Why do too many federal tech projects end in bloated contracts and tools no one wants to use? Here's how product managers + product operating models can help agencies build services that actually work. cc @niskanencenter.bsky.social @federalnewsnetwork.com open.spotify.com/episode/2AUa...

It's hard to overstate how serious these allegations are, but here's an attempt 🧵 www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/u...

In my new piece with @niskanencenter.bsky.social, I explore how govt structures shape the systems they deliver. If we want govt to work better for the people it serves, we need to intentionally align organizational design with the outcomes we care about. www.niskanencenter.org/conways-law-...

Launching the Outcome-Based Legislation Lab with @niskanencenter.bsky.social : a new, nonpartisan effort to help Congress write laws that actually work. We’re running retrospectives, capturing lessons, and building a library of outcome-focused legislative examples. Join us: forms.gle/bg9cnNbxJzsA...

Federal tech projects often measure success by compliance — not whether the tech actually works for the public. The private sector utilizes product managers to build tech that works. Government agencies should do the same.

Too often, govt measures success by compliance, not outcomes. Public services aren’t delivered until they work for people. In my new @niskanencenter.bsky.social piece, I argue we need more product managers in govt to move from outputs to impact. www.niskanencenter.org/from-complia...

Government can deliver better digital services—but only if it adopts the right operating model. Our new piece at @niskanencenter.bsky.social with @pahlkadot.bsky.social explains why moving from projects to products is the path to services that actually work. www.niskanencenter.org/the-product-...

Big thanks to @fedscoop.bsky.social's @madialder.bsky.social, @ann-lewis.bsky.social, Alex Mechanick, and Gabe Menchaca for unpacking DOGE’s disruption & what’s next after Elon. Even amid policy whiplash, there's still room for pragmatic, bipartisan reform to rebuild state capacity.

This is a huge deal, and proud to have supported this effort.

@lukef.bsky.social and Julie Brinn Siegel sound an important alarm - new Medicaid changes will force eligible Americans who need Medicaid the most to file piles of new paperwork and will increase administrative burden on already overworked, understaffed Medicaid agencies.

We hereby promise not to throw tantrums on a global stage over not being able to fully act on corporate conflicts of interest.

New report, with case studies, from @ann-lewis.bsky.social: www.niskanencenter.org/how-to-save-...

"The solution isn’t more pressure, more budget, firing people, or indiscriminate contract cancellations." The ~Annifesto~ of former GSA tech leader Ann Lewis. Explains how to actually do what DOGE pretends to do. www.niskanencenter.org/how-to-save-...

Every government technology leader knows a story about a project that accidentally wasted a billion dollars. Here's my take on why this keeps happening, and how we can fix it. www.niskanencenter.org/how-to-save-... @niskanencenter.bsky.social

Thanks for the great GovTech convo @carolinenihill.bsky.social ! We covered everything from modernization best practices to DOGE to the greatest hits of the 90s.

An important test of Privacy Act protections of Social Security Administration data, and of proactively guarding privacy, rather than waiting for harm to occur. www.seattletimes.com/nation-world...

This is really bad- exfiltrating data related to union organizing, disabling audit logging, attempting to intimidate whistleblowers www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...

Just published my first article with Niskanen Center- how to use data management best practices from the private sector to combat fraud in government programs. (Spoiler: it's not by giving senior leaders and small strike teams broad access to all datasets) www.niskanencenter.org/how-to-stop-...

If you've worked with me, you've most certainly heard me quote @martinfowler.com / Phil Karlton: 'There are only two hard things in Computer Science: cache invalidation and naming things.' Still true. Appreciate his tip of the hat to the former 18F team and their legacy @alt18f.bsky.social

@fedscoop.bsky.social recently quoted @aspenpolicyacademy.bsky.social alum @ann-lewis.bsky.social about the importance of modernizing the Privacy Act to strengthen our nation’s cybersecurity. Read the full article here 👇: fedscoop.com/lori-trahan-...

File your taxes using IRS Direct File, a free, secure, accurate and accessible product from the IRS. It is available in 25 states and allows you to import your tax information, like your W-2, directly from the IRS. Visit DirectFile.irs.gov to check eligibility and learn more.

BREAKING: Federal judge blocks Elon Musk, Amy Gleason, and DOGE employees from access to Social Security Administration systems containing personally identifiable information, orders them also to delete any previously obtained non-anonymized SSA information.

Not every day that a case you worked on leads both @nytimes.com & @washingtonpost.com! Musk & DOGE unconstitutionally hijacked & destroyed USAID—our case w/my wonderful colleagues @sddaction.bsky.social & Marziani Stevens Gonzalez proved it

Breaking News: A judge found that Elon Musk’s effort to shutter USAID most likely violated the Constitution, and ordered its operations partially restored.

WE WON! PI granted in substantial part in our @sddaction.bsky.social appointments clause case re USAID

Updating the Privacy Act is crucial to ensuring that it remains effective in safeguarding citizens’ data while enabling responsible and efficient governance. 👏👏👏 to @trahan.house.gov for her leadership in taking this important first step! www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202... - @washingtonpost.com

A Musk lieutenant ventured onto a roof to install Starlink. The Secret Service didn’t know he was there. The incident triggered a confrontation over conflicts of interest & cyber and physical security www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/u...

I signed on. federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2...

Thanks for showing everyone what leadership looks like @merici.bsky.social ! You stared down the supposedly impossible, went for it anyway, built a strong team, and shipped Direct File: the big success story of government tech. 💪 🇺🇸 ps. I would invest in where ever you go next

More than a PR crisis- it's a strategic crisis. What Musk and DOGE are doing simply doesn't work. Indiscriminate cuts actually *increase* costs because they impair delivery of services Americans need, and also impair govt's ability to improve delivery. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Who’s working on DOGE related trackers? So far I'm aware of: 
 - cancelled contracts: app.g2xchange.com/doge-tracker
 - data rescue project: www.datarescueproject.org/dr-tracker-d... - federal cuts tracker map: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... - layoff tracker: layoffs.fyi

Silver lining of DOGE's unprecedented and dangerous access to the private data of Americans: opportunity to strengthen the Privacy Act? www.politico.com/news/2025/03...

Great interview with @stevenoverly.bsky.social on @politico.com with former USDS eng manager Anne Marshall on the damage done and inefficiencies exacerbated by DOGE indiscriminate cuts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...

DOGE disbanded a team dedicated to government efficiency—something Elon Musk claims to want to promote. “It’s chaotic, and it feels like it’s chaotic on purpose,” a former 18F worker told Matteo Wong. theatln.tc/OYxvGdvb

The administration got rid of 18F under the cover of night. People who own skyscrapers are afraid of 100 people who make websites. Not because of the latest tech fad, but because we proved the government can be fixed, the government can be made better and the government can work for the people.

18F was doing exactly the type of work that DOGE claims to want – yet we were eliminated shortly after midnight. Read our letter to the American people: 18f.org

Everyone who has worked in govt knows a project that accidentally wasted a billion dollars. We need to understand and fix the root causes of these kind of failures, not just indiscriminately cut people and contracts at the expense of benefits Americans need: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...

Glad to see some of TTS’ culture is still intact! youtu.be/At_2Lqi-w6I?... @maddow.msnbc.com

They’ve done their homework: www.politico.com/news/2025/02...

While I don't agree with most of the Trump Day 1 EOs, the "Reforming The Federal Hiring Process" EO contains several good ideas that I suspect have broad bipartisan support. Thread: www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...