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posted by n1 on Friday August 22 2014, @03:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the casual-friday dept.

Robert McMillan writes that when it comes to computers, the federal government has a nasty reputation for prizing ISO standards and regulatory checkboxes above working code but now Mikey Dickerson, the former Google engineer who flew into Washington a year ago to salvage the disastrous Healthcare.gov website, says that's changing and the feds want all the techies out there to know Dickerson wasn’t forced to do his amazing job in a suit and tie.

If you do take a job at the White House, you may want to bring your own snacks, expect to work at a desk, not a couch, and hold off on bringing your skateboard to work. Still, the feds are trying to do tech in a clueful fashion. The Obama administration has opened the door to open-source software and collaborative coding. And, hey, even the CIA is using Amazon’s web services.

In a White House video, Dickerson, the new head of the US Digital Service, says he is asked one question again and again by people curious about his new job. They “want to know if I’m wearing a suit to work every day,” In the video, there’s a shot of a staff meeting where President Obama gives Dickerson and his fellow tech “hot-shots” a shout out. “They’re starting to look official now, aren’t they? They’ve got suits and everything,” Obama quips, a nod to the black jacket and yellow tie Dickerson has worn to the meeting. Dickerson tells the president this isn’t the norm. “This is literally only because you’re here,” he replies.

 
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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by PizzaRollPlinkett on Friday August 22 2014, @04:29PM

    by PizzaRollPlinkett (4512) on Friday August 22 2014, @04:29PM (#84390)

    I don't get the "coder" part - this guy is a suit. He works as a manager for the government. He doesn't write code, he wrote some stupid "playbook" that no one is going to pay any attention to.

    Does the government even have coders any longer? Aren't they all outside contractors now?

    What's in this playbook, anyway? "Structure budgets and contracts to support delivery" - I think the government contracting industry is going to eat him for lunch. He is an outsider, and has no idea how these people work.

    "Assign one leader and hold that person accountable" - this only works if the accountable person has the authority to change how things are done, and I don't see a mid-level software project manager being given the authority to hire, fire, and spend money. That's not how the government works.

    I'm sorry, but this suit is going to be toast. He'll churn out these playbooks and other stuff for a few years, and the government contracting sector will have a good laugh when he's gone like every other reformer they've outlasted.

    --
    (E-mail me if you want a pizza roll!)
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