So a general election has been called in the UK and party political campaigns are well underway, which has made me think about many issues related to how I will use my own vote.
In the back of my mind though there is a subset of these issues that is entirely related to my line of work, and they’re growing concerns that are unlikely to be mentioned much in the run up to the election. The government can have an impact on the software industry and vice versa in a number of ways:
- Governments regulate the way businesses operate and are instrumental to passing, maintaining and enforcing laws relating to issues such as intellectual property (a contentious issue in software)
- Software development for government funded organisations is largely contracted out to private software companies, sometimes to disastrous results
- In an increasingly inter-connected world software security means national security
One of the most important issues over which I feel government could affect change is the wasted spending on scrapped software projects. Software that is designed, developed and deployed in the correct manner can actually save money by improving business processes and reducing administration costs. But all too often government organisations such as county councils, the national health service and the ministry of defense have been seduced by software companies that plainly have been unable to deliver. These canned projects account for millions of pounds of loss due to:
- Lack of understanding of what is required, of how to approach the problem and of the technology involved itself
- Over-optimistic estimates of the time and monetary costs as well as under-estimating the skills and expertise required
- Poorly thought out system design and architecture
- … the list goes on
What I feel the government and government organisations really need are experienced people who can understand the software development process and have some understanding of modern software technologies so they can recognise what they require and can determine whether a consultancy can deliver.
The more you think about it, the more numerous other issues where software and government policy meet seem. Security is another key area that is and will increasingly become important. It is not a sensationalist view to assume that the internet is now seen as a platform for criminals to operate, and indeed on which to organise and carry out attacks.
Perhaps one day soon the government will need a whole new department of people who are part software expert, part politician. I’m in favour of such a development in government if it means there is someone there to make intelligent, rational decisions about the strategy under which software is employed in government organisations.
