Innovating at the speed of relevance is easy to say , harder to do . The people getting it done at the US Department of the Air Force explain how
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
Innovating at the speed of relevance is easy to say , harder to do . The people getting it done at the US Department of the Air Force explain how
If there was a word to describe the mechanics of government work , it would be ‘ complex ’. And complex , in software terms , is never a good thing . No one likes to work with dirty code . Yet government ’ s the world over have spent decades implementing diverse solutions with scant regard for their interoperability or leanness . Now , in the age of data , the importance of having forward-thinking software strategies means a rethink is due .
For that , the US Department of the Air Force enlisted Preston Dunlap , its founding chief architect officer . Dunlap ’ s past – a blend of fast-paced startup world and public sector experience – makes him the ideal candidate to overhaul legacy technologies and cultural behaviour without making the same mistakes all over again .
“ You ’ ve got to have the vision to try to move that system into a world where you think it ought to be able to operate more nimbly , accelerating change and being able to have new effects ,” Dunlap explains . “ Then be able to create those pipelines for fresh ideas and new technology and capabilities , and people who are able to make a difference .”
End state Dunlap couches everything in terms of the ‘ end state ’, a theoretical finishing line that government and commercial leaders want to cross . But the route to the destination
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