USDS Digital Services Playbook
playbook.cio.gov
USDS Digital Services Playbook
1–10 of 103 posts
Re: USDS Digital Services Playbook
#2While this is all well and good it feels like a slick "thought leadership" campaign that provides little in the way of actual solutions to the issues USG orgs face when building/providing digital services. The challenge is not the "approach", but rather a system that constrains the ability to even begin that approach.
I find #7 especially hollow:
> We need talented people working in government who have experience creating modern digital services.
Sure, no one would argue against that, but the solution to this can't come from the team implementing or providing the digital service. Rather the whole of USG's incredibly obtuse, opaque, and inflexible centralized hiring system needs to be addressed. This is no better than telling a USA Special Forces team commander that in order for his operators to be more effective he needs the Army to recruit better soldiers.
Re: USDS Digital Services Playbook
#3While this is all well and good it feels like a slick "thought leadership" campaign that provides little in the way of actual solutions to the issues USG orgs face when building/providing digital services. The challenge is not the "approach", but rather a system that constrains the ability to even begin that approach. I find #7 especially hollow: > We need talented people working in government who have experience cre…
I disagree — as a direct result of play #7 in this playbook, multiple large-scale initiatives were launched; most notably 18F, which is like a "startup" within the federal government:
Another one that comes to mind is Coding It Forward, which has the express mission of creating government tech internships that rival FB/Google internships in terms of pay, experience, and mentorship:
Re: USDS Digital Services Playbook
#4While this is all well and good it feels like a slick "thought leadership" campaign that provides little in the way of actual solutions to the issues USG orgs face when building/providing digital services. The challenge is not the "approach", but rather a system that constrains the ability to even begin that approach. I find #7 especially hollow: > We need talented people working in government who have experience cre…
Yeah this meshes with my experiences working at the NIH. Lots of interest in big data, AI, etc. etc., and even financial incentives for new hires in those areas, but absolutely no coordinated approach to recruitment, retention, or project management. A few labs or support groups end up with great teams, but mostly tech knowledge is redundantly siloed in small mediocre groups across dozens of teams institutes-wide. And that's not even touching on IT issues...
Re: USDS Digital Services Playbook
#5While this is all well and good it feels like a slick "thought leadership" campaign that provides little in the way of actual solutions to the issues USG orgs face when building/providing digital services. The challenge is not the "approach", but rather a system that constrains the ability to even begin that approach. I find #7 especially hollow: > We need talented people working in government who have experience cre…
I disagree — as a direct result of play #7 in this playbook, multiple large-scale initiatives were launched; most notably 18F, which is like a "startup" within the federal government: https://18f.gsa.gov/ Another one that comes to mind is Coding It Forward, which has the express mission of creating government tech internships that rival FB/Google internships in terms of pay, experience, and mentorship: https://www.co…
Thanks for sharing! This is all good to know, I'll be reaching out to see if there's any possibility of these groups helping to address some of the issues within our institute at the NIH. Right now it's unclear to what extent that can assist an intramural research program.
Re: USDS Digital Services Playbook
#6As an outsider, I hold the USDS in great regard. Probably too much because of Marianne Belotti's writings from her time there, but also from what I would like to think are more nuanced perspectives.
My country does not have anything like it, but what countries do?
Re: USDS Digital Services Playbook
#7While this is all well and good it feels like a slick "thought leadership" campaign that provides little in the way of actual solutions to the issues USG orgs face when building/providing digital services. The challenge is not the "approach", but rather a system that constrains the ability to even begin that approach. I find #7 especially hollow: > We need talented people working in government who have experience cre…
I disagree — as a direct result of play #7 in this playbook, multiple large-scale initiatives were launched; most notably 18F, which is like a "startup" within the federal government: https://18f.gsa.gov/ Another one that comes to mind is Coding It Forward, which has the express mission of creating government tech internships that rival FB/Google internships in terms of pay, experience, and mentorship: https://www.co…
18F pre-dates the U.S. Digital Service by 6 months.
Coding It Forward is a civil society initiative, not a government one, and is analogous to thinking that a weak diplomatic corps can be fixed by sponsoring more high school Model U.N. chapters. There is no lack of viable and willing candidates _outside_ of the system, the issue is getting them _inside_ and letting them inform it.
Re: USDS Digital Services Playbook
#8While this is all well and good it feels like a slick "thought leadership" campaign that provides little in the way of actual solutions to the issues USG orgs face when building/providing digital services. The challenge is not the "approach", but rather a system that constrains the ability to even begin that approach. I find #7 especially hollow: > We need talented people working in government who have experience cre…
A big problem with hiring is just USG pay scales. Even the top pay grades come in at less than what an average (or even less than average) developer can make in industry. Much less if you also consider equity comp.
Sure, there are some people who will see working for USDS or 18F as a call to serve their country, and will accept a pay cut in order to do that, but I imagine that's a pretty small slice of the pie.
Beyond that, it's the bureaucracy. I would honestly consider said pay cut in order to help make dealing with government computing systems better, but what I will not deal with is layers upon layers upon layers of bureaucracy. I've watched the 50-person startup I started at 9 years ago evolve into a 3500-person public company, and even here I find the bureaucracy and hierarchy stifling at times. At a government job I imagine it'll be orders of magnitude worse. I wouldn't even last half a year in that environment.
Yes, Play #4 in their list in theory suggests that they'll try to cut through all that, but I don't believe for a second that will go well.
Re: USDS Digital Services Playbook
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
I disagree — as a direct result of play #7 in this playbook, multiple large-scale initiatives were launched; most notably 18F, which is like a "startup" within the federal government: https://18f.gsa.gov/ Another one that comes to mind is Coding It Forward, which has the express mission of creating government tech internships that rival FB/Google internships in terms of pay, experience, and mentorship: https://www.co…
Thanks for sharing! This is all good to know, I'll be reaching out to see if there's any possibility of these groups helping to address some of the issues within our institute at the NIH. Right now it's unclear to what extent that can assist an intramural research program.
18F is definitely a good start. I would also try Code for America[1], although they might only work at more of a local level.
Re: USDS Digital Services Playbook
#10I wonder how much the government paid consultants to write this.