Recoding America
by Jennifer Pahlka · first published 2023
68% recommend32% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Anecdote-rich look at why government software fails, with IRS, VA and California SNAP cases, RFP and policy-driven overspecification, and some successes. For anyone curious about institutional dysfunction.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Highly recommended reading about designing human-focused online systems to replace hard-copy workflows: Recoding America, by Jennifer Pahlka. [0] [0] https://www.amazon.com/Recoding-America-Government-Failing-D... — it was recommended on another HN thread.
on “Bad software destroyed my doctor's memory” ↗If you're seriously interested in this topic, it's worth taking a look at Jen Pahlka's book Recoding America. https://www.worldcat.org/title/Recoding-America-:-why-govern... Ms. Pahlka crawls through some large-system horror stories, and some success stories. The horror stories share something in common: design…
on ““Waterfall” doesn't mean what you think it means” ↗For some U.S. tales, e.g., the challenges of digitizing California's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) sign-up process, see the excellent Recoding America by Jennifer Pahlka, former deputy CTO of the United States and now the founder of the non-profit organization Code For America. [0] (Memorable passage: A civil servant described a complex government…
on “I digitalized Berlin's registration form” ↗A plug for everyone in this thread to read `Recoding America` by Jennifer Pahlka, founder of Code For America. Extremely good book which goes into detail about why software is such a crapshow in government... there are many more reasons than "bad software engineers",…
on “Judge rules $400M algorithmic system illegally denied Medicaid benefits” ↗…those institutions assume that no citizen is an honest mechanic and they all need to constantly prove to Vogons that they aren’t dishonest. A great dive into the last park was done by Jen Pahlka in _Recoding America_.
on “US government struggles to rehire nuclear safety staff it laid off days ago” ↗Everyone interested (critically or not) in this paper should also read “Recoding America” by Pahlka. While written before the AI boom, it gives an extremely thorough treatment to institutional behaviors re: technology and effectiveness, informed by and informing Pahlka’s work with the United…
on “AI Destroys Institutions” ↗…like they were just empty calories for my ears. I finally made it all the way through The Power Broker recently, which I've wanted to read for years, and am now on Jennifer Pahlka's really insightful Recoding America, which features heavily in the chapter "Govern" in Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's Abundance. Audiobooks are definitely slower to get through than just reading, but I find that I can stick with them…
on “How to Read More Books” ↗I strongly recommend the book “Recoding America” by Pahlka (one of the first USDS leaders) to folks interested in learning more about this topic. The challenges and fundamental dysfunctions it describes are still the primary headwinds to effective…
on “From Civic Tech to DOGE: The Role of Tech Movements in the American Admin State” ↗Recoding America[1] is an excellent book about this problem, but it extends a lot further than just contractors charging inflated rates. The government itself has a culture that is so averse to trying new things and compliance…
on “AI.gov” ↗I can almost assure you it was an explicit requirement in an RFP that was copied from some master template. So not a good justification - but a justification in the eyes of the bureaucracy. The book Recoding America has a lot of anecdotes to this effect; most of these situations reduce to a Congressional mandate that got misinterpreted along the way. My favorite was for an update to Social Security. The department…
on “Why my favourite API is a zipfile on the European Central Bank's website” ↗A extended account, with a good deal of backstory about the people and state- and federal agencies involved, can be found in Jennifer Pahl's book, Recoding America. [0] [0] https://www.amazon.com/Recoding-America-Government-Failing-D...
on “The ten year anniversary of the Healthcare.gov rescue” ↗…race to the bottom (since the government more or less has to accept the lowest bid), and massive overspecification by policy writers (mostly to try to salvage some quality from these RFPs). Echoing that Recoding America is a great book to read even if you have nothing to do with the federal government. You might see some similarities in how large companies operate.
on “AI.gov” ↗Recoding America, a book about improving the quality of software used by the US federal government, had good things to say about how the UK did things and what we could learn from them.
on “How to make a great government website” ↗> Like much common wisdom, the idea that companies are efficient (and specifically more efficient than government) is a myth. There is a book - Recoding America - that gives a behind-the-scenes look into government IT and the more recent changes that improve efficiencies and outcomes. It was published in the last 2 or 3 years and your local library almost certainly…
on “If you need the money, don't take the job” ↗Have you read the book "Recoding America"? I have a feeling you might enjoy that book as it goes into a LOT of detail about government dysfunction with respect to software. I found the book eye opening and personally it provided me with some…
on “U.S. government takes 10% stake in Intel” ↗