This resource contains an unordered and non-exhaustive list of painpoints that public organizations have shared with us during discussions about the mission of the Foundation for Public Code and codebase stewardship. This resource can be used to inform our user research, value proposition mapping and business case development for potential partners, as well as provide a general overview of the context in which we operate.
These are common challenges faced by public organizations as they mature in their approaches to their digital public infrastructure.
Operational delivery
Developing the exertise to operationally manage digital innovation projects - including in-house development, procurement and the management of third party vendors - often without in-house technical expertise.
Economies of scale and silos
Learning to work together with partner organizations to collaborate around a single shared system, rather than each having their own.
Sustainable relationships with third parties
Avoiding lock-in situations, in which the organization’s data or digital workflow is controlled by a third party, leading to reduced autonomy and potentially prohibitive liscensing, upgrade and migration costs.
Futureproofing
Understanding how decisions about their digital public infrastructure will open up or limit the possibility of future upgrades, add-ons and innovation potential.
Technical debt
Working around an ever increasing set of aging digital systems that create dependencies and a potential drag on service delivery.
Balancing local and global
Striking a balance between existing offers by global parties, while still investing in local businesses.