3 ms·

>One thing that’s even more important than the latitude to ditch a tie is the latitude to chose the best tool for the job. I hope they don't lose sight of the

by jl6 12y ago

>One thing that’s even more important than the latitude to ditch a tie is the latitude to chose the best tool for the job. I hope they don't lose sight of the fact that in a large organisation, "the job" includes not just the technical solution, but also maintenance and management of that solution across potentially long periods of time by potentially many different people, integrating with many other teams, with limited resources, in a domain which you as a developer don't necessarily have a deep understanding of, and against a background of legacy solutions that can't easily be changed, and with large-group politics in play. In other words, people don't choose Java and Windows because they're idiots. It's because there are other forces at work beyond just picking the technically optimal solution.

mooreds 12y ago
This, so much! Greenfield development is, in my experience, the exception, not the rule.
incision 12y ago
Absolutely. On one hand, it is entirely to easy to look back or even laterally at the decisions people make and fault them for choices driven by circumstances that may not be obvious. On the other hand, there are plenty of people whose justification for such decisions begins and ends with how well it fits in their own comfort zone and/or how it affects their headcount. Both of these things are prevalent in Government. It's a serious balancing act to navigate those forces in managing or reforming existing systems - far harder than building the same with a clean slate. The materials to come out of the USDS so far have been right on point so I feel confident that this part will receive the same sort of attention, but I have noticed the seeming absence of attention to O&M thus far.
kevinmchugh 12y ago
The point is that developers should have the freedom to pick from all existing tools, not the limited selection which have passed a lengthy and expensive procurement process. It's okay to pick Java and Windows, but only if you actually got to choose them, and they weren't the only options on the table.

by jl6 12y ago

mooreds 12y ago

This, so much! Greenfield development is, in my experience, the exception, not the rule.

incision 12y ago

Absolutely. On one hand, it is entirely to easy to look back or even laterally at the decisions people make and fault them for choices driven by circumstances that may not be obvious. On the other hand, there are plenty of people whose justification for such decisions begins and ends with how well it fits in their own comfort zone and/or how it affects their headcount. Both of these things are prevalent in Government. It's a serious balancing act to navigate those forces in managing or reforming existing systems - far harder than building the same with a clean slate. The materials to come out of the USDS so far have been right on point so I feel confident that this part will receive the same sort of attention, but I have noticed the seeming absence of attention to O&M thus far.

kevinmchugh 12y ago

The point is that developers should have the freedom to pick from all existing tools, not the limited selection which have passed a lengthy and expensive procurement process. It's okay to pick Java and Windows, but only if you actually got to choose them, and they weren't the only options on the table.