A Civic Technologist’s Practice Guide is a wonderfully accurate collection of the things that will surprise, delight, and infuriate anyone and everyone in civic tech. It provides a mostly plain-language description of the field, and a summary of what government’s norms, structures, policymaking processes, etc. mean for technologists new to this work. Perhaps most important, it clearly states that civic tech is political work, and highlights the important tensions that any practitioner must learn to navigate, including: duties of stewardship, lack of alignment, power dynamics, and being responsive to constituent needs.
What’s confusing or missing? There are a few topics that Cyd describes in a way that either doesn’t match my experience or that I found more confusing than enlightening. For example, the chapter on project teams and methods spends a lot of time defining roles — but many of the government teams I’ve worked on have had difficulty agreeing on the people who actually comprise the team rather than the roles they play (in other words, role definition is just the tip of that iceberg). There are also terms like "product management" and “policy thinking” that read fine in context but are never actually defined.
The book also offers some conflicting advice. For example, Cyd says that “The sooner researchers are able to establish a structured practice, the better,” but later she says that “the trick is to constantly work from a perspective of opening your practice.” So which is it: rigor or flexibility? Anyone knows that opening a research process up to people with power gives those people the ability to control the process and its outcomes. That’s why so many designers operate as independent consultants. How should design research work when you’re part of an ongoing, political product team? (As Harry Brignull reminds us, “The thing about user research is that it delivers bad news every time”).
This isn’t to fault the book. It’s only to note that A Civic Technologist’s Practice Guide raises important questions that we will absolutely need to answer as this field matures—especially in our current age of disinformation. Indeed, I read A Civic Technologist’s Practice Guide in context with larger shifts in the technology industry: it’s not just civic technologists that’s need to think about stewardship, operationalization (what Cyd calls “doing what’s necessary”), maintaining trust, etc.; these issues are increasingly part of the conversation at private-sector technology companies, too. In that sense, I recommend Cyd’s book to both public *and* private-sector technologists.
Disclosure: I consider Cyd a friend, and worked alongside her at Code for America and 18F.
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Fantastic. This is a well structured, clearly written, practical guide book
In-person discussions with Cyd Harrell have always been insightful, so at a slim 167 pages, I thought this book would be a quick and informative read. After the first few pages, I had to stop, go grab a highlighter and start again with a fresh mug of coffee. After every few pages of careful reading, I found myself needing to stop and mentally chew over what I just learned. Then eagerly dive back in again later that day to learn something else. I know it sounds odd to describe it as a real page-turner, but... it is! The book is well structured, with great topics. The writing is incredibly clear and concise. The signal-to-noise ratio is fantastic. I've now read this book cover to cover. Twice. And jumped back/forth to re-read specific parts a few more times. Just about every page now has some highlighted text. The book covers a wide range of topics including: logistics of migrating technically complex legacy systems, fostering allies, privilege and diversity, open data, mental self-care and burnout under prolonged stress. This is a powerful, powerful book. If you are working in, or considering working in, large scale projects--in government or any other large mission-critical environment--you need to read this.
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- A. SomervilleReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 20, 2020
Important book for people who want to help civic organisations use technology
Format: KindleVerified Purchase - Kate TarlingReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2020
Really clear and thoughtful guide for improving public services
Format: KindleVerified Purchase - DanielReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 14, 2020
Excellent book
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Great book. Informative and useful for practicioners.DanielExcellent book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 14, 2020
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