Onboarding: Michael Kinnunen (@becapa)

[jilladams]

Welcome to the VFS-CMS / Sitewide Team! 👋

We're thrilled to have you join us on this journey! 🎆🎉🙌

This team consists of three product teams: CMS team (VFS-CMS contract), and the Facilities and Public Websites teams (Sitewide contract). Our teams are cross-functional and consist of Product, Delivery/Scrummaster, UX (Research, Design, Content strategy), Backend engineering (full-stack/Drupal), and Front-end engineering.

The VA's north star is to "continuously deliver high-quality digital experiences for the benefit of all Veterans and their families." From a CMS-perspective, our vision is to craft a seamless editorial experience that empowers editors to create Veteran-centered content.

The onboarding materials below are organized by:

• chronological time to complete (day one, week one, week two, month one)
• and category

There's a lot to digest but don't worry, your Delivery Manager will guide you, you'll have an onboarding buddy to provide support, and we'll also introduce you to your workstream's lead to help with specific things related to your discipline (UX, DevOps, Drupal Engineering, etc). In addition, you'll have the support of the entire team, who have all gone through this process before and are eager to answer any questions that arise. Come back to this ticket any time to refresh your knowledge on a specific topic covered below. Have fun and we look forward to getting to know you! 😊

Projected start date: <insert_here>

Team info

• Onboarding buddy (short check-in meetings the first week): @dsasser
• Team name: Sitewide Public Websites
• Delivery Manager name: @jilladams
• Product Manager name: @FranECross
• Discipline lead name: @dsasser

Day one

Day one

Your top priority is any onboarding paperwork provided by Contract Onboarding folks. Start tasks below after that.

Process & Principles

• Read through our team norms, which will also give an overview of how we apply the USDS playbook and VA.gov platform code of conduct.
• Read the VA.gov platform mission and goals.
• Read the VA's Office of the CTO (OCTO) engineering excellence guiding principles [post in DSVA slack]

People

• Meet with A6 Contract Onboarding Specialists (COS) to get an introduction to the paperwork process. They'll schedule.
• Who is our team? View & bookmark this Mural org chart
• DSVA Slack: Update your profile, to include at minimum:
  • Profile photo
  • Title, Team, Agency (in Title)
  • Time zone
  • Contact information: agency email, and phone if you're willing
  • About me: VA email once you have one
  • Calendar URL - Get the sharable link for your Google Calendar from Settings/"Access permissions for events" and add it to your Slack Profile. This will allow team members in other organizations to easily schedule with you.
  • Github alias
  • Working hours
• Who is on the team? Read your team members' user manuals
• Create your own User Manual: duplicate the template, fill it out, and save your manual in your team's folder.
  • Share your user manual with your team in Slack, once you've created it!

Access & Delivery

• Open a VA.gov Platform orientation ticket. Orientations may only be available several weeks out, so sign up as soon as you're able.
  • The VA.gov Platform team manages VA.gov tooling and network access. In order to receive access to many tools you'll need day to day, you must access the SOCKS network proxy (described later). For SOCKS access, you must
    1. complete the steps described in the link above
    2. complete your eQip paperwork and receive/provide a screenshot of the email with your E-QIP transmittal date,
    3. attend a Platform orientation. If a Platform orientation isn't available for several weeks, sign up for the next available slot, then mention your Delivery Manager and/or Program Manager on your Platform ticket to expedite SOCKS access.
  • When those steps are complete, the VA Platform team will add you to the VFS Platform roster. This will allow you to get SOCKS access.
• Contract - Ask your Delivery Manager anything you would like to know about your contract.

Week one

Week one

The goals of this week are:

1. get background paperwork completed as quickly as possible
2. start gaining context for what we're doing and why

Access & Delivery

Paperwork
You'll receive an email from A6 COS directing you to the paperwork you should fill out for secure access to relevant VA systems. Federal contractors are required to complete many of the same forms as federal employees.

• Complete & submit your initial paperwork according to instructions, including setting up your fingerprinting appointment.
• When you are notified to complete your e-QIP (the online version of the federal standard investigation form, SF 86), it will require a lot of background & family information. Review page 7 of the SF 86 guide in advance for the list of information you'll need to collect to complete e-QIP.

Github / Zenhub configuration

Github + Zenhub are the tools required for sprint boards, epics, estimates, and issue tracking for our team, as well as code version control. To work successfully:

• New Hire: Create a Github user account
• New Hire: Add your agency email address to your Github account at https://github.com/settings/emails
• Delivery Manager: Creates a Github request to add your Github user to the Dept of VA Github organization. This will provide you with access to view VA repositories.
• New Hire: Accept the Github org invitation. It will appear as a yellow banner at the top of https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs
• Delivery Manager: After invite is accepted, add user to the VFS-CMS team. You must be added to this team to contribute to va.gov-cms repository code and issues in Github.
• New Hire: Install the Zenhub browser extension in your browser of choice
• Delivery Manager: Log into app.zenhub.com, click "Invite your team" button in lower left sidebar, invite new hire via their agency email address. This will generate a license request that must be approved by Zenhub admins within the VA. In the meantime, new hires may see a "You do not have a license" message when they log in to app.zenhub.com.
• VA Zenhub Admins: Must approve the license request. If they're slow about it, in DSVA slack, use @zenhub-admins to mention and request help. Licenses might not be approved until after the new hire has been fingerprinted.
• New Hire: Verify Zenhub access by logging into app.zenhub.com, using Google auth with your agency email address. Do not use Github oauth. It's no longer supported by the VA.

Sprint boards:
You can view team sprint boards using either the Github view with Zenhub browser extension enabled, or the Zenhub webapp view.

• CMS team: Github view, Zenhub webapp view
• Facilities: Github view, Zenhub webapp view
• Public Websites: Github view, Zenhub webapp view

Process & Principles

• Read about our teams' Agile / sprint best practices
• How do Agile 6 and our partners work together on this project? Discuss with your Delivery Manager.
• Read your team's Charter:
  • CMS
  • Facilities
  • Public Websites
• Check your calendar for invitations to team ceremonies.
  • Scrums
  • Planning session
  • Refinement session(s)
  • Demo
  • Retro

People

• Familiarize yourself with our team's shared calendars: Sitewide Team calendar and [VFS-CMS team calendar] (https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/[email protected])
  • Ask your DM to give you write access to your team calendar, if you have not already been invited
  • If you have time off planned, add to calendar as OOO
• Let's start introducing you to the team and key stakeholders. If you're on a meeting where you don't know someone, feel free to kickstart an introduction. Everyone in the ecosystem is friendly and interested in connecting.

Context & History

• How does the team fit into the larger OCTO ecosystem? View this Mural diagram
• Why is VA.gov using a Drupal CMS and how is our success measured? Read the objectives and key results.
• Watch the Drupal GovCon presentation about the project.
• Why are VA Medical Centers changing their websites? Watch the 2-minute YouTube video.
• Why are Vet Centers important to Veterans? Watch the 2-minute YouTube video.

Week two

Week two

The goal for this week is to get you set up with the tools you need to be successful. We will pair you up with a buddy on the project that is in your same discipline to help inform which ones are relevant and which aren't. The most important thing is to get set up is SOCKS as it will give you access to our systems so try to prioritize that.

Process & Principles

• Check your calendar for invitations to team ceremonies.
  • Scrums
  • Planning session
  • Refinement session(s)
  • Demo
  • Retro

Context & History: What products do we support?

• Review History of sitewide product portfolio & teams mural.
  • Discuss with your Delivery Manager and Product Manager for more context on your team's products.
• Review the editor onboarding slides.
• Read the product sheets (PDF download).

Access & Delivery

• Opt out of Google Analytics collection on VA.gov.
  • More information: https://depo-platform-documentation.scrollhelp.site/analytics-monitoring/google-analytics-opt-out
• Opt out of analytics for Platform's website by clicking https://depo-platform-documentation.scrollhelp.site/?internal-user-opt-out=true. You will not get a confirmation message and will have to do this for every browser and every time you clear cookies.

Github for issue tracking and document sharing

• Intro to CMS Team Github - describes an overview of our project in terms of repositories and architecture
  • New to Github and markdown? Learn about writing on Github or watch a tutorial video

Slack for instant messaging

• Review Slack etiquette.
• Update your profiles in Slack (in DSVA and your agency workspace): add a calendar link, profile picture, your role and team.
  • Your Delivery Manager should add you to appropriate Slack user groups for the DSVA workspace (e.g. @cms-team, @cms-helpdesk, @public-websites-team, @facilities-team. Also @cms-engineers-group for eng.)

Channels

• A6/agency workspace = #proj-sitewide-vfs-cms-team
• DSVA workspace = #sitewide-program, and your team channel e.g. #cms-team, #cms-platform, #sitewide-public-websites, #sitewide-facilities
• VA Slack Channel Overview describes useful channels to be aware of / join. Note that many are going to be dependent on which workstream you're in (DevOps, Helpdesk, UX, etc.). Feel free to join whichever you think will aid you and your work.

SOCKS - VA network proxy (after your Platform Orientation)

The VA network is required in order to access Drupal CMS and other VA tools. Network access usually requires a VA ID card (also called a "PIV" or Smartcard). Until your paperwork is approved and you receive a PIV card, using the SOCKS proxy can provide earlier access to some of these tools. You cannot be approved for SOCKS access until your eQip is sent and you receive a "transmittal notice" confirming receipt. If you have received an eQip transmittal notice, but not a PIV, please complete the steps for SOCKS access. This is the first priority for week two, especially for engineers. (If your role doesn't demand immediate access to the CMS, you may be able to wait until you receive a PIV.)

This can be a complex process. Post in #sitewide-program Slack channel if you need help from a current member - we're happy to help.

• Take a screenshot of your eQip transmittal notice.
• Request a Github personal access token. You only need to do the "repo" panel in that form and leave the other panels as is. You'll need the output of this for your SOCKS request.
• File a SOCKS proxy request and select the label for your team. It may take a day or two for the SOCKS proxy request to be fulfilled before you can complete the rest of the SOCKS process.
  • Attach your eQip transmittal notice screenshot. This is an acknowledgement that your paperwork is being processed from a security standpoint. You cannot receive SOCKS access prior to this point in your onboarding.
  • Add a comment to note the scheduled date of your Platform orientation, if you haven't yet completed it. (This should have been requested on day one but is here as a reminder that this is a blocker for SOCKS access.)
• Optional Core Tunnel set up for SOCKS proxy on all browsers on Mac

You can file the SOCKS request before completing your Platform Orientation, but it may not be approved/fulfilled until after.

Drupal

Drupal is the VA's content management system of choice. For anyone on our team, it's beneficial to have a CMS user account so you can login, look at settings, and understand how the CMS works at a high level. If you need help completing the technical steps here, schedule 30 mins with your Delivery Manager.

• Drupal production access: (SOCKS or VA network required) - in DSVA #cms-support channel, use the Slack workflow to file a helpdesk support request. Ask the helpdesk to create a Drupal user for you in prod.cms.va.gov.
  • DevOps team members require an administrator account. (SOCKS or VA access with PIV card required)
  • Standard practice for other roles is to have minimal access in prod (content editor or even a blocked account) and full admin access in lower environments.
• View short presentations on specific topics. Topics include site alerts, release and deploy, Facility API, etc.
• Browse the VA Drupal CMS Knowledge Base articles.
• What is Drupal? Link list for Drupal context and community
• If you have a Drupal.org account, add your Agency & VA. Drupal.org > Login > My Account > Edit profile > Work tab > Add your agency, and "Department of Veterans Affairs" & save. This will help our team track Drupal open source contributions.

Tugboat demo environments (Drupal)

Tugboat is a development server platform where you can preview CMS code changes pre-production.

• Tugboat for engineers
• Tugboat for non-engineers SOCKS required

Other tools / access

• Google Drive for team documents. VA doesn't have access to view Google products while on the VA network. Use Github or downloadable files when sharing with VA.
• Trello for retro boards

Month one

Month one

By this point you should have enough context and access to be able to start contributing. Work with your team to identify specific issues to focus on.

People

• Who are our VA points of contact? Discuss with your Delivery Manager or Product Manager.
• Who should we know on the platform teams? Discuss with your Delivery Manager or Product Manager.

Access & Delivery

Paperwork

• Complete any VA-assigned trainings in the TMS system. If the TMS learning modules malfunction, assign yourself the print version of the module. (Ask in #proj-sitewide-vfs-cms-team if you need help.)
• You'll receive an email confirming that you have been approved for remote access.
  • Both: You can contact Enterprise Service desk via provided instructions to set up your remote desktop access manually, if you need access prior to receiving your PIV card.
  • If on Windows: Windows users must use the Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD). Instructions. You'll need network access to reach that link, which you should receive instructions in email for how to achieve.
  • If on Mac / Linux: Mac users will also use Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) eventually. As of Aug 2023, if you are a new hire on Mac, you are a guinea pig. Do your best with these instructions, ask your DM for help if they don't work, and ask your DM to update this issuetemplate with correct notes after it's all sorted out. Mac users have 2 options:
    • 1. Azure web client: https://client.wvd.microsoft.com/arm/webclient/, IF you have a PIV card. There is an Azure desktop client but it won’t work on a mac because the mac application doesn’t support PIV authentication. . (Try using Firefox and make sure pop-ups are allowed, at least for the MS domain if not globally (they are not allowed by default). Enter your VA email address. Connect your PIV card reader to your computer, and insert the card in the reader. Select ‘Sign in using an X.509 certificate’.
    • 2. Citrix Access Gateway (CAG): use your Enterprise Service desk credentials or PIV card to log onto CAG and request an exemption here
• After your background check is complete, you will get an email to get your Personal Identify Verification (PIV) card. Contact your local VA office (where you got your fingerprints taken) for information about getting your PIV card.
  • Review a video about the benefits of the PIV card and VA network access.
  • PIV card will help you get remote VA network access. See VA network remote access options
    • Azure virtual desktop is recommended for Windows
    • Mac users should follow these CAG download instructions
    • Purchase a card reader, if you don't have one. A6 IT recommends these options: USB or USB-C
    • Use your PIV card to access CAG. You must access CAG every 60 days or your access will be expired.

Onboarding for Engineers

Onboarding for Engineers

VA Platform documentation

• VA Platform documentation - the VA Platform team centrally support all product development teams, including infrastructure and much developer tooling.
• VA Technical Architecture Overview - describes technical architecture of va.gov (+ api.va.gov)

Dev environment configuration

Each repository includes READMEs to help with setup.

• CMS workflow: https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs/va.gov-cms#readme. (If you are developing for the front-end, you may not need to set up the CMS repo immediately. It's the home of much engineering documentation for our team, however, so is worth reviewing as a starting point.)
• Front-end workflow: https://depo-platform-documentation.scrollhelp.site/developer-docs/frontend-workflow
• Front-end steps to run & build VA.gov locally

Repositories

• CMS: https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs/va.gov-cms - Drupal
• content-build: https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs/vagov-content - Node.js, Metalsmith. Templating layer, "the back-end of the front-end"
• vets-website: https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs/vets-website - Node.js / React apps. "The front-end of the front-end."
• vets-api: https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs/vets-api - Ruby
• devops: https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs/devops - Primarily owned by Platform team, we contribute regex for redirects.

Build systems / Environments

• Deployments: https://depo-platform-documentation.scrollhelp.site/developer-docs/deployments
  • CMS & Front-end Repos & Build jobs - cheatsheet - unofficial documentation to help navigate build system timings / channels for notifications
• Front-end deployment dashboard - bookmark this - displays the deployment status of commits in content-build and vets-website, through Dev > Staging > Prod
• Learn about the different Drupal environments - explains the CMS > content build process and data source / snapshot timing for all lower environments
  • If you are using a non-VA laptop for development you will need follow the instructions on Github to trust the VA Root Certificate Authority (CA) in your browser(s)

Design system

• Review the VA.gov Design System which includes how to provide feedback

Tools & Resources

• VA.gov tools overview
  • Access to dev & staging to be able to replicate the SSO piece of the login experience (SOCKS or VA access with PIV card required)
  • Test User Dashboard: https://tud.vfs.va.gov/ and Test User Dashboard docs. In lower environments, we are encouraged not to use our actual login credentials to test authed work. The TUD provides a set of test users you can use to login to various environments for testing.
  • Datadog to access monitoring metrics (write licenses are limited, so only read-only might be available)
• GraphQL Explorer - GraphQL acts as the Drupal content API, for building queries that can be used in FE templates. The Explorer (on Staging) will allow you to test those queries.
• Browse the Topic Dives videos - includes CMS content, and non-CMS topics for Facilities & Public Websites teams as well

Public Websites Team Onboarding

Onboarding for Public Websites

• Read the Public Websites team charter
• Public Websites product portfolio documentation

Team

Please check the team(s) that will do this work.

• CMS Team
• Public Websites
• Facilities
• User support
• Accelerated Publishing