Election 2010... a Bright Future for IT in the Philippines

Looking at it from a 'project management' point of view, the preparations leading to the Philippines' first automated election system was almost at a 'nightmare' level. Just like a lot of fellow Filipinos, I shared the view and sentiments of the so called "IT Experts" I often see and hear in the news. As a project manager, you never deploy a system this big, a system this critical, without a thorough simulation and comprehensive "operational testing." I wanted to remain optimistic about the new system, but checking each item in my imaginary project management 'checklist', I cannot help but feel nervous about the situation. So with that feeling of nervousness, plus ongoing talks about possible failure of election scenarios, I went out on May 10, 2010, to cast my vote.

But as always, Filipinos never seize to surprise and amaze, specially concerning our democratic exercises. For starters, I was happy to see a lot of people joining the long lines of voters, and the mood was generally relaxed, if not festive, in the voting precincts. Secondly, in spite of the many 'glitches' in the technical preparation, and the supposed over-sensitivity of the system even for small mistakes in ballot shading, the voters (young and old alike) looked genuinely excited to try out the new system. Thirdly, unfamiliarity with the new system made the voting process quite time consuming compared with the previous, but voters were very patient about it, with some even extending until late in the night to cast their votes.

While waiting for about 4 hours before I finally had the chance to vote, mostly I was smiling with the thought that the Filipinos had again shown the world their love for democracy, their openness to adopt new technology, and their undying faith that things can, and will become better than it is now.

Oh. I almost forgot why I wanted to write this entry in the first place :)

Being an IT professional, I wanted to say how happy I am of the openness and enthusiasm of Filipinos in quickly adapting to the automated election system. In my own experience in the IT industry, a computerized system, however reliable and efficient it may be, is only as effective as the willingness of the "users" to use it in place of their current (manual) system.

In our recent election, I saw not only the willingness of voters to use the new system, but their excitement to be a part of it, in spite of the many negative news about it. If it is any indication of our general willingness to adopt a more organized, a more efficient, yet more structured (inflexible and sometimes rigid, specially regarding mistakes and errors) system than the one we are used to already, then I can say that we Filipinos really have a bright future in IT (and technology) ahead of us. I can see this trickling down to our local companies and organizations. IT solution providers and software developers can now propose computerized/automated processes and systems, and we do not have to worry so much about acceptability and adaptation by the users, especially Filipinos. Once they are convinced of the benefits, they will be more than glad to be part of the new system.

Remarkable PhilNITS Pass Rate of 31.25% from Davao

Congratulations to all who passed the recent PhilNITS exams!

(check out the results here at www.philnits.org ... passers from Davao begins with FE04...)

I am so happy!!!

I am so happy right now for so many reasons...

... results were updated to show 15 passed from Davao in the recent (March, 2010) PhilNITS exam, from the initially heartbreaking thought (see my previous entry) of only 5 passers

... we have met our target of 10 passers for Davao, however improbable a target it was when we set it knowing that Davao averages only about 6% pass rate and maximum of 5 passers in past exams

... we have met the challenge of our major sponsor company, Data Horizon, who hopefully will decide to continue their support and confidence for Davao IT students/professionals

... we have achieved a remarkable 31.25% pass rate (15 passers out of 48 examinees), which is quite good even compared to average national pass rate of around 15% and even Japan's average pass rate of around 20%

... we have achieved this result in spite of the surprise major change in structure and format of the examination

... it is a well deserved pass result, as I know most of the passers and I know how much heart and effort they have put into preparing for the exam

... our review program has finally reached this milestone, learning from several unsuccessful attempt to produce a good enough number of passers from Davao

... we provided very promising career opportunities waiting for our passers, considering how difficult it is to find a good job that compensates well and one that helps us to grow in our chosen field of Information Technology

... we have a good participation from our local SW development companies, contributing also to our list of passers

And finally, I am happy and excited that this inspiring result would encourage and motivate more from Davao to challenge the PhilNITS certification exam.