a collective big carrot 🥕, or stick 🏏, to make software less bad
a bit more on the idea from the last things i looked at. i’ve sent it off to local digital to see what they think 🤔
what i want to do
- a short research / engagement piece (possibly a workshop series) bringing together digital peeps from across councils (all councils, not just those going through LGR) to identify common issues with legacy systems
- i want to engage suppliers directly as for the output to be more than just a series of recommendations, we need their input to design change that is realistic and achievable.
- the work is to define a set of concrete, realistic standards (e.g. around data access, APIs, encryption) - the kind of technical detail that actually changes what gets built
why
- i think that involving suppliers directly in discussions would help them understand why things like system integrations and open access to data are so valuable. they often focus on designing to protect their products from competitors rather than understanding how they fit into the wider technology ecosystem.
- a system designed with integration and openness first is much more valuable to a council than something that can only live in its little departmental silo. what some might see as unrelated are all part of the same organisation for us, so joined-up working and data across systems is essential.
- a lot of the benefits (savings) from LGR will only be possible once people are working on integrated systems. which means replacing or combining ICT systems are going to be a big priority over the next few years. this means a big opportunity for suppliers which i think we should take control of, rather than be led.
- some councils are working on similar things in isolation. i actually got tasked with drafting a digital standard for our council just after writing up this idea! but even if we are all saying similar things, i think we’ll have more impact acting as one. it needs to go further than just being published on websites.
- 💯 i think councils working as one as the default reaction to a problem should be a (the?) thing.
- i can see down the line councils individually starting to define some of this as part of the LGR process, as workstreams get more specific and filter down through the organisation. legacy supplier development cycles are so slow that thinking about requirements when you need to buy something is too late. we should start now.
- this isn’t just to benefit the councils being reorganised, i just think it presents a good oppourtunity as a significant number will be "in sync" when it comes to looking at ICT systems
- if everything was like plan x and hand crafted bespoke by and for govt that would be beautiful but i think its a long long way off, if its every going to happen at all. lots of councils don’t have the resources to develop and build. meet people where they are and all that.
why its interesting to me
- i’m not really massively interested in suppliers and choosing software, its probably my least favorite bit of my job 😬
but i am interested in: - getting people working together to solve a big problem
- looking into the future and working backwards to see an opportunity and what we need to do now
- strategy but it needs to be an actual approach to STUFF not just philosophising
- improvements that unlock the stuff i’m interested in more - data stuff, automation (see data THING)
- i want real change not high level reccomendations! an actual thing that makes a difference! not a PDF!
- just one small change like if every software package we used had the ability for us to deign and schedule CSV exports of any data could open up huge possibility to integrate data between systems for lots of councils. yeah its not as good as an API but its better than NOTHING. plus even those littlest standardisations start enabling us to work together and share what we build.
- side note - i think an overlooked issue when it comes to why aren’t we sharing learning, sharing patterns etc is that its literally not possible because of our patchwork of systems and tech. i may want to do the exact same thing that another council has done but i can’t reuse their work because we have systems X, Y running in Z and they use A, B and C. they could share their high level work but we’d still have to re-do it, meaning although we’ve shared working we haven’t really saved resources. which for most councils is what the desire for more sharing really comes down to.
- i think starting small and rough is better than not at all.
- we seem to be waiting for this promised land of there being some new organisation that operates nationally and has all these resources and money and skills and coordinates all this stuff and solves all our problems and we just turn up and take part, i dont see that happening any time soon.
- lets pick a small bit of the problem and go
- like, who says we have to come up with a definitive list of standards that's comprehensive and 100% complete and will stand for the next X many years? why not just ask for some stuff, see how that goes, then ask for more later?
- i found myself thinking “it would be good if one day i was at a level in the organisation where i get to input into this sort of stuff”… then i decided to not wait for that and just try it anyway
- i feel like a hypocrite writing about change but not doing much tangible about it