High-quality government software starts with efficacy, not efficiency

High-quality government software starts with efficacy, not efficiency
The emerging Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has sparked discussions about cutting spending and reducing the size of government to improve efficiency. But the fundamental problem hampering government software development and delivery isn’t efficiency, it’s efficacy. Cheaper and faster doesn’t matter if the product or service doesn’t do what you need. As Peter Drucker said, “There is nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency something that should not be done at all.”

Agencies can only achieve real efficiency by ensuring solutions deliver the desired mission impact. When it comes to software, it’s easy for large IT organizations to lose sight of this, but the mission impact is not automating infrastructure for maximum efficiency or determining how to manage Kubernetes clusters best. Ultimately, the goal in government is to continuously deliver valuable software that does things like win wars, save patients' lives, or provide critical services to citizens.



The question isn’t just how to deliver faster or cheaper, but how can government agencies deliver high-quality, secure software that creates measurable outcomes that drive mission impact?



Lessons Learned from Government Software Factories



The intent of government software factories was to enable the government to continuously deliver valuable software that users love. In theory, software factories promised speed, agility, and mission-critical outcomes for warfighters and end users across the public sector. In reality, software factories have struggled with the same issue plaguing government writ large: prioritizing efficiency over efficacy.



I co-founded the U.S. Air Force’s Kessel Run, the Department of Defense’s first software factory. Like many software factories, we started with the right priorities: shipping valuable outcomes to production quickly and continuously. Early wins proved that agile, iterative pra ..

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