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Is this a software problem? > Then you have to print it. > You fill it up with a pen, trying to remember, find or recover information which you might or might
by EamonnMR 6y ago
Is this a software problem?
> Then you have to print it.
> You fill it up with a pen, trying to remember, find or recover information which you might or might not have access to (but that you know for a fact that it’s stored in multiple databases behind some firewall). Then go to a physical location with your little printed form, queue up, and hope for the best.
Sounds more to me like an organizational inflexibility problem. Someone somewhere refused to change the definition of 'signed' and mandated that people print something. Someone decided that they couldn't autofill the form. Someone decided that submissions will only be accepted as physical forms.
This is sort of my hobby horse since I worked at a company that interfaced with healthcare providers that insisted that we accept faxed documents.
- musicale 6y agoI think the "software" in question might actually be the operating procedures and policies of the bureaucracy. Bureaucratic operating procedures are often essentially malicious software that de-prioritizes the needs of ordinary citizens far below the priorities of the organization. An organization may pay some lip service to a mission of service to citizens, but usually the organization's actual, absolute top priorities are self-preservation and expanding its budget, staff, power, and influence. A secondary priority may be reducing fraud and punishing cheaters, even at the expense of honest citizens. Though sometimes (e.g. California unemployment insurance) you get perverse outcomes where fraudsters are richly rewarded at the expense of honest citizens.