Oddbean new post about login | logout @d72d5211 I have experience of one council which essentially operated as a fiefdom. The software architect had a cosy relationship with the CEO. He was busy with the green fields development of a building consent system that essentially would replicate an off the shelf system that other councils were using because he wanted to do it better and, because you know, "software development is cheap".
@e66e934c the right way to do it, would be for the councils to have a conference, with a few software architects present, to identify all the usage requirements. Then they issue a tender (collaboratively funded by councils) for a *Copyleft licensed* (as per the NZGOAL-SE) initial implementation, and *every council* can use it at no cost. Also, any other vendor can *customise* that code and/or re-implement it, if the council deems it worthwhile. But *all* the results are also #LibreSoftware.
@d72d5211 I like the way you're thinking but wearing my cynical hat that seems unlikely to work. A few software architects will each have a different opinion about the tech stack, each council will want to have influence based on their size. And you know council staff will insist on their own unique set of requirements. That's usually why a large enterprise system implementation balloons in cost and how the vendors make their money.
@e66e934c The evidence about how, for example, DHBs, and local councils (and even ed institutions) have been divided and conquered by IT vendors, with each having very similar requirements to all their peers, but buying different, mutually incompatible proprietary tools. Look at things like the Auckland 'supercity' amalgamation - over $billion spent trying to 'rationalise' IT systems, and, far as I know, still a long way to go. Total disaster.
@e66e934c so I don't think it'd be too hard to make the case - based on the evidence of past failures - to suggest a totally different approach is required regardless of the conceits of council software architects. Ultimately, they don't matter nearly as much if everything they procure is open source/#LibreSoftware.