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To all the people getting excited about government and going into civic tech:
Firstly, thank you. It’s great work, but hard too.
Secondly, please don’t make any new software.
I mean it.
No awesome new tools.
No new git repos.
NO mobile apps.
There’s far better tech to make.
Firstly, thank you. It’s great work, but hard too.
Secondly, please don’t make any new software.
I mean it.
No awesome new tools.
No new git repos.
NO mobile apps.
There’s far better tech to make.
Civic tech is genuinely fantastic and worthwhile but it can often lure people who just want to build. That’s understandable; everyone wants to be a builder of amazing new things.
But what government really needs is MAINTAINERS and IMPROVERS. Those who build on others’ work.
But what government really needs is MAINTAINERS and IMPROVERS. Those who build on others’ work.
I really mean it about the git repos. Every time you make a brand new project instead of improving an existing one, you’re reducing the chances of *both* projects.
If you don’t know good projects to build on, stop playing with cool new app frameworks and get better at Googling. https://twitter.com/yoz/status/371931291320320
If you don’t know good projects to build on, stop playing with cool new app frameworks and get better at Googling. https://twitter.com/yoz/status/371931291320320
In my four years at @18F, maybe a third (at most) of my engineering work got as far as being of ANY demonstrable benefit. The rest went to projects that ended up dying on the vine. Each was a brand new one that took at least ten person-years of work to its grave.
DON’T DO THAT.
DON’T DO THAT.
Maybe there are only commercial projects that do what you need. Fine, pay for them. If you think you can build a new good one for less than the cost of the existing one then you can’t add up. And you still probably haven’t Googled enough.
So: what’s the better tech to MAKE?
So: what’s the better tech to MAKE?
It’s SYSTEMS OF PEOPLE.
Of LEARNING, NAVIGATING, TEACHING, PLANNING.
Every team is a new system.
What government needs, FAR more than coders, is people who can do that, and discover better ways to do that. Who help a team navigate treacherous waters but come out stronger.
Of LEARNING, NAVIGATING, TEACHING, PLANNING.
Every team is a new system.
What government needs, FAR more than coders, is people who can do that, and discover better ways to do that. Who help a team navigate treacherous waters but come out stronger.
Bill Hunt’s (short but far better) thread has more:
Also, buy and read @cydharrell’s book: https://cydharrell.com/book/
And I mean it. Don’t make me come in there and find your brand new repos, because I will, and you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. My voice goes gratingly high https://twitter.com/krusynth/status/1325804229450141696
Also, buy and read @cydharrell’s book: https://cydharrell.com/book/
And I mean it. Don’t make me come in there and find your brand new repos, because I will, and you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. My voice goes gratingly high https://twitter.com/krusynth/status/1325804229450141696
BTW, the “build on existing work” applies to systems of people too.
If you asked me survival advice for a new team in gov’t… I’d be confused. But then I’d say your most valuable hire has already been there far longer than you. (At 18F we had the AMAZING Stephanie Rivera.) https://twitter.com/yoz/status/998616517041209344
If you asked me survival advice for a new team in gov’t… I’d be confused. But then I’d say your most valuable hire has already been there far longer than you. (At 18F we had the AMAZING Stephanie Rivera.) https://twitter.com/yoz/status/998616517041209344
We found so much thoughtful, modern, beautiful work from little pockets of ancient orgs. 18F & USDS are the most well known places but far from the only ones.
There are HUNDREDS of great people already there. Find them. Encourage, elevate, assist, unite.
There are HUNDREDS of great people already there. Find them. Encourage, elevate, assist, unite.
As ever, Corey puts it far more effectively. Listen to Corey.
(Incidentally demonstrates why creating the role of Content Designer is one of the best things gov tech - in this case, UK GDS - ever did. See, it turns out that websites are mainly made of text) https://twitter.com/coreycaitlin/status/1325921541536706560
(Incidentally demonstrates why creating the role of Content Designer is one of the best things gov tech - in this case, UK GDS - ever did. See, it turns out that websites are mainly made of text) https://twitter.com/coreycaitlin/status/1325921541536706560
