howtogetstartedinpublicinteresttech · agileproject management limitations bureaucratic navigation...
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How to get started in Public Interest Tech
Are you:
• a policy wonk who is disenchanted with bureaucracy?
• a designer or software engineer with a desire to use your technical skills for good?
• interested in the ability to make organizations work better, but don’t want to step intothe trenches of management consulting?
Welcome to the world of Public Interest Technology and Government Digital ServiceDesign.
Public interest technology is a field that emphasizes leveraging technology andthe skills required to build products and design services for the common good.
The opportunity to use technical, design, and management skills for public good havegrown as teams across the country have taken on issues ranging from helping eligibleCalifornians register for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) toupgrading software that helps NATO military advisors determine mission-readiness.
Whether you come with an interest in community organizing, management consulting,tech start-ups, or user experience design -- this might be the path for you.
Government:Know Before You Go
main issues
frameworksfor thinking
major themes design to scale
human centered
data-enabled
experimental
procurement
data ethics
be respectful
datasecurity
cross agencycommunication
legality ofuser testing
agile projectmanagementlimitations
bureaucraticnavigation
don't assume -listen
design with,not for
acknowledge workalready being done
acknowledgehigh stakes
move purposefully& fix things
UI/UX/ServiceDesigners
Product/ProjectManager
ContentStrategists &Storytellers
Policy Makers withan Interest in Tech& User Research
DataScientists
SoftwareEngineers &Coders
machine learningknowledge of data mining
natural language processingperform analysis on large sets of dataknowledge of data security & ethics
communicate data-driven insights andrecommendations to non-technical stakeholders
extract actionable insights to drive decisions
familiarity with DevOps & site reliabilityengineering
ability to communicate technical conceptsto non-technical stakeholders
engineering managementfamiliarity with web/app
development full-stack engineering,legacy software reengineering
interest in using plain language to help membersknowledge of government services interactionproduct/service/user experience/interaction designcontribution to research synthesisvisual/content designknowledge of design processprototyping
familiarity with agile methodologiesdeveloping evaluation metricstechnical recruiting and talentoperationsquality assurance testing of productstechnology procurementclient engagement management
intangibleskills
problem solving
collaborative
respectful
entrepreneurial
experimental
flexible
attentive to details
datascience
engineeringman
agem
ent
design
think Healthcare.gov
think Depts.of HomelandSecurity, State & Health
& Human ServicesRefugee Resettlement
think US Department ofAgriculture Smokey the Bear
for Wildfire Prevention
Developing PR campaignsand communication
strategies for governmentservice roll-outs
Facilitating cross - agencycommunication
Improving the user interfacesof critical, public-facing
digital services
What this work might look like
Common skills
Measuring & increasingthe effectiveness of existing
government services
Advising Congress on howto regulate & legislatearound new technology
Make better use ofgovernment data &
modernizing outdatedsoftware
think the World Bank GlobalGovTech Partnership
think anti-trust, data privacy,cryptocurrency, facial
recognition
think enablingMedicare to integratetheir health records withthird-party applications
Start Digital ServiceTeam within
Another Govt.Department
Go Back to thePrivate Sector/
NGO/Contractor
Grad School
Network your way toa job with existing Govt.
Innovation Team
Tour of Civic ServiceFellowships &Internships
Still in SchoolOR
Graduated
Start in Govt. (Local, State, Federal)Be an Advocate for Technology & Human-Centered
Design Within your Department (OR join a digital services team)
Presidential Innovation Fellows (18F)U.S. Digital Service
Presidential Management Fellows(requires graduate degree)
Private Sector OR NGOOR Government ContractorHone your skills, Build your confidence,
Find good mentorship, Work with like-minded colleagues
Designated digital service/data teams within the federal government
Where it happens
Agencies that are experimenting with innovative (digital/design/data/agile) practicesv
Management & strategic consulting groupsNonprofits and startups
A sampling of states and cities that have dedicated digital service, research & development, or data teamsv
Potential pathways
3 to 5 years 1 to 4 years
Our Advice for Getting Started? AVOID career paths that will burn you out early and START somewhere where you can practicesolving complex problems early on.