Latest news with #TechnologyTransformationServices
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How 18F transformed government technology − and why its elimination matters
the government health insurance marketplace website, launched in October 2013 only to buckle under the weight of just 2,000 simultaneous users. As millions of Americans stared at error messages and frozen screens, a political crisis unfolded, but so did a new era of government technology. The result was 18F, an in-house digital services consulting agency that brought Silicon Valley expertise to government, challenging decades of outdated procurement practices and introducing a radical new approach to building digital public services. Founded on March 19, 2014, by Presidential Innovation Fellows, 18F was housed within the Technology Transformation Services department of the General Services Administration, or GSA. The name 18F was derived from the address of GSA headquarters: 1800 F Street. On March 1, 2025, just a few weeks shy of 18F's 11th anniversary, the Trump administration eliminated the agency and laid off its staff. As a researcher who studies public administration and technology, I have observed the transformational role 18F played in government digital services. The unit's elimination raises the question of what the future of those services will look like. 18F served a unique role as an in-house digital consultancy for the U.S. government, drawing on innovative strategies to improve public service through technology. Within 18F, teams consisting of designers, software engineers, strategists and product managers worked together with federal, state and local agencies to not only fix technical problems but to build, buy and share technology that helped to modernize and improve the public's experience with government services. Over nearly 11 years, 18F built an impressive portfolio of successful digital projects that transformed how people interact with the U.S. government. Even if the average person is unfamiliar with 18F, the odds are quite high that they have at least encountered one of its many products or services. For example, 18F supported the Internal Revenue Service in creating IRS Direct File, a free online tax filing tool that provides taxpayers with a simplified filing process. As of today, IRS Direct File is available in 25 states and is expected to serve 30 million eligible taxpayers during the 2025 tax filing season. 18F has been pivotal in modernizing and securing digital systems to help create more streamlined and secure user experiences for the public. For instance, is a secure single sign-on platform that simplifies access to multiple government services for users. Perhaps the most notable of 18F's modernization efforts that touches nearly every aspect of government today is the U.S. Web Design System. The comprehensive design system was developed in collaboration with the U.S. Digital Service in 2015. It helps support dozens of agencies and makes nearly 200 websites more accessible and responsive to user needs. What set 18F apart was its approach. Rather than spending years on giant information technology contracts that often failed to deliver, 18F championed agile development. Agile and lean methodologies have been popular in Silicon Valley startups and software companies for decades due to their flexibility and focus on rapid iteration. By applying agile development principles, 18F focused on breaking down large projects into manageable pieces with incremental improvements based on frequent user feedback. This approach allowed continuous adaptation spurred by user feedback and changing requirements while reducing risk. Another cornerstone of 18F's innovative approach was its focus on user-centered design. By focusing on the needs of the people who actually used government services, 18F was able to go beyond merely satisfying technical requirements to design digital products that were more accessible and user-friendly. The idea was to understand the end users and the problems they encountered in order to effectively design products and solutions that addressed their needs. It also aimed to provide a consistent user experience and earn the users' trust in the services. By prioritizing open-source development and collaboration, 18F also helped to make government IT more affordable. Making project code transparent meant that agencies could reuse the code and reduce the cost of duplicate development efforts across agencies and levels of government. 18F also had a hand in helping agencies develop their own technology capacity, whether by teaching them how to build software using open-source development and agile methodologies or by teaching agencies how to hire and oversee technology vendors themselves. This model was especially beneficial for state and local agencies following 18F's expansion in 2016 to provide services to state and local government agencies that receive federal funding. The elimination of 18F marks the end of an era, raising concerns about both current and future technology projects. As of now, there does not appear to be a succession plan, leaving many federal agencies without ongoing support for their digital transformation efforts. Critics also argue that the loss of 18F means the loss of significant technical expertise within the government. These changes come at a time when agencies are experiencing substantial personnel shifts, rendering digital services potentially even more critical. As agencies brace for more personnel cuts, the public may need to rely more on digital services to fill the gap amid growing staffing shortages. Since the news was announced, current and former 18F team members as well as advocates of the unit have taken to social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky, and LinkedIn, to share stories of its successes, honor its legacy and share 18F resources. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Kayla Schwoerer, University at Albany, State University of New York Read more: Efficiency − or empire? How Elon Musk's hostile takeover could end government as we know it Is DOGE a cybersecurity threat? A security expert explains the dangers of violating protocols and regulations that protect government computer systems President Trump promises to make government efficient − and he'll run into the same roadblocks as Presidents Taft, Roosevelt, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Carter, Reagan, Clinton and Bush, among others Kayla Schwoerer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
New York Times
03-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Dozens of Government Technology Specialists Fired
The Trump administration is terminating the jobs of dozens of technology specialists whose broad portfolio of projects across the government included the I.R.S.'s free tax filing software and passport services. The specialists, who belonged to a unit at the General Services Administration known as 18F, developed software and technology products for various federal agencies, with the goal of improving efficiency and better serving the public. In an email to workers at the agency's Technology Transformation Services over the weekend, Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer who is now the division's director, said that 18F had been identified as noncritical and would be cut. 'This decision was made with explicit direction from the top levels of leadership within both the administration and G.S.A.,' Mr. Shedd said in the email, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. He added that while no other Technology Transformation Services programs had been affected, 'we anticipate more change in the future.' In termination letters dated Friday, employees were informed that their roles would be eliminated in keeping with President Trump's orders to downsize the government. Workers have been placed on administrative leave until they are officially released at the end of April, according to copies of letters seen by The New York Times. A spokeswoman for the G.S.A. said in a statement that the administration would continue to embrace technology that would enhance and modernize the government's digital infrastructure and I.T. capabilities, in a statement confirming that employees of 18F had been informed they would be laid off. Among the marquee websites that 18F employees helped build or revamp are the Internal Revenue Service's free tax filing service known as Direct File and the National Weather Service's page, But since Mr. Trump returned to the Oval Office, 18F has also been targeted by Elon Musk, the tech billionaire whom Mr. Trump tasked with cutting back the government. Mr. Musk wrote last month in a post on his social media platform, X, that 'that group has been deleted.' The Obama administration created 18F and the U.S. Digital Service in 2014 to help agencies develop and integrate digital software, after its faulty rollout of which crashed on the first day consumers were eligible to purchase health care plans through insurance exchanges. The new offices were envisioned as in-house technology consulting firms, with the goal of managing costs and improving efficiency of the government's digital offerings. The U.S. Digital Service was one of the earliest corners of the government to get a Musk makeover, when Mr. Trump renamed it the U.S. DOGE Service — the operation that Mr. Musk has used to slash contracts and pressure government employees to resign. Within hours of receiving Mr. Shedd's notice on Saturday, employees of 18F created a website to air their grievances against the Trump administration and accuse higher-ups of undermining an operation they had praised just weeks before. The 18F employees cited an internal meeting in early February in which Mr. Shedd, they said, had 'acknowledged that the group is the 'gold standard' of civic technologists,' and 'repeatedly emphasized the importance of the work, and the value of the talent that the teams bring to government.' Their work had been halted so abruptly, the suspended employees continued, that they were unable to assist in an orderly transition or even learn where to return their equipment. Before their suspensions, the website continued, 18F staff were working to help the I.R.S. support free filing software, to improve access to weather data at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and streamline the process of procuring a passport.
New York Times
20-02-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Federal Tech Workers Push Back Against Musk's Efforts
One outpost of the government's more tech-savvy employees has developed into a growing pocket of dissent against President Trump and Elon Musk's overhaul of Washington. Workers at the Technology Transformation Services, the tech-focused arm of the General Services Administration, protested the deferred resignation program known as Fork in the Road this month by flooding internal communication channels with spoon emojis. This week, they have pushed back on a Trump appointee's attempt to gain access to an internal database. On Tuesday, one employee resigned in a message posted in a Slack channel with about 75 colleagues. He said he had been asked to grant Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer and the newly appointed head of the Technology Transformation Services, access to the database that is used by federal, state and local agencies to text the public about government services. The worker said he saw it as a violation of his duties. He wrote that he believed allowing access to Mr. Shedd could expose personal information of Americans, including phone numbers, according to a message seen by The New York Times and reported earlier 404 media, the technology news website. Mr. Shedd could 'download and store this data without anybody receiving a notification,' the employee wrote. 'I don't believe that I can operate a program and system without the ability to manage access to PII,' he wrote, referring to personally identifiable information. The employee's resignation spurred an outcry on Slack among his colleagues. On Wednesday, they questioned why Mr. Shedd needed the access and why the worker had been asked to 'disregard security processes,' according to messages seen by The Times. Another worker, who had shared the resigning employee's departure note, had his Slack account deactivated, prompting fear among the staff that he had been removed from the communications platform out of retaliation, according to internal messages seen by The Times. The General Services Administration did not reply to a request for comment. Mr. Shedd defended his request for access in a Slack message on Wednesday evening to employees, saying it was to 'ensure I have a detailed understanding of how the systems work.' He said he did not have administrative access 'at this time' to the government database and added that he was dismayed by the leak of communications. 'Many messages intended for internal discussion but later leaked to external channels are only hurting the positioning and brand of T.T.S.,' he wrote in a message seen by The Times. 'Moving forward, please keep conversations supportive and productive to avoid stirring up discontent and impacting T.T.S. in unintended ways.'
Washington Post
18-02-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
GSA engineering lead resigns over DOGE ally's request for access
The lead engineer for a government text messaging service resigned Tuesday over a U.S. DOGE Service ally's request for access to sensitive data, including personal identifying information, according to two people familiar with the matter. Steven Reilly, the engineering lead for left the Technology Transformation Services arm of the General Services Administration after the branch's new director, Thomas Shedd, sought administrative access to all components of the site, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues. Shedd is an eight-year Tesla alumnus who now runs the part of the GSA that hosts technologists who are deployed to provide access to a wide variety of government services, a unit he has called 'Swiss army knives.'
Washington Post
05-02-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
How Elon Musk's deputies took over the government's most basic functions
Elon Musk's allies are turning a once-obscure federal IT unit into the linchpin of their sweeping campaign to tear down the federal bureaucracy, sparking fears of improper overreach and chaos among tech employees in the government. During a tense meeting Monday, employees of the Technology Transformation Services section of the General Services Administration questioned Musk ally and Tesla alum Thomas Shedd about the agency's future, after he and a cohort of unidentified 20-somethings spent the preceding days peppering staff with questions about their accomplishments and reviews of their work. Shedd, who was named the director of the unit last month, told the workers that the administration viewed them as 'Swiss army knives' who can roll out services across federal agencies.
