Critical Update

The U.S. Digital Service doesn’t work on just one project: Its teams tackle governmentwide projects and drop in to help with specific agency tasks. Nextgov’s Aaron Boyd talked to Director of Engineering David Holmes, software engineer Alberto Colon Viera, and digital service experts Misu Tasnim and Scott Haselton to learn how they push the government’s old systems to modern technology and how they build partnerships with federal employees.

The U.S. Digital Service started in 2014 as a kind of tech SWAT team after the disastrous initial rollout of Healthcare.gov. But USDS isn’t the same as when it started. We chatted with USDS Administrator Matt Cutts about the current state—and future of—one of the high profile innovation programs in government. And by the way, USDS is hiring.

Facebook’s mantra may be “move fast and break stuff” but the federal government doesn’t work like that. Change can be an uphill battle with regulations, compliance checklists and oversight often slowing things down even more. So what does innovation in government look like? Nextgov asked Alla Seiffert, director of cloud policy and counsel at the Internet Association, and Molly Cain, founder of GovCity, both former federal officials who had innovation in their titles.

Upgrading from legacy systems to modern, nimble tech cost big bucks. And when it comes to federal government projects, that can mean billions of dollars on the line, plenty of pitfalls to avoid, and high stakes (like our nation's cybersecurity). Here are three Nextgov is watching closely.

Defense Department’s JEDI

Veterans Affairs Department’s electronic health records

Homeland Security’s Continuous Monitoring and DIagnostics program

Critical Update assembled an all-star cast to discuss the partial government. Nextgov, Government Executive, Defense One and Route Fifty staff discuss how the shutdown affects federal employees, government contractors, and state and local governments.

The coming year will have a focus on procurement speed, Deltek Director of Federal Market Analysis Deniece Peterson and Senior Manager of Research Ashley Sanderson tell Nextgov’s Frank Konkel. Plus: the longer-term effects of the partial shutdown.

Some helpful reading:

The Devil’s in the Details as GSA Seeks to Consolidate the Multiple Award Schedules

Agencies Spent $10.4B in 10 Years Using Other Transactions. Here's Where It Went.

JEDI: One Year in the Pentagon’s Push for a Revolutionary Cloud

It’s a new year and we’re looking at a new Congress. We chat with Mike Hettinger about what the federal tech community needs to know about oversight, committee assignments and yes, the partial government shutdown.

A few stories we mention during the show:

How Midterms Shake Up Tech Oversight

New Armed Services Chair Says He Will Fund Military, Not Drive Foreign Policy ‘Like McCain Did’

The Pentagon’s Getting More Secretive — and It’s Hurting National Security

Critical Update will be back for a second season. Stay tuned. 

We talk to the U.S. Marine Corps’ Advanced Manufacturing Operations Cell about how they’re using 3D printing in the field to get the warfighter everything they need—from buckles to barracks. It’s one of the bold innovations in government that you can catch at our live event, the Bold Showcase on Oct. 11.

You can find all the details on this year’s Bold Showcase at www.govexec.com/feature/fedstival-2018-boldthursday.