Through TechNewsTT, I found out about Trinidad and Tobago’s new Developer Hub today. The name, “D’Hub”, is… well. We’ll just say that the name is likely why you should never name children by committee. That said, I went ahead and registered.

It is, after all, an attempt at something, and maybe it’s something I can contribute toward.

Now here’s the thing. My decades of experience really don’t mean much in a status oriented society like Trinidad and Tobago, and in that regard I didn’t expect much. Most of the jobs I got in the United States were through sheer experience, and experience stemming from the 1980s to present day. I’ve seen things that would make the new generations cringe.

A quick perusal of the site immediately got me annoyed at the constant expansion of the chat that blocks about 25% of the page – and to view a page, I have to close it every time. That’s annoying. I haven’t tried on my phone yet, but I imagine that experience will be akin to sticking a staple in my eyeball.

The present ‘challenges’ listed are interesting.

• How to Automate the process of license renewal for the finalization with the CED? A way to streamline the process for liquor license renewal in order to reduce the time and number of persons visiting the office.
• How can Applicants track the progress of their passport application? A passport application tracking system that gives real time updates and reduces applicant’s uncertainty
• How to allow Access to S42 addresses on a platform. A platform that provides the public with easy access to their S42 addresses
• How to use Personal devices to quantitatively measure noise pollution? An application or system that provides the public with an easy way to measure and report noise pollution.
• How to provide Personalized information to the citizens on their health and healthier lifestyle? A mobile application that provides the public with tailored information on their health and pushes relevant advice.

D’Hub website, accessed 3 July 2023.

These are interesting challenges – but there’s no relevant information for them. The present liquor license and passport application processes are not exactly open, so this requires more information specific to these processes. How automated are they now? What software is used, if any?

The S42 addresses are intriguing. There is some information on that provided by TTPOST one search away, so that has potential as a solvable problem without too much issue. In fact, this should be the easiest challenge of them all for a mobile developer with the appropriate data from the user.

The noise pollution problem, one I’m well acquainted with, seems like over-engineering a problem that could be solved by other means – and there are already applications for that. The Laws regarding this are antiquated. What in other countries is a simple matter of calling the Police and saying, “that music is too loud” and having the police show up and ask them to turn it down… in Trinidad and Tobago, you get no immediate relief and no promise of it. So solving that challenge seems like just kicking the can. Loudly.

The last, providing personal information to citizens on their health and a healthier lifestyle is complicated at best. This is what Doctors are actually for, and this is what medical records are for.

I’m not sure that these challenges were well thought out, or anyone who has done a full software lifecycle has been permitted to affect.

It’s a stab in the right direction, though. It will be interesting to see where it goes. Clearly I’m not sold on it largely because I think they’re asking for solutions to the wrong problems.

There’s groundwork that needs to be done with all these challenges that isn’t easily done, some more difficult than others. That can lead to failure. Let’s hope this stab is flexible.