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18F says 6 core concepts can reduce risk in federal tech projects

The new ‘De-risking Government Technology Field Guide’ looks to educate officials on how to merge modern software design with traditional government bureaucracy.
Click on image above to download the Field Guide.

Teams of technology, process and procurement experts with the Technology Transformation Service have published a 128-page guidebook outlining best practices for technology projects—federal, state or local—in an attempt to “de-risk” one of the most failure-prone areas of government.

Last week, 18F — the internal tech consultancy housed in the General Services Administration’s TTS — in conjunction with their colleagues at 10x, released the “De-risking Government Technology Field Guide” with specific advice on how agencies can use human-centered design, agile development and modular contracting to significantly lower the risk of producing a substandard or unusable product.

“Only 13% of large government software projects are successful,” the guide states, citing statistics from The Standish Group analyzing projects in the U.S. and Europe valued at more than $6 million. “Modern software development practices reduce that risk by delivering working code every few weeks and getting feedback from end users to ensure that the product meets their needs.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2020/09/18f-says-6-core-concepts-can-reduce-risk-federal-tech-projects/168490/

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Advice on running a government agency like a startup, from someone who’s tried it

The White House recently formed the Office of American Innovation, which has a stated focus on “implementing policies and scaling proven private-sector models to spur job creation and innovation.”

It’s a familiar idea: A SWAT innovation team is created, ready to inject new thinking into a burdensome bureaucracy.

It certainly sounds familiar to Greg Godbout, a former U.S. presidential innovation fellow and a cofounder of 18F, a digital services office within the U.S. General Services Administration. 18F was borne, in part, out of the Obama administration’s attempts to funnel startup-style ingenuity into the government, particularly after the disastrous launch of Healthcare.gov. Godbout was executive director at 18F before departing to become chief technology officer for the EPA. He is now the CEO and cofounder of cBrain North America.

The Harvard Business Review asked Godbout about how innovation teams work in government.  Following are excerpts of our conversation, edited for length and clarity.

Keep reading this article at: https://hbr.org/2017/04/advice-on-running-a-government-agency-like-a-startup-from-someone-whos-tried-it

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Agencies need in-house techies to know how to buy good tech, GAO reiterates

Spend enough time around personnel from tech-in-government organizations like 18F and the U.S. Digital Service, and you’ll hear them say something like this: Their teams save the taxpayers money not just by building things, but also by being in the room during large-scale tech acquisitions and knowing the right questions to ask or how to call a salesman’s bluff.

It’s a simple value proposition, leaders say, but a powerful one.

According to a recent Government Accountability Office report, the federal acquisitions workforce writ large needs more of that expertise.

Asked to survey how the acquisition landscape has changed in the past decade, GAO found various improvements in the form of workforce planning and training. But ultimately, it decided, “finding workers with the technical knowledge for complex IT purchases is still difficult.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.fedscoop.com/federal-agencies-tech-expertise-acquisition-gao-report/

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18F names acting executive director

The in-house government innovation team 18F has new leadership, as former Director of Strategy Angela Colter has taken over as acting executive director.

Colter announced the promotion on Twitter last Friday, adding that Victor Udoewa would succeed her as director of strategy. Previously, Udoewa served as a senior strategist and deputy director.

An 18F spokeswoman confirmed the staff changes but declined to comment further on personnel issues.

18F was created in 2014 under the General Services Administration to act as an internal consultancy to federal agencies trying to implement new technologies and ideas.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2018/07/18f-looks-within-next-executive-director/149435/

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