Collaboration cycle kickoff request
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The Collaboration Cycle kickoff is the first touchpoint in the Collaboration Cycle.
The kickoff is not a synchronous meeting; rather, it is a request that initiates the Collaboration Cycle process via a GitHub ticket. This ticket will be the primary source of truth for both the Governance Team and the Sitewide Content, Accessibility, and Information Architecture (CAIA) team throughout your team’s Collaboration Cycle process.
Kickoff steps
Your Product Manager or another representative from your team submits a Collaboration Cycle Request, answering the kickoff questions.
Within a business day, the Governance Team updates the ticket with recommended touchpoints for your team and notifies the team on Slack.
Once the kickoff request has been acknowledged and completed, you are ready to move to the next touchpoint, usually the Design Intent. CAIA may also reach out to you to assess your needs for collaboration on content, IA, and accessibility.
Completing the kickoff request ticket
Review our terms and definitions regarding products vs. features. Then, prepare to answer these questions in your Collaboration Cycle request ticket:
1. Will your work result in visible changes to the user experience?
Examples of visible changes include:
Any changes that the user will see
Adding a new form, tool, or page
Modifying buttons, design elements, interactions, or page layouts
Reordering content, adding new calls to action, alert boxes, expandable sections, or error messages
Examples of no visible changes include:
Changes to code that the user won’t see
Changes to accessible labels (aria-label, aria-labelledby, aria-describedby)
2. Are you doing research with VA.gov users?
We ask this question to determine if a research review is necessary.
Examples of research with VA.gov users include:
Usability testing
User surveys
Card sorting
3. Will your work involve changes to: (select all that apply)
Tools, applications and dynamic pages*
Static pages**
Both
Other
*For tools and applications, take into account if any static page entry points will need updates.
**Please review the Static vs Dynamic guidance.
4. Does your product/feature have Google Analytics tracking and a KPI dashboard in Domo?
We ask this question to determine if Analytics will need to be involved in your Collaboration Cycle reviews, and if an Analytics Request is necessary.
5. Do you need to capture any additional analytics or metrics?
We ask this question to determine if Analytics will need to be involved in your Collaboration Cycle reviews, and if an Analytics Request is necessary.
6. Will a VA editor (Drupal) notice this change?
A VA editor creates content that informs the public about VA facilities - operating hours, services offered at specific locations - or else public content that describes benefits and procedures for applying for them. We ask this question to determine if a CMS Request is necessary.
7. Link to artifacts
It is the Product Manager’s responsibility to ensure the link to the Product Outline is added to the ticket. The VFS team is responsible for providing all relevant and up-to-date links, screenshots, images, and designs of the product's as-is version.
Help and feedback
Get help from the Platform Support Team in Slack.
Submit a feature idea to the Platform.