Case study

FITKO and openDesk:
A central management platform for federal IT standardization

How FITKO uses OpenProject for collaboration in the Federal IT Standardization Board.

docs.fitko.de

FITKO and openDesk:<br>A central management platform for federal IT standardization

About FITKO: Federal IT Cooperation

The German Federal IT Cooperation (FITKO) is the agile implementation organization for the IT Planning Council. On its behalf, it drives forward the digitalization of public administration. As a link and moderator between the federal government, federal states and local authorities, it supports the IT Planning Council in the development and implementation of IT standards and joint IT projects. Its aim is to promote digitalization through standardized processes and technologies and to simplify federal cooperation. The FITKO was founded in 2020 and deals with topics such as IT architecture and standardization. It manages the projects and products of the IT Planning Council. It also develops dialog and information formats for federal exchange and supports the committees of the IT Planning Council, such as the Federal IT Standardization Board (FIT-SB).

The challenge: simplifying processes and promoting digital federal cooperation

The work of FITKO is characterized by a large number of tasks and players. This includes efficiently planning the meetings and tasks of the FIT-SB, coordinating the meeting topics, and at the same time maintaining an overview of the extensive portfolio of federal IT standards. To simplify these complex processes, the FITKO relied on openDesk, a platform that combines established open source applications. With this solution, the FITKO was able to realize the central management of meetings and standards in a structured and transparent environment in OpenProject.

openDesk as the key to collaboration

Members of the FIT-SB can use openDesk in a variety of ways, for example as cloud storage for file sharing with Nextcloud, for collaborative document editing with Collabora Online, for meeting and task management in OpenProject and for video conferencing via Jitsi.

In particular, the combination of OpenProject and Nexcloud serves as a central collaboration platform for linking tasks and agenda items and associated documents. OpenProject is used for two central areas:

Management of the meetings of the Federal IT Standardization Board and for better transparency of the portfolio of the Federal IT Standards.

Efficient planning of Federal IT Standardization Board meetings

In OpenProject, the relevant information such as the agenda, minutes and associated tasks and responsibilities are prepared and made available to all FIT-SB members in a clear and easily accessible manner. Discussions and decisions are transparently recorded and documented.

Therefore, new meeting topics are created as work packages, elaborated and documented. Additional meeting documents are uploaded to Nextcloud and linked directly to the corresponding work package for the meeting topic in OpenProject.

The prioritization of meeting topics takes place in a board in OpenProject. Meeting topics for the next meeting are assigned to the next meeting date, based on the status in OpenProject. Meetings are planned, held and documented via the meeting module.

Central database for Federal IT Standards

Another goal was to establish an information platform for Federal IT Standards. This provides an overview of the Federal IT Standards (FIT Standards) of the IT Planning Council. OpenProject serves as a “single source of truth” by managing the standards in a structured manner. In OpenProject as the central data source, the Federal IT Standards (FIT Standards) are maintained via various work package types and using various custom fields with additional attributes and metadata, such as status, description, logo or contact information. Custom lists enable a clear presentation of the standards for different target groups.

This information is automatically read via the OpenProject REST API and transferred to the public information platform for Federal IT Standards.

The source code for this in-house FITKO development was in turn published and documented on openCode.

Data sovereignty and security

As an open source solution, openDesk guarantees full control over data, protects sensitive information and supports the digital sovereignty of public administration.

Central information management

FITKO uses OpenProject to structure Federal IT Standards, manage relevant information centrally and make it available to all participants at all times.

Transparency and clarity

With OpenProject, meetings, tasks and decision-making processes are clearly documented so that everyone involved always has an overview of current developments.

Customization and configurability

Thanks to individual customizability and its API as well as integrations such as Nextcloud, OpenProject can be optimally adapted to the specific requirements of FITKO.

Work packages

Creating meeting topics and tasks

FITKO creates and manages meeting topics via work packages centrally in OpenProject. All important information is visible and can be scheduled for the IT Standardization Board.

Nextcloud integration

The combination with Nextcloud as part of openDesk makes file management easy

Meeting documents can be added to Nextcloud and linked directly to the work packages via the OpenProject integration. An intuitive folder structure ensures better organization of files and meeting documents.

Agile boards

View, discuss and manage meeting agenda topics

Meeting topics can be accessed in the agile boards in OpenProject. The FIT Standardization Board Chair and the FIT Standardization Board Office use this board to plan the next meeting.

Meetings

Structuring, implementation and documentation of the FIT Standardization Board meetings.

The meetings of the FIT Standardization Board are planned, conducted and documented in the OpenProject meeting module. The next meeting topics (work packages) are assigned directly to the next meeting and prioritized there. Results are documented and shared with the participants.

REST API

The OpenProject REST API is used to transfer the information of the FIT Standards from OpenProject to a central documentation directory.

FITKO uses the OpenProject API to manage federal IT standards in a structured way and to make them available automatically on a central information platform. Scripts are used to read relevant data from OpenProject and transfer it to the FITKO portal so that up-to-date and consistent information is always available. Documentation and source code can be found on openCode.