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Great to see UK Government IT modernising. Can't wait for HMRC to catch up! You haven't seen that many publicly funded technology projects, I take it? GDS are

Great to see UK Government IT modernising. Can't wait for HMRC to catch up! You haven't seen that many publicly funded technology projects, I take it? GDS are a monopoly, and the govt don't care about using what they're making - they're just going through the motions, spending the money. So, while this is notable from a technical pov, don't kid yourself that this'll be anything other than a billion pound cash cow for the nepotistic web of government. How's that nhs digitisation (NPfIT) going? Oh, it isn't?

EngineerBetter 11y ago
You haven't seen that many publicly funded technology projects, I take it? I have as it happens. Ex-colleagues happen to be working on some, which is rather entertaining as some of those involved are particular left-leaning! Government buying policy has moved to replace the massive SI consultancies that were holding the Government to ransom with nine-figure contracts to support (and deliver) legacy systems (think 00's era EJB nonsense). GDS is part of that move to more modern working practices, and I for one welcome it. Governments need IT systems. I would prefer they were delivered with open source platforms and agile methodologies. I'm interested to hear your ideas for an alternative.
- djaychela 11y ago
  Glad to see I'm not the only one who believes that governments should try to deliver using open source - the improvement that can be made to society in general from taking this approach is immense, IMO. There are so many areas where doing so will benefit everyone, eventually.
- flarg 11y ago
  Not as negative as the OP - but I have worked within govt projects - and the engagement between GDS and the civil service has always seemed really poor to me; I 100% share GDS' ideals and standards - but somehow it seems to go more wrong than right. I think it's too easy to blame the civil service - GDS should be able to deal with this.
edsykes 11y ago
it's happening, but there's a lot of work to do: http://www.equalexperts.com/hmrc-digital-platform-as-a-club/ http://www.equalexperts.com/hmrc-digital-platform-as-a-club/

EngineerBetter 11y ago

You haven't seen that many publicly funded technology projects, I take it? I have as it happens. Ex-colleagues happen to be working on some, which is rather entertaining as some of those involved are particular left-leaning! Government buying policy has moved to replace the massive SI consultancies that were holding the Government to ransom with nine-figure contracts to support (and deliver) legacy systems (think 00's era EJB nonsense). GDS is part of that move to more modern working practices, and I for one welcome it. Governments need IT systems. I would prefer they were delivered with open source platforms and agile methodologies. I'm interested to hear your ideas for an alternative.

djaychela 11y ago
Glad to see I'm not the only one who believes that governments should try to deliver using open source - the improvement that can be made to society in general from taking this approach is immense, IMO. There are so many areas where doing so will benefit everyone, eventually.
flarg 11y ago
Not as negative as the OP - but I have worked within govt projects - and the engagement between GDS and the civil service has always seemed really poor to me; I 100% share GDS' ideals and standards - but somehow it seems to go more wrong than right. I think it's too easy to blame the civil service - GDS should be able to deal with this.

edsykes 11y ago

it's happening, but there's a lot of work to do: http://www.equalexperts.com/hmrc-digital-platform-as-a-club/ http://www.equalexperts.com/hmrc-digital-platform-as-a-club/