API Queens and Kings needed for API Cookoff

[Justin Herman]

Hello Government API World, 

I hope you are enjoying this lovely day. 

I'm looking to organize an API workshop targeted at federal digital engagement managers in order to broaden knowledge of the importance and mechanics of APIs for public services, deputize new champions in agencies to advocate on behalf of their development, and during the course of the workshop to produce honest to goodness APIs. 

Our target participation pool would be the SocialGov community of 1000 managers at 160+ programs -- of course the workshop would be limited to like, 40 agencies or something more manageable. 

If you could help educate these willing souls, partner with us or heaven forbid show them how to actually build an API, please add you name. At the end of this, our outcomes aren't just educating about APIs: we want tangible results, blood in the water, skin in the game, and other such things that sound terrible in retrospect after typing them.

Here is a Hackpad to scratch around ideas with. Please feel free to add at will: https://hackpad.com/SocialGov-Action-API-Cookoff-DYFTBG0d9u8

We're targeting early summer (late Juneish) for this silk-glove-over-metal-fist actionathon. Please consider helping us teach these willing pupils your arts and how to fish, and advancing our common cause. 

Good luck out there, and may all your tacos be fish tacos. 

Warmest regards, 

Justin

[Leah Bannon - XFB]

Hey - I'm a huge advocate of intro to tech training, but I want to pull this apart a little. (Feel free to tell me why I'm wrong on this, I'm just brainstorming here.) 

I'm not sure about teaching people who can't program to build an API. I'm skeptical that they'll be able to actually use that again outside of that day, and then what? I believe there is inherent value in teaching stuff like this, but I think we could be more strategic in incorporating their unique skill sets.

If the goal is to get social media types interested in and advocating for open data and just generally tech up (which I agree is a PERFECT community to target for this and a great idea), maybe we should consider how much tech they're likely to absorb from a single day AND reuse later. 

Maybe we should offer Eric's intro to APIs and then work with them to find and explore their agency's data and APIs, to get them using their public engagement expertise to think about promoting and improving their agency's data and APIs. 

Again, just brainstorming here. Thoughts?

--

Leah Bannon

@18F Product Manager

18F.gsa.gov

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[Justin Herman]

You're not wrong at all -- this is quite helpful. The goal would be to find that balance between raising awareness, educating, and trying to draw some tangible (but as you point out) realistic expectations. Such as perhaps instead of each person developing an API, we work in mixed groups and try to create three legitimate ones. I defer to your expertise, and look forward to getting the show on the road! 

Sent from my iPhone

[Philip Ashlock - XAAB]

As far as tangible and realistic expectations, creating a legitimate API is pretty unlikely in an hour or two unless you already have all the pieces in place. Better would be to define the use cases, define and document an intuitive data model to go along with those use cases, and then mockup the API with API documentation, test data, and a mock backend service/tool like mockable.io, apiary.io, etc. If time allows then you could even make a simple client app to really test the API design. 

Then you'd have all the documentation and requirements to make the real API for those who can actually wrangle the backend systems needed to support it. 

--

Philip Ashlock
Chief Architect, Data.gov
U.S. General Services Administration

[Justin Herman]

Also, and apologizes for two emails on this, I would envision this as the beginning of an ongoing program -- I don't believe in one-off flash in pan showcases that check a box then get no results, as you point out we want to avoid. We've batted around this idea for so long, and after receiving an enthusiastic response and checking out Chief's glorious, glorious new space... now (being late June) is a great time to light the candle. :) I'll handle organizing logistics and whatever minutia as well -- just need as much expertise as we can muster to make it meaningful  

Sent from my iPhone

On May 11, 2015, at 9:25 AM, Leah Bannon - XFB <leah....@gsa.gov> wrote:

[Justin Herman]

Who is to say we can't have all the pieces in place ahead of time. For example, I can spend the next month working with the community to identify a use case(s) that would be achievable and meaningful, and we spend the next month preparing. Then the event itself is the Cookoff. Just like on a show, they aren't chopping all the vegetables in real time: you have the recipe, you have the ingredients, Phil tosses some seasoning in and says "bam", and the demonstration is made. 

For the sake of people's inboxes, I'll shift these emails to those who have expressed interest, unless that's undesired. If not, I err on the side of not replying all ;)

Sent from my iPhone

[Erie Meyer]

Hi!

Justin -- you are awesome for consistently and creatively finding ways to engage and support Feds who have spent years (sometimes decades!) working on the intersection of tech, engagement, and public service. Thank you thank you thank you.

Personally, I've seen huge returns from people spending an hour talking about APIs and showing people how to make even simple ones about their pets. It's not going to make someone immediately employable as a software engineer, but it does a few really important things:

- it demystifies and welcomes more people into thoughtful discussion about the future of tech and government in such an incredibly meaningful way. I subscribe to the word "website" on scout (think Google Alerts for government materials: https://scout.sunlightfoundation.com)and am overwhelmed at how often the furthest stretch of the mention of technology is the presentation layer (an app or website) instead of flexible, accessible, usable platforms of information. Two examples: the only

PIF to demo to the President demo'd an app. And when policymakers are trying to ensure that information is available, they specify that it has to be on "a website" -- which if you've seen many gov websites lately, does not sure that it will be discoverable, properly documented or useful in any way.

- It arms people with knowledge that an API can be everything from Twilio-level schmancyness all the way to something made from a CSV to API converter in 30 seconds. I've seen prices on *any* API functionality that would turn your hair gray.

- it makes people more confident in their ability to get new skills. If you can make even a super simple example API in an hour, what else can you do?

With that all said, what I think would be *glorious* would be if agency social media folks all tried to make something (Google fusion visualization, excel chart, Jekyll-based page -- anything!) with that agency's existing open data/APIs.

It would be awesome both because they'd get more confident in their abilities to dip into techy things, and it would be great feedback for the open data teams as folks shared feedback.

Related:

https://medium.com/@antheaws/hey-uncle-sam-eat-your-own-dogfood-9f0c110c13c8

Thanks for this conversation, all!

Erie

[Alan deLevie]

I'm not sure if this is too complex for the goals here, but this repo is worth a look: https://github.com/typicode/json-server.

[Justin Herman]

Erie, thank you always for your support and wonderfulness. :)

For those of you here in the API Community who don't know it, you've got a lot of supporters and admirers in the SocialGov world who aspire to learn how they can be more supportive and helpful in your pursuits -- and let's be honest, some time in the future we could all look back on the Social Media Community as being like the Email Community or Telephone Community -- its just the current by which the circuit works, but not the ultimate outcome of the circuit's purpose. Then I'll get disrupted by the Emoji Community and all hope will be lost for my parents ever understanding what I do for a living. 

So I think the more we can get hands messy with a wide stretch of capabilities, the better. What's the worst that can happen? Some of the goals aren't achieved, and a greater understanding and determination rises from it? That's heat we don't mind taking. But... I think we can set up -- with proper planning and achievable goals as highlighted by Leah and Philip -- a meaningful success. 

For timing, though, I'd rather get the ball rolling and have a 70% solution that lights the candle than delay more looking for a perfect set up, which as we know will always be delayed then because in our world there hasn't been calm waters in a long time, nor do I suspect there will be any time soon. What there is right now is a need for more capabilities in federal service, and that we can do something about!

 

[Navin Vembar - IQ0KA]

With my business compatriots, the biggest gap around APIs I have with them them is really expressing how an API can be viewed as a digital expression of a business function. It's not just "I've opened up data about opportunities" but also "Oh, I can create an opportunity with this black box and release an iPhone app to do so." Since we're trying to go API-first for everything, this does create some tension with that team when even understanding what an API is is difficult.

So - along the lines of what Erie was saying, anything that can expand on that idea, even if it's small capability. At least it can give something to touch and feel. But, I get the feasibility is a limiter here....

One thought - how about breaking people up into teams where one set of teams is building something like a Jekyll page or visualization and the other set of teams are building the API itself on which that page/visualization would call?

-Navin

Navin Vembar

Director, GSA IT Integrated Award Environment Division (PMP)

General Services Administration

1800 F St NW

Washington, DC 20405

Google Voice: 202-681-9780

Email: navin....@gsa.gov

On Mon, May 11, 2015 at 11:07 AM, Alan deLevie <adel...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Timothy Lowden - XAAA]

+1 to this

FWIW I would love to learn to set up a Jekyll-based page or the like. I am in a weird middleground where I know what an API is, how it works, and can suggest use cases; but I don't know how to create one nor do I have the ability to manipulate it outside playing in the url bar. This activity sounds like a great way to bridge some of that gap. I think there is a growing group of people in my situation: generally tech aware and with enough savvy to learn, but without some of the backbone skills. So, sign me up when this comes to fruition.

Tim

On Mon, May 11, 2015 at 11:02 AM, Erie Meyer <erie....@gmail.com> wrote:

--

Tim Lowden

Program Analyst, Digital Analytics Program (DAP)

Digital Government Division
Office of Innovative Technologies
U.S. General Services Administration

Mobile: (202)909-5354

timothy...@gsa.gov

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