Few thoughts about open-sourcing Diia
I have been following the discussion surrounding Diia’s open source and would like to give a few thoughts on this matter.
The main thesis is that I consider opening the project source code project’s source code to be the right and bold decision.
Diya is possibly the most innovative government service in the world. It provides access to administrative and public services and allows full use of an electronic passport and other documents.
The Ukrainian IT community should not ignore the opening of this service’s source code. From the moment this event was first announced, it was obvious that it would cause a wave of hype and all kinds of criticism. There are several reasons for this:
First, we must admit that for many, criticism of a major project is a chance to increase their own recognition. And such a larger object of criticism, the stronger the critic feels his importance. The project still has problems. However, criticism comes in different forms, and it must be constructive.
Secondly, it was obvious that problems would be discovered in the code and actively discussed because there are problems in the code of any product. Yes. Every software project has bugs in software.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine’s decision to open the Diia code is a testament to their team’s strength and commitment. By publishing the project in open-source, they are inviting the community to contribute to its development, potentially leading to earlier problem detection and more secure solutions.
I have participated in different government IT projects and know how difficult it is to change something, even if these changes are obvious and required. Most of the difficulties are not related to technical aspects but to legal restrictions and procedures. Therefore, I can imagine how complex the process of preparing open-source code was.
Looking ahead, I am optimistic that the initial wave of hype will subside and that constructive collaboration between the Ministry of Digital Transformation team and the IT community will occur.
Originally published at LinkedIn.
