ini akan mereka gunakan untuk merencanakan proyek fase berikutnya. Tiap masukan ditanggapi dengan serius dan akan menjadi bagian dari pekerjaan tim jika relevan.
Mereka mengembangkan budaya yang transparan dan terbuka dalam tim, di mana setiap orang menjadi rekan satu sama lain. Sementara pemimpin senior dari setiap organisasi menjadi pendukung inisiatif yang akan dijalankan dan mendorong tim untuk menyatukan upaya mencapai tujuan tersebut. Hal ini dilakukan untuk mengurangi dan menghilangkan kemungkinan terjadinya boikot atas program pemerintah.
Untuk menjaga keselarasan, GovTech juga bekerja sama dengan Smart Nation Digital Government Office (SNDGO) untuk pengambilan keputusan teknologi-kebijakan dalam hal perencanaan peta jalan dan dan pengembangan produk serta solusi yang berpusat pada pengguna.
Komunikasi dan kolaborasi terbuka dengan berbagai pihak juga dilakukan untuk memvalidasi pendekatan yang digunakan dan produk yang dikembangkan. Validasi dilakukan pada aspek kebijakan hingga implementasi teknis. Untuk menjaga keterbukaan, mereka mengimplementasikan jalur komunikasi langsung dengan peran fungsional apa pun dalam tim.
“Misalnya, pengembang kami dapat berkomunikasi dengan pemilik produk secara langsung tanpa harus melalui perantara apa pun. Ini membantu mengurangi kemungkinan kesalahpahaman dan mempercepat putaran umpan balik.”
Untuk meningkatkan layanan, mereka memiliki pos pemeriksaan khusus yang melakukan inspeksi secara reguler dengan metode scrum dan sprint retrospective. Dengan metode ini, tim didorong untuk melakukan refleksi dan inspeksi dengan mendiskusikan fitur yang mereka sukai dan mengkritisi fitur yang harus ditingkatkan.
Untuk mendukung komunikasi yang lebih efektif dengan tim di departemen lain, mereka juga membagikan metode scrum dengan mereka. Dengan demikian, semua tim yang terlibat memiliki kesadaran mengenai urgensi sebuah tugas dan tujuan yang akan dicapai.
“Scrum membantu kami dengan membagi penyelesaian tugas menjadi bagian yang lebih kecil dan menjadikannya sprint per dua minggu. Kami memiliki jarak yang lebih pendek untuk mendapat umpan balik dan tim bisa segera beradaptasi dengan perubahan, terutama ketika terjadi bentrok dengan tim lain.”
Sebagai penutup, tim menyebut GovTech pun mendorong setiap karyawan untuk gesit, berani, dan kolaboratif. Tiap staf didorong untuk memunculkan ide-ide baru untuk menyelesaikan suatu masalah dan mengembangkan komunikasi terbuka. Kedua hal inilah yang mendorong kreativitas karyawan.
Komunikasi terbuka dengan manajemen senior membantu menurunkan hambatan kreativitas para staf, sebab mereka merasa diberdayakan untuk berinovasi dan berkreasi. Mereka menggelar forum triwulanan untuk memaparkan ide-ide inovatif kepada tim kepemimpinan senior. Mereka juga bisa memanfaatkan sumber pendanaan dari GovTech yang bisa dimanfaatkan untuk menguji gagasan mereka.
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Singapore is pushing the boundaries of digitalisation for global trade, as the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) collaborated with industry players to successfully execute a live shipment from Singapore to Thailand during the first quarter of 2023.
Using Singapore’s TradeTrust framework, this fully paperless, live cross-border trade involved the use of Electronic Transferable Records (ETR), which are functionally equivalent to paper Bills of Lading (BL).
TradeTrust, developed by IMDA, was created to address the challenges of paper-based cross-border trades by leveraging international standards and frameworks and leveraging blockchain-powered technology to enable the digitalisation of transferable documents into ETR.
The IMDA TradeTrust framework harmonises the legal recognition of digital documentation among jurisdictions that have adopted the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
Loh Sin Yong, Director of TradeTrust at IMDA, stated that Singapore has endeavoured to reshape, reimagine, and redefine global trade since 2019. The international trade ecosystem profoundly relies on physical paper records and signatures for validation.
The live transaction for the shipment of liquid chemicals from Singapore to Thailand utilises the TradeTrust framework to generate an electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) that complies with UNCITRAL’s MLETR statutory law framework, he added.
Besides, they are thrilled to have demonstrated that the industry could potentially use eBL even in the absence of a contractual legal framework, as they believe this will encourage the widespread adoption of eBL in international trade.
A shipper, a TradeTrust-enabled digital platform provider, and a vessel owner supported by their Protection & Indemnity (P&I) Club participated in the world’s first ETR cross-border trade.
The TradeTrust-enabled digital platform provider has developed a digital solution to support the key logistics documentation processes for cross-border liquid chemical trade involving multiple parties, such as a surveyor and customs broker.
The use of TradeTrust has vested the digitalisation of the transfer of ownership title, issuance and surrender of the ETR as an eBL across multiple systems and stakeholders, in compliance with the UNCITRAL MLETR.
The shipment was made using the following methods:
- The liquid chemicals were dispatched from Singapore to Thailand by the shipper.
- Using a TradeTrust-enabled digital platform, the vessel issued an eBL.
- The use of Marine Vessel Pass has resulted in the creation of Digital Passports for Ships on the eBL, ensuring that the digital identity used in signing was onboarded and verified.
- The eBL was then surrendered on the TradeTrust Reference Implementation, demonstrating interoperability across multiple systems without the need for the development of inter-system connectivity protocols such as APIs. It also enabled digital and paper-based processes to communicate with one another.
- Their Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Club supported the vessel on the basis that the P&I liabilities arising from the use of a TradeTrust-issued eBL are equivalent to the liabilities that could have arisen from the use of a paper-based Bill of Lading.
- The eBL was legally supported solely by statutory law, with no contract law or rulebook used. This shipment demonstrated the utility of an eBL issued under the TradeTrust framework in a non-MLETR jurisdiction such as Thailand.
By streamlining and automating existing processes, the implementation of eBLs has increased productivity. The advantages include shorter wait times and lower costs. This pilot builds on industry collaboration to encourage the use of ETRs and facilitate cross-border trade.
ETRs can be issued, transferred, and surrendered in a trusted manner across different digital platforms using the TradeTrust framework, which is required in the context of cross-border trade.
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Data collecting regulation, information policy, and strategic planning are all areas where Thailand is eager to improve to drive the digital society and economy. Following the legislation, a framework for government assistance in compliance with personal data protection is being developed and deployed.
As an updated version of national strategies and goals on digital growth for economy and society, 2018–2037 phase 2, the act was addressed in a scheduled meeting with a designated committee that are responsible for monitoring the previous resolution’s implementation status. To help digital enterprises in Thailand, they followed rule No. 1/2022 and set up a digital service account.
Secretary General of the National Committee on the Digital Economy and Society, Puchphong Nodthaisong, attended the forum for the Promotion and Development of the Digital Economy and Society. More than fifty individuals from various organisations attended the meeting, which was attended by Minister of Digital Economy and Society Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn and numerous other connected figures.
Strategies for propelling the E-Workforce Ecosystem Platform, the backbone of Thailand’s digital economy, were reviewed in length. Puchpong shared that integrating metrics to gauge a country’s digital economy’s worth and improving government agencies’ ability to adapt to the national plan using an organisational project management approach was key.
The processing platform for the system and architectural design is now in development. The committee has offered advice on setting up and using the forum and other connected matters.
Qualification checks for registering digital service accounts were also considered, in addition to writing a ministerial rule prescribing supply and procurement methods that the state must encourage or support. The committee reported that it has revised a draught of rules and guidelines intended to advance the inclusion of people of all ages, including those with disabilities and the elderly, in the information age.
The annual Digital Economy Promotion Leadership Programme is organised by the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) to further educate business executives on the cutting edge of digital technology.
The conference gave top-level executives the training they needed to analyse, synthesise, and apply knowledge to real-world challenges, empowering them to make meaningful contributions to the country’s economic development in the years to come. The ability of a government to invest in its top executives, both in the public and commercial sectors, is directly correlated to the country’s strength, as recognised by Depa. In addition, the rise of the digital economy will impact the administration of policies and plans.
Depa also geared up to educate the next generation of tech-savvy farmers. They looked at methods of boosting farmers’ and businesses’ digital technology use. Smart agriculture was presented to stimulate the digital economy during the summit. By embracing the digital economy, the province can fulfil its potential and meet its demands.
The commercial and service sectors, including the intelligent tourism industry, may all benefit from developing new agricultural goods and services made possible by digital innovation. The initiative’s latter phases saw commercial and service sectors merging with the technologically dependent “smart tourism” industry.
Several Thai farms have already started using smart agriculture. For example, to increase the nutritional value of their rubber and palm plants, farmers in Chiang Khan, Thailand, are using drones to disperse the biochemicals obtained from the pig.
Smart agriculture is an idea that has been gaining traction throughout the world in recent years. Connecting and enhancing the intelligence of farms promotes production and addresses difficulties specific to farms (such as fulfilling growing food demands). Precision farming, variable rate technologies, smart irrigation, and intelligent greenhouses are all examples of IoT-enabled intelligent agricultural systems.
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Launched in 2019, CrowdTaskSG aims to harness the collective intelligence of Singaporeans to provide government agencies with useful insights into national issues and addresses the prevalent notion that citizens’ voices are often overlooked. The platform serves as a bridge between citizens and agencies, offering a centralised platform for citizens to share their thoughts and ideas.
The initiative operates on the premise that Singaporeans can have an active and meaningful role in co-creation, collaboration and crowdsourcing, rather than being passive recipients of government schemes and services.
Citizens have a range of ways to participate, including surveys, polls and questionnaires focused on government policies and issues. In addition, they can take part in testing prototypes for new government websites, providing feedback on areas that require improvement and assisting with translation requests.
This diverse set of options aims to cater to various interests and expertise levels, making it easier for citizens to engage with the platform in a meaningful way. By doing so, CrowdTaskSG endeavours to foster greater interaction and participation from citizens, while also providing agencies with a more comprehensive understanding of public sentiment on various issues.
To broaden the scope of citizen participation, the CrowdTaskSG team is actively exploring additional tasks that can be performed through the platform. The team collaborates with other agencies to identify opportunities to optimise the platform for a wider range of crowdsourcing initiatives.
GovTech method to better engage citizens
The CrowdTaskSG team has been inspired by the widespread popularity of the mobile game Pokemon Go, which employs GPS technology to allow players to discover real-world locations, capture virtual creatures and engage with other players.
Gamification was the secret ingredient that propelled the success of Pokemon Go, as it transformed the simple act of walking into a social experience. The game tracks users’ daily steps and incentivises movement by rewarding them with new monsters.
What made Pokemon Go’s success truly remarkable was not only how quickly it became a worldwide phenomenon, but also how it motivated people to participate in physical activity – a pursuit that many individuals were previously averse to. The CrowdTaskSG team was intrigued by this philosophy and wondered whether a similar approach could be adopted to foster the development of a smart nation.
Undoubtedly, many Singaporeans possess a wealth of skills, ideas and feedback that could support Singapore’s transition towards becoming a smart nation. However, they may lack the motivation to engage in these activities.
CrowdTaskSG bridges the gap between citizens and agencies by integrating gamification elements to make the engagement process more enjoyable and rewarding. Through these efforts, they aim to create a more interactive and captivating platform that inspires citizens to take an active role in shaping national policies and improving their personal well-being.
By incorporating gaming elements, CrowdTaskSG takes completing surveys or tasks on the platform to a whole new level of fun – making mundane tasks far more enjoyable and rewarding. Users can earn experience points to level up and virtual coins for NETS QR purchases after completing a task.
The team has adopted simple gamification concepts to ensure that they appeal to individuals of all ages. To make the platform user-friendly and accessible to all, the team has designed a clean and straightforward user interface that minimises distractions and enhances accessibility.
As a product that is designed to prioritise citizen engagement, the CrowdTaskSG team places great importance on delivering a seamless user experience. In addition to collecting feedback and suggestions through the platform, the team frequently conducts user interviews with CrowdTaskSG users to gain insights into evolving user needs and identify areas for improvement.
The CrowdTaskSG team is committed to carefully considering the needs of government agencies as well as user feedback to continuously add new features and improvements to the platform. After the user interviews and testing sessions, the team works consistently on making the platform easier to use and making sure that information and instructions are clear and easy to understand.
The team recently introduced a Leaderboard feature in their referral campaign, which led to a 10% surge in user participation. They also revamped the reward system, making it more convenient for citizens to redeem their virtual coins.
CrowdTaskSG offers government agencies a cost-effective solution as they can currently utilise the portal free of charge. It is a user-friendly, self-service platform that not only enables government employees to submit tasks easily but also allows them to review responses with the built-in data visualiser.
The platform uses MyInfo verification to ensure that all participants are genuine, and its screener function simplifies the process of reaching specific groups of people for government agencies.
The platform has received positive feedback, with many users citing how it has facilitated fast and efficient communication with participants. This is particularly advantageous for User Experience (UX) and Design Thinking teams, who rely heavily on user testing and feedback throughout their design process.
The technology infrastructure that CrowdTaskSG uses has also been employed to develop the SG Translate Together (SGTT) web portal, which is a distinct product from CrowdTaskSG. This has enabled the Ministry of Communications and Information to collaborate with the public to gather translation data through crowdsourcing.
The data collected is utilised to enhance and train SG Translate, the Machine Translation Engine, resulting in more translations that cater to local needs. Additionally, SGTT provides translation resources and a form platform to engage with the local translation community.
The CrowdTaskSG team places a high priority on ensuring that the onboarding process for new users is easy and seamless when developing a product that is intended for widespread use. Therefore, deciding between a mobile application or a web-based application was a crucial consideration for the CrowdTaskSG team when they began the project.
There were several reasons why a mobile-responsive web platform was ultimately chosen for CrowdTaskSG:
- Because there are more steps to go through, downloading a mobile application to answer a survey is a huge barrier for new users. If it is a web-based platform, new users can log in by scanning a QR code, which is a quick touch-and-go.
- As a result of the pandemic, most Singaporeans are now accustomed to scanning QR codes to open websites in a browser, which became one of the onboarding workflows.
- Having a web-based platform enabled to reach users not only on mobile phones but also on desktop computers and even fixed kiosks in the form of touch-screen TVs and tablets when agencies conduct road shows and engage citizens.
To ensure that CrowdTaskSG could be accessed on various screen sizes, including desktops, mobile phones, tablets, and TVs, the team put a great deal of thought into the design of their components to maintain a consistent user experience across all platforms.
TypeScript is the main programming language used by the CrowdTaskSG team, and React is used for the front end, while NodeJS is used for the back end. Using a single language across the stack makes it easier for developers to switch between frontend and backend development with minimal contextual overhead.
A robust audit trail is crucial for a mass-market application as it helps developers quickly identify and resolve technical issues that users might encounter. Moreover, regular performance testing ensures that the application can handle high volumes of traffic and load spikes that may coincide with marketing efforts. By doing so, the team can avoid any performance issues that might lead to a poor user experience and ultimately impact the success of the application.
Constantly being wary of malicious activities is a common challenge with gamification in crowdsourcing platforms. Users could be inclined to cheat the system by submitting tasks multiple times or completing unassigned tasks to gain an advantage in their pursuit of rewards. While not a technical challenge, it is burdensome.
To prevent such behaviour, measures have been put in place to ensure that task submissions on CrowdTaskSG are unchanged or idempotent; submitting the same task multiple times does not benefit the user nor are they rewarded for completing tasks that are not assigned to them.
Nonetheless, security is of paramount importance for the CrowdTaskSG team as they are deploying a government product. Hence, every major release undergoes professional vulnerability assessments and penetration testing before distribution.
In addition to these pre-release tests, the team conducts monthly risk assessments using open-source scans and other risk surveillance tools. The team also has a surveillance bot that monitors traffic and potential attacks in real-time to ensure that any suspicious or unusual activities are promptly investigated.
About the team
For a diverse team to function effectively, a strong product vision and shared goals that inspire collective buy-in are crucial, beyond just support and resources. Creating a culture that embraces and celebrates diversity is essential in acknowledging that each individual brings unique perspectives and expertise to the table.
This recognition helps ensure that every team member can make meaningful contributions to the various domains. Support and resources can be generated from within the team if the right culture and communication are in place.
CrowdTaskSG’s work methodology is heavily influenced by GovTech’s Agile, Bold, and Collaborative values. The team convenes every two weeks for “retrospectives,” during which they discuss the previous sprint and exchange fresh concepts regarding the product and their work approach. To capture spontaneous ideas, they also maintain idea boards to jot down any potentially useful insights for future reference.
Regular and open communication is important and members talk to each other often (at least once a day). The team values a “no-blame” culture, which creates a safe space for members to express their thoughts and concerns.
Trust is a cornerstone of the team’s work culture, with everyone aware that they are working together for the best of the product. The team takes a collaborative approach to problem-solving, with all domain leads gathering to discuss various perspectives before arriving at decisions and working through problems quickly and efficiently.
The CrowdTaskSG team proactively helps each other to overcome any obstacles that may impede their progress. A conducive culture and effective communication facilitate this internal support system, enabling team members to assist one another in achieving their shared goals.
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Pemerintah Singapura meluncurkan CrowdTaskSG pada 2019. Sesuai namanya, CrowdTaskSG memang ditujukan agar pemerintah bisa lebih melibatkan partisipasi warga untuk menyelesaikan masalah nasional dan pembangunan di Singapura, sehingga kontribusi dan masukan dari warga bisa digunakan sebagai dasar penentuan keputusan dan tindak lanjut lembaga pemerintah.
Inisiatif ini meluncur dengan premis bahwa warga Singapura bisa memainkan peran aktif dalam pemerintahan. Mereka tidak hanya sebagai pemain pasif yang menerima skema dan layanan pemerintah. Namun, warga bisa berkreasi bersama, berkolaborasi, dan menjadi sumber informasi bagi pemerintah.
Inisiatif ini meluncur sebagai respons atas pendapat yang umum beredar kalau pemerintah Singapura kurang memerhatikan aspirasi warga. Oleh karena itu, CrowdTaskSG diciptakan untuk menjembatani kesenjangan antara warga dan lembaga pemerintahan. Lewat platform ini, pemerintah menyediakan satu platform terintegrasi untuk berbagi pendapat dan ide.
Hal ini diwujudkan dengan memberi kesempatan bagi warga untuk berkontribusi dalam survei, jajak pendapat, atau kuesioner tentang kebijakan dan masalah pemerintah lewat CrowdTaskSG. Selain itu, warga juga bisa melakukan tugas seperti menguji prototipe fitur atau produk baru di situs web pemerintah, memberi umpan balik tentang wilayah kerja yang perlu peningkatan, dan ikut terlibat untuk kebutuhan penerjemahan. Sebab, Singapura biasanya perlu menyosialisasikan kebijakan pemerintah dalam empat bahasa, Inggris, Melayu, Mandarin dan Tamil.
Tim CrowdTaskSG terus berupaya meningkatkan minat warga untuk berkontribusi aktif di platform ini. Mereka juga terus mengeksplorasi tugas-tugas bersama (crowd task) lain yang bisa diintegrasikan di platform ini. Untuk itu, tim CrowdTaskSG kerap menjalin komunikasi dan kolaborasi dengan instansi lain untuk mempelajari dan menggali ide bagaimana platform ini bisa lebih dioptimalkan untuk mendukung berbagai inisiatif crowdsourcing.
Gamification untuk menarik partisipasi warga
Sejak pertama meluncur, GovTech sudah menyertakan gamification pada platform ini. Mereka terinspirasi untuk memasukkan faktor permainan dalam platform ini lantaran terinspirasi oleh kepopuleran gim Pokemon GO.
Pokemon GO adalah gim berbasis lokasi dan augmented reality. Lewat gim ini, pemain diajak untuk menangkap dan mengumpulkan berbagai monster unik khas Pokemon. Memanfaatkan GPS di perangkat pengguna, mereka harus menjelajah ke tempat-tempat berbeda untuk menemukan berbagai monster langka itu. Monster Pokemon yang terkumpul bisa dilatih dan dipertarungkan. Gim ini sekaligus menghitung jumlah langkah yang dilakukan dalam sehari untuk menangkap monster-monster itu.
Kesuksesan Pokemon GO berhasil mengangkat gim ini menjadi fenomena dunia. Menariknya, gamification permainan itu berhasil menarik orang untuk keluar rumah dan lebih aktif melakukan kegiatan fisik. Hal yang kian jarang dilakukan di kehidupan modern sebelum popularitas gim ini meledak.
Resep rahasianya tentu terletak pada gamification yang berhasil dieksekusi dengan baik oleh pembuat permainan ini. Pokemon Go sukses mengubah kegiatan berjalan keluar rumah yang menjemukan menjadi kegiatan sosialisasi yang menyenangkan.
“Hal inilah yang membuat kami berpikir apakah kita bisa memanfaatkan cara yang sama untuk membantu membangun misi Smart Nation di Singapura,” jelas tim pengembang CrowdTaskSG dalam wawancara dengan OpenGovAsia.
Lewat CrowdTaskSG, tim ingin memberi ruang bagi talenta-talenta terbaik Singapura untuk memberikan kontribusi mewujudkan Smart Nation. Sebab, mereka percaya banyak warga Singapura yang memiliki potensi, ide, dan masukan berharga untuk membantu membangun negara. Namun, talenta itu tersiakan karena kurang difasilitasi oleh platform yang tepat dan kurangnya motivasi untuk ambil bagian.
Tim CrowdTaskSG berharap dengan berbagai gamification yang dihadirkan bisa menjembatani kebutuhan pemerintah dan keinginan warga untuk berkontribusi. Mereka pun ingin membuat proses kontribusi itu menjadi sesuatu yang menyenangkan.
Tim mengintegrasikan gamification ke dalam berbagai tugas yang ada di CrowdTaskSG. Misal, ketika warga membantu menyelesaikan survei atau tugas tertentu, mereka akan mendapat poin untuk naik level. Adopsi leaderboard ini diklaim berhasil meningkatkan pertumbuhan pengguna hingga 10 persen.
Mereka juga bisa mendapat koin virtual yang bisa digunakan berbelanja lewat NETS QR (jejaring pembayaran elektronik menggunakan kode QR di Singapura). Sejauh ini, tim sudah mengadopsi konsep gamification sederhana yang cocok untuk semua umur.
Sebagai layanan self-service, tiap instansi pemerintah di Singapura bisa membuat tugas atau survey yang mereka perlukan di CrowdTaskSG. Tim berpendapat mereka mendapat repons positif dari instansi pemerintahan yang memakai platform ini. Sebab, mereka mendapat cara yang efisien dan cepat untuk mendapat umpan balik warga.
“CrowdTaskSG sangat berguna untuk tim pengalaman pengguna (User Experience/ UX) dan tim Design Thinking yang ingin mengetes pengguna dan mendapat tanggapan mendalam dalam proses desain mereka,” jelas tim lagi.
Selain itu, CrowdtaskSG Tech Stack juga dimanfaatkan untuk membuat dan menyempurnakan situs SG Translate Together (SGTT). Lewat portal ini, Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika Singapura bisa berkolaborasi dengan warga untuk melakukan translasi data. Data ini lantas digunakan untuk melatih dan memperbaiki kemampuan SG Translate, the Machine Translation Engine, agar hasil terjemahan terasa lebih lokal. SGTT menyediakan sumber daya translasi dan forum sebagai tempat bersosialisasi komunitas para penerjemah.
Untuk membuat platform ini menarik dan berguna bagi pengguna, CrowdTaskSG aktif mencari umpan balik dan saran pengguna.
“Kami kerap melakukan wawancara pengguna untuk memahami kebutuhan mereka dan bagaimana meningkatkan kenyamanan mereka. Kami juga menjaga agar antarmuka layanan kami tetap bersih dan sederhana untuk mengurangi distraksi dan kemudahan pemahaman pengguna.”
Untuk menjaga keamanan, platform ini menggunakan verifikasi pengguna. Sementara bagi instansi pemerintahan yang ingin menggunakan platform ini, mereka bisa memanfaatkan fitur pemindaian untuk mendapat responden yang tepat.
Ketika berbicara pengembangan CrowdTaskSG ke depan, tim berkomitmen untuk senantiasa menerima umpan balik pengguna, baik warga atau instansi pemerintah, untuk terus memperbaiki layanan mereka dengan fitur baru.
Teknis pengembangan CrowdTaskSG
Tim CrowdTaskSG membagikan sejumlah tips ketika membuat layanan yang akan diakses secara massal. Menurut mereka, hal utama yang harus dipertimbangkan adalah kemudahan akses pengguna. Dengan pertimbangan itu, mereka membangun CrowdTaskSG sebagai situs web yang mobile-responsive agar bisa digunakan oleh pengguna yang menggunakan berbagai perangkat, baik ponsel maupun desktop.
“Jika dibuat sebagai aplikasi mobile, akan menambah kesulitan pengguna yang ingin berpartisipasi. Mereka mesti mengunduh aplikasi itu terlebih dahulu. Hal ini bisa menjadi penghalang besar bagi warga untuk berpartisipasi. Dengan membuat , pengguna baru cukup memindai kode QR, login, dan bisa langsung berpartisipasi.”
Untuk bahasa pemrograman, mereka menggunakan TypeScript, dengan frontend berjalan menggunakan React dan backend menggunakan NodeJS. “Memiliki bahasa yang sama di seluruh stack membantu pengembang kami beralih dengan cepat ketika mengembangkan frontend dan backend dengan sedikit contextual overhead.”
Untuk mempercepat respons ketika pengguna manghadapi kendala teknis, tim CrowdTaskSG menyarankan perlu dilakukan audit yang kuat agar bisa segera dilakukan identifikasi masalah. Mereka juga melakukan pengujian secara rutin untuk memastikan aplikasi mampu menampung ketika terjadi lonjakan lalu lintas.
Meski gamification dipercaya bisa meningkatkan interaksi warga, namun kendalanya adalah bagaimana cara mengatasi kecurangan. Sebab, ada saja warga yang ingin mencurangi sistem dengan mengirimkan tugas berkali-kali atau menyelesaikan tugas yang tidak ditujukan kepada mereka demi mengejar hadiah.
Untuk mengatasi hal ini, tim memastikan tugas yang dibagikan di CrowdTaskSG bersifat idempotent. Artinya, warga hanya bisa mengirim tugas sekali. Jika lebih dari itu, maka tidak akan berpengaruh pada peringkat atau nilai pengguna. Selain itu, mereka juga melakukan pemeriksaan validasi secara ekstensif untuk memastikan pengguna tidak diberi imbalan untuk melakukan tugas yang tidak ditugaskan kepada mereka.
Terkait dengan masalah keamanan, tim memastikan melakukan serangkaian ujian penetrasi dan menilai potensi kerentanan pada setiap perilisan besar. Selain uji pra-rilis, setiap bulan mereka juga menilai risiko keamanan melalui pemindaian open source dan alat pengawasan risiko lain. Tim juga memiliki bot untuk melacak lalu lintas dan potensi serangan secara real-time untuk memastikan penyelidikan tepat waktu terhadap aktivitas yang mencurigakan atau tidak biasa.
Membangun tim kreatif
Tim CrowdTaskSG dilatih untuk tak takut berinovasi. “Tim kami berpedoman pada nilai-nilai organisasi kami untuk menjadi Gesit, Berani, dan Kolaboratif. Kami melakukan dengan cepat, menguji dengan cepat, dan gagal dengan cepat.”
Mereka juga melakukan retrospektif per dua minggu sebagai momen untuk mengevaluasi hasil Sprint sebelumnya dan berbagi ide baru. Ide-ide ini tidak terbatas pada produk yang tengah dikembangkan tapi juga cara bekerja. Mereka juga memiliki papan ide yang akan menampung ide semua anggota tim yang mungkin bisa berguna di masa depan.
Selain itu, mereka menjalin komunikasi yang terbuka dengan tim dan berusaha mengadopsi budaya tanpa menyalahkan. Dengan demikian, mereka bisa memupuk ruang aman bagi anggota tim untuk berbagi pemikiran dan keprihatinan secara terbuka. Mereka juga menanamkan pola pikir untuk mengutamakan kepentingan pengembangan produk dalam cara kerja mereka.
Bekerja dengan tim yang berbeda latar belakang, tim CrowdTaskSG mengutamakan kebersamaan dan mengumpulkan perspektif dari berbagai sisi lewat diskusi yang cepat dan efektif. Selain itu, memiliki visi dan tujuan produk yang kuat juga mempersatukan tim yang berbeda latar belakang ini.
Mereka juga mengutamakan budaya yang saling merangkul dan merayakan keberagaman, karena anggota tim sadar mereka semua memang menyumbang perspektif dan keahlian yang berbeda ke dalam tim. Budaya gotong royong untuk menyelesaikan masalah satu sama lain juga dilakukan agar proyek yang tengah dikerjakan bisa bergerak maju.
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Passwords alone are no longer sufficient to protect users’ online accounts as cyberattacks become more frequent and advanced, hence, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is necessary to reduce the risk of unauthorised access to online accounts.
There are different types of MFA that use what the user has and who the user is. SMS-based Authentication, Biometrics Authentication, and Application-based Authentication are the most common types.
When a user turns on SMS-based authentication, they register a mobile number that is linked to their account. Most SMS-based OTPs are only good for a certain amount of time, usually 3 minutes, after which they can’t be used again.
When a user intends to log in to their account, the system produces an OTP and sends it to the registered phone number via SMS. The system then checks the OTP, and if they match, it lets the person into their account.
When a user turns on biometric authentication, they will have to enrol their biometric data into the system by capturing and storing their unique physical or behavioural traits in a digital format. This information can come from things like fingerprint scans, facial recognition, iris recognition, voice recognition, and more.
Besides, when a user attempts to log in to their account, their biometric data is used to verify the user’s identity by comparing the data to a list of existing users whose biometric data has been registered in the system. The user is granted access if the biometric data matches.
Similarly, when a user enables 2FA with an authenticator app on their account, they will typically be asked to scan a QR code or enter a secret key provided by the service into their authenticator app.
Once the secret key is entered, the authenticator app generates a unique OTP using an algorithm such as Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) or HMAC-based One-Time Password (HOTP) that is valid for a specific time window, typically 30 seconds, before changing. To generate the OTP, the algorithm considers the secret key known only to the user and the app, as well as the current time.
After their regular password has been validated, the user will be prompted to enter the OTP generated by their authenticator app when attempting to log in to their account. The service will then compare the user’s input to that generated by the authenticator app. If the OTPs match, the user is granted account access.
Likewise, SMS-based 2FA works by texting an OTP to a user’s mobile phone. To complete the authentication process, the user must enter this OTP into the online service. While SMS-based 2FA provides an additional authentication method, it is not as secure as authenticator apps or biometrics because SMS can be compromised:
- SIM Swapping: Threat actors can use this technique to acquire phone numbers via data leaks, public records, or social engineering, then bribe or trick a service provider employee into porting the number to a duplicate SIM card under their control. This gives them the ability to intercept users’ SMS verification OTPs and gain unauthorised access to associated online accounts.
- SMS Phishing: Using SMS Phishing (Smishing), threat actors can intercept users’ SMS messages and steal verification OTP to gain access to their various online accounts.
Thus, authenticator apps and biometrics offer a higher level of security compared to other authentication methods like SMS-based 2FA. Users are advised to practice good cyber hygiene by using a strong password and selecting the most secure 2FA method to protect their online accounts.