Your persona
Congratulations on taking the first step to explore your understanding of common technology!
This area might be new to you, but gaining a grounding in how technology is used by government and familiarity with the language of technology could help you in our increasingly digitised world.
Build your skills and knowledge
Define common tech terminology by creating a glossary of common tech industry terms. Write down the definitions and review them regularly to reinforce your understanding — You could even do this collaboratively with colleagues!
Ask clarifying questions: when you encounter unfamiliar tech terms, don't hesitate to ask colleagues or experts for clarification. Make a habit of seeking explanations to deepen your understanding.
Research APIs and Cloud services. Start with their application to the general population or private sector.
Next, explore how they're used by government. How are they being used by your department? How might they be used in the future? You could do this alone or with one or more colleagues, each taking one area and then sharing their research.
Explore the risks and challenges associated with legacy systems, such as security vulnerabilities, maintenance costs, and compatibility issues. Are there any legacy systems in use? What challenges do they pose? Where possible, discuss with others to expand your perspectives.
Carve out time for professional development. Diarise a chunk of time each week where you can take an Apolitical course, explore community articles, or anything else that aligns with your motivations.
Create a community of practice
Share this assessment with your line manager. Discuss your outcomes and strategise which priorities might align with your departmental objectives.
The Apolitical Community members regularly post questions and ask for advice. As someone starting out, you might as well have questions that your Apolitical peers could answer. Why not post a question or answer a peer on Apolitical’s Q&A function to get you started?
Keep exploring
If you’re looking for inspiration for structured skill development, take a look at our Learning Plans where we have stitched together disparate educational resources into rich, diverse, cohesive and enlightening learning journeys.
Take some time to explore what's out there in the Apolitical article collection, and consider engaging with the article creator by using the comment function. Report Summary: Bridging the gap between technology and regulation with dialogue could be an interesting place to start.
What's next?
Not sure if this is the right persona for you? This diagnostic and its suggested outcome have been designed for illustrative purposes and may not reflect your level of awareness or competency.
Find a guide to the statements covered plus the scenario questions here: Technology Self-Assessment and Scenario Summaries.
Explore the other personae using the links below:
Leadership:Technology Explorer, Technology Consolidator, Technology Trailblazer
Non-Leadership:Technology Explorer, Technology Consolidator, Technology Trailblazer
⬅️ Government Skills Impact Tracker | Digital and Data Skills Hub ➡️