Book Review: Recoding America

Here’s my book review for Recoding America by Jennifer Pahlka. Don’t forget to leave a comment if you’ve read it too. And check out today’s writing prompt at the bottom of this post.

When you read [Re]Coding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better by Jennifer Pahlka, be prepared to have some of your preconceived notions about the U.S. government and how it works challenged, especially your notions about how technology in the government and by the government works. And no, it doesn’t matter what side of the political aisle you’re on when faced with this challenge. Not really. Because in the end, as Pahlka’s book suggests, government tech works better when it is created for the people, by the people, in line with democracy itself. 

You will walk away from this book having a much deeper understanding of how some of the most notable tech in the U.S. government works (aside from the highly classified tech, of course), how and where that tech has failed the American people, and most importantly why. Yet instead of walking away from the book with a list of people and organizations to blame, which is decidedly unhelpful and will only keep everyone and everything stagnant, you will walk away from the book with a better understanding of where you might be able to start helping others create government tech that works for every American. 

Government IT has always received a bad rap as being slow and ineffective and is commonly seen as being run by idiots who don’t really care about people who rely on the tech they’re managing. Worse, many people believe government IT is also spearheaded by people inside the government who just want to make a quick buck, when the exact opposite is true (Government institutions tend to look down on tech workers and the tech they need to implement, as is highlighted in this book). 

Luckily, however, in this book Pahlka details how wrong and misguided those notions are by sharing several of her own experiences working with groups inside the government on some of the most consequential government tech you can think of, including tech for those receiving veteran and unemployment benefits, as well as healthcare.gov, and other tech. She is incredibly thorough and detailed in the examples she shares, which helps shed light on the realities of each experience she shares. 

Through Pahlka’s first-hand and second-hand experiences, readers will see how government workers are prevented from, and often deterred from, making tech that is user friendly and effective. And most importantly, why. It’s not because government tech workers don’t care, or because they’re incompetent. Instead, it’s because of outdated (often legislatively mandated) practices like following insufficient waterfall project management methods, adhering to convoluted and rigid and policy-oriented legal requirements and processes that don’t lead to real tech implementations that anyone can actually use or that serve a meaningful purpose in the real world, outsourcing all government tech needs to the private sector, treating tech as a finite product instead of as a service, and more.    

Overall, I really appreciated this book because it allowed me to walk away with greater empathy and understanding of the people who work for our government who are doing their best, and that it also made our dire digital situation as a nation clear: If we don’t start creating government tech that is for and by the people, we will have much greater problems on our hands. 

I would recommend this book to those who have at least a little knowledge of tech and how it works, as there is a lot of techy jargon and case studies. But I would also recommend it to those who are interested in a more realistic view and understanding of what goes on behind the scenes in government tech offices, and to every single person responsible for the policy that should be leading to the implementation of government tech.

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© All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton and Creighton’s Compositions LLC.

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Today’s Writing Prompt