From my research with government technical staff, I discovered that strictly speaking, there are not many issues that are truly “unknown.” Usually, the case is that the issue has at least has been experienced by government staff, but no best practice has clearly emerged. And then, sometimes it is not the issue that is unknown, [...]
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OSS Procurement FAQ: Part 3
In-house development. This phrase can often give developers a sense of freedom while also causing panic. Sure, there’s the basic activities of requirements gathering, development, testing, and deployment, no matter what development process or technology you plan to use. But, beyond that, then what? With the time crunch to get an app built, many government [...]
OSS Procurement FAQ: Part 2 Boo!
It’s Halloween, and while some procurement issues can be quite dry, I figured for part 2, we could take on a more festive and spooky theme focusing on some edge cases discussed by some of the government staff I interviewed. As scary as some might sound, as edge cases, they are not the most frequently [...]
OSS Procurement FAQ: Part 1
This is part 1 of a recurring series regarding frequently asked questions on procuring open source software in government. Check back weekly for new installments here at civiccommons.org. At the Code for America Summit last week, I introduced to the assembled community of civic technologists and supporters the Civic Commons Legal and Procurement Issues Guide as [...]
A Reflection of Community at NAGW 2011
Standing amidst the gilded geometries of the Netherland Plaza for the National Association of Government Webmasters (NAGW) 2011 conference held in Cincinnati, some vicarious nostalgia set in for halcyon days of bygone eras. But this French Art Deco plaza, constructed in 1931, was actually a relic of the Great Depression. And yet, here we are [...]
The Commons Coming Together Through Volunteers — Get Involved!
Stepping into a big room, no matter how familiar it is, and beginning to connect up our tools, review our program, and execute, is always mixed with a little anxiety. It’s then that we take a deep breath and imagine the moment that motivated us to get out and perform today; the vision of scores [...]
Sharing Principles, Policies, and Law, Not Just Code
With good reason, government staff require proven, reliable, and safe information technology solutions for their needs. Further, with government IT staff and budgets being cut, government needs to do more with less. Making apps already developed and proven by one government entity (such as a city government) available as open source, can be a great [...]
Founding Organizations
Developing a Lean, Agile Procurement Guide
Posted on September 2, 2011 by Michelle Koeth in Commentary, News
At Code for America, we’re encouraged to release work product often – what the techy entrepreneur crowd terms an iterative, lean, agile development process. The net result forces you to embrace mistakes, rather than be in denial about them. In this way, work product is available, even if it is in an imperfect state, to [...]