Background
What are common components?
One of the BC Government’s priorities is to drive a platform government approach built around reusable common components, data registers and open standards to deliver radically better public services. This work is a foundational part of BC’s Digital Framework.
Common components are foundational to achieving the vision of government as a platform. They are a set of reusable digital building blocks that solve common problems across government. To be successful, common components should be easy to find, use and onboard to. Well-designed common components help government deliver digital services at a faster pace, lower cost and with a more consistent citizen experience. Examples of components include sending a notification, paying government or verifying someone’s identity.
Where we fit in
BC has already developed several components, but not all are easy to find, commonly used or easy to onboard to. Examples of some of BC’s existing components include:
- BC OpenShift Container Platform (hosting);
- BC Address Geocoder (address validation);
- Keycloak (authentication);
- BC Services Card (identification);
- PayBC; and,
- NR Common Services (e-mail notifications and more).
A team in the Justice Sector recently undertook a service design program exploring the experience of technologists in the BC Public Service. One of their findings was that many technologists struggle to find and reuse what should be common tools and components.
To that end, our objective is to make it easy for BC Government technologists and digital service owners to easily find, use and onboard to existing common services. Where we find gaps and unmet needs, we’ll fill them, seeking wherever possible to reuse components from other jurisdiction or the open source community.
Who are our users?
- Technologists like developers and architects who help select technology and build digital products services for government.
- Service/Program Owners who need to deliver part of their program or service digitally.
- Designers who design and prototype new government services and applications;
- Procurement/Contract Managers who shape procurement processes;
- British Columbians - the people and businesses that use online government services.