Nisrina Rohadatul Aisy, Data Quality, Jabar Digital Service, West Java, Indonesia
By Yun Xuan Poon
Women in GovTech Special Report 2021.
I'm currently working as a Data Quality at Jabar Digital Service (JDS), a government unit in West Java Province which aspires to be able to narrow the digital divide, assist in the efficiency and accuracy of data and technology-based policymaking, as well as revolutionise the use of technology in people's lives and government in West Java. As Data Quality, I am responsible for the quality, accuracy, effectiveness, and validity of all data released by JDS in supporting the Governor of West Java to provide services to the community and make responsive, adaptive, and innovative policies.
It was the best experience for me to be able to work and dedicate my time to getting directly involved in building citizens’ lives in West Java, the area where I was born and raised. I can see a deeper reality about the government's relationship with the community and I can share knowledge related to the development of basic data processing techniques within the West Java Provincial Government.
I have been involved in many projects while I worked at JDS, especially in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic to this day. In 2021, I joined two major projects belonging to JDS. They are the West Java Covid-19 Information and Coordination Center (Pikobar) and the West Java Data Ecosystem (Open Data, One Data, and One Map).
Every day, my team and I must ensure the quality of data updates at Pikobar, including data on Covid-19 cases and distribution, the bed occupancy rate at hospitals and isolation centers, testing of Covid-19 specimens (PCR and Antigen Swab test), vaccination achievements, contact tracing, and analytics dashboard. I also must be able to determine and be responsible for which data is appropriate to be displayed from various data sources and the mechanism for collecting it. For the West Java Data Ecosystem, the biggest challenge is how data is spread everywhere with various data standardisations and without good metadata, but can still be presented to the public in a good and easy-to-understand dataset.
From these two major projects, as Data Quality, I am very happy and challenged because I can contribute directly to managing data and people in the team, collaborating with stakeholders who are experts in their fields, and providing knowledge related to data and technology across 18 regencies and 9 cities in West Java.
What was the most impactful project you worked on this year?
This year is still the same since the Covid-19 pandemic. Being trusted to be the person-in-charge in supervising data quality management and developing data structures on all data related to Covid-19 at JDS is my focus this year as the data team who has the responsibility of ensuring public transparency.
The West Java Provincial Government developed Pikobar as the first Covid-19 application in Indonesia that presents data on Covid-19 cases to the village level. The displayed data is indirectly required to be able to describe the reality and facts of the pandemic in West Java. In the West Java Government, we decided to follow the rules of the Indonesian Ministry of Health to make one-Covid-19-data with a source agreed upon by the central government, where the data comes from health facilities, laboratories, district/city Health Offices, and other relevant agencies.
To address the limited time and skill gaps possessed by regional data administrators and other relevant agencies, I tried to carry out further data processing to identify data quality problems and determine data quality analysis objectives. With the bureaucracy at the government, I don't take this as a problem. What I think is how I can fulfill the data needed by team members in the project and can provide recommendations to data administrators to jointly improve Covid-19 data in West Java to become more qualified.
What is one unexpected learning from 2021?
I have done many collaborations, starting with workmates across divisions, government employees in West Java Province, to stakeholders from various sciences and fields. This made me practise being more confident in my communication skills.
Most importantly, at the end of 2021, it is almost done to complete the integration process with all national data producers who are the source of data related to Covid-19. Many tasks that we did to make this long journey and quite far from the main task in JDS. It's not only technical problems that we face but also personal problems that often arise, and I'm grateful that we can solve everything well. I feel lucky to be working with great people this year, especially for my team, Data Quality, and all the people in the Data Team. Thank you, mate!
What’s your favorite memory from the past year?
For me, “being able to work under pressure” became a reality. 2020 was so phenomenal and I'm still surviving.
What’s a tool or technique you’re excited to explore in 2022?
In 2022, I want to deepen my skills in analytics and programming. I want to increase my knowledge to become someone who has great analytical thinking, especially in the government digital transformation, bringing a fresh insight with data, and giving more impact to West Java.
What are your priorities for 2022?
In 2022, I’m highly motivated to improve myself. I can invest more effort in my learning and growth to become a “data” person, I’m still trying to have a healthy lifestyle with good food and a suitable workout, and always love myself and embrace others.
What gets you up in the morning?
I want to be brave to move and get out of my comfort zone, be surrounded by positive vibes, reach another goal, and be a better person.