Essay by Ann Lewis: “The persistent pattern of billion-dollar technology modernization failures in government stems not from a lack of good intentions, but from structural misalignments in incentives, expertise, and decision-making authority. When large budgets meet urgency, limited in-house technical capacity, and rigid, compliance-driven procurement processes, projects become over-scoped and detached from the needs of users and mission outcomes. This undermines service delivery, wastes taxpayer dollars, and adds unnecessary risk to critical systems supporting national security and public safety.
We know what causes failure, we know what works, and we’ve proven it before. It isn’t easy and shortcuts don’t work — but success is entirely achievable, and that should be the expectation. The solution is not simply to spend more, or cancel contracts, or fire people, but to fundamentally rethink how public institutions build and manage technology, and rethink how public-private partnerships are structured. Government services underpinned by technology should be funded as ongoing capabilities rather than one-time investments, IT procurement processes should embed experienced technical leadership where key decisions are made, and all implementation projects should adopt iterative, outcomes-driven approaches.
Proven examples—from VA.gov to SSA’s recent CCaaS success—show that when governments align incentives, prioritize real user needs, and invest in internal capacity, they can build services faster, for less money, and with dramatically better results…(More)”.