[Terpelaziun] Minister of Technology

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

Túischac'h, I have an enquiry for the Minister of Technology.

During the last election campaign, the parties of Avant, agreed to the following commitment:

to encourage and participate in cross-party co-operation on other matters of broad consensus, such as replacing the Database.

I am requesting an update on the status of preparations for "cross-party co-operation" on replacements for the Database. I acknowledge we are still very early in your term but also note ministers have started their work already.

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

@Mic'haglh Autófil, SMC EiP Sorry Mic'haglh, forgot to tag you.

[Mic’haglh Autófil, SMC EiP]

I thank the Member for his question. While I am still well within the legal window in which my response is required, I would still apologize for the delay, but I hope the depth of my answer makes up for it.

Regarding the replacement of the National Database, I envision the process basically working as follows:

• Consult with the Chancery regarding Database tasks to prioritize replacement
• Hold a brief public consultation regarding preferred method of replacement
• Begin to port functionality over to this new database

On the first point, I am currently preparing a list of common tasks (in my own estimation) that the Chancery uses the Database for. If anyone here is familiar with the term, what I'd like to do is an adaptation of one of our tools in the engineering field known as an FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis). We use FMEAs to identify the likelihood of a given failure mode occurring, and the severity of that failure mode if it should occur; combining these two ratings allows us to prioritize different design criteria to ensure that the design is as robust as possible. With respect to Database actions, I'll be asking the Secretary of State to rate different tasks on how frequently he needs to use the Database to perform them, and how difficult it is to get the Database to actually perform the task successfully; this will enable us to identify the "pain points" of the current Database and try to design around avoiding them in the future.

On the second point, I know there's already been some discussion on the possibility of using a large Google Sheet (which is my personal preference for a replacement), but I'd like to come to the discussion in Point #2 with at least one or two alternative methods on the off chance anyone else happens to be very familiar with them.

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

I thank the Member for his question. While I am still well within the legal window in which my response is required, I would still apologize for the delay, but I hope the depth of my answer makes up for it.

Regarding the replacement of the National Database, I envision the process basically working as follows:

• Consult with the Chancery regarding Database tasks to prioritize replacement
• Hold a brief public consultation regarding preferred method of replacement
• Begin to port functionality over to this new database

On the first point, I am currently preparing a list of common tasks (in my own estimation) that the Chancery uses the Database for. If anyone here is familiar with the term, what I'd like to do is an adaptation of one of our tools in the engineering field known as an FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis). We use FMEAs to identify the likelihood of a given failure mode occurring, and the severity of that failure mode if it should occur; combining these two ratings allows us to prioritize different design criteria to ensure that the design is as robust as possible. With respect to Database actions, I'll be asking the Secretary of State to rate different tasks on how frequently he needs to use the Database to perform them, and how difficult it is to get the Database to actually perform the task successfully; this will enable us to identify the "pain points" of the current Database and try to design around avoiding them in the future.

On the second point, I know there's already been some discussion on the possibility of using a large Google Sheet (which is my personal preference for a replacement), but I'd like to come to the discussion in Point #2 with at least one or two alternative methods on the off chance anyone else happens to be very familiar with them.

I thank the Minister for his detailed and informative reply. I will follow up in September and look forward to continued progress on this important issue.

[þerxh Sant-Enogat]

Even if currently on vacation, Tuischac'h thanks the  Minister of Technology for the quality of the informative answer promptly provided