In a celebratory gathering, the AOT team, alongside dedicated staff from the BC Ministry of Citizens’ Services, joyously commemorated the successful achievement of several significant milestones in their ongoing freedom-of-information project. The year 2023 marked the realization of key objectives, signifying a crucial step forward in modernizing and streamlining the freedom-of-information processes.
Back left to right: Katrina Feracini, Sumathi Thirumani, Jacklyn Harrietha, Molly Pilchar, Divya Viswanath, Lise Mino, Nimya John, Loren Mullane, Aparna S, Richard Qi, Kyle Eggleston, Arielle Andrews, Nicholas Kan, Matthew Prodan, Barry Hughes, and Abin Antony.
Initiated in the midst of pandemic-induced remote work in 2021, the AOT team remained steadfast, leveraging their innovative formsflow.ai solution to advance the project’s objectives. The goal was to establish improved processes, ensuring expeditious and streamlined responses to freedom-of-information requests.
Among the celebrated milestones were the highly anticipated releases of Call Records Fee Payments, Records Gathering & Document Processing – Automatic Dedupe, Conversion, as well as the momentous feat of onboarding 21 out of 30 ministries to the cutting-edge FOI FLOW Application.
As the project continued to thrive and evolve, the team successfully released FOI Flow 2.1, propelling them closer to their vision of an efficient and responsive system. Recognizing the significance of these milestones, both the AOT side and the Ministry of Citizens’ Services decided to bring the team members together for an in-person celebration.
The vibrant celebration took place at Victoria’s Bard & Banker Pub and Restaurant, where team members from different regions, including Ontario and Vancouver, gathered for the first time. The day also included a visit to the Quest Reality Games Room Escape game, a great fun experience that fostered a strong sense of unity among the team.
Looking ahead, the freedom-of-information project continues to embrace agile development practices, with the FOI FLOW application having successfully gone live in May 2022. Since its launch, the team has been relentless in its pursuit of progress, iteratively developing and deploying numerous features to production, as highlighted in the above milestones section. Building upon this solid foundation, the team remains dedicated to expanding its capabilities further in the coming months, including features like Records Review, AI-enabled Redaction assistance, and OCR-enabled records processing. With a clear focus on continuous improvement and innovation, the team’s dedication to delivering a state-of-the-art freedom-of-information system remains unwavering, positioning the project to revolutionize information request handling for enhanced transparency, efficiency, and user experience in the years to come.
As the AOT team looks to the future, they remain committed to building on these successes, further enhancing the project’s impact and effectiveness. With the remarkable progress already achieved, there is no doubt that the team’s collective vision for a streamlined and accessible freedom-of-information system will soon become a reality. Together, they have set a shining example of what determination, collaboration, and innovation can achieve.