New US Digital Services Team Brings Private Sector Expertise to Government Tech Projects

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This article originally appeared at The WHIR

The White House announced on Monday that it is launching US Digital Services, a team that will work with other government agencies to upgrade technology infrastructure and make government websites more user-friendly – a move which is long overdue.

After the fumbled Healthcare.gov rollout, the US government is hoping that its US Digital Services team, led by Mikey Dickerson, will be able to ensure the success of digital services projects. Dickerson came from the private sector where he worked as an engineer who helped fix Healthcare.gov. He will serve as the new Administrator of the US Digital Service and Deputy Federal Chief Information Officer.

The team will be responsible for establishing standards for the public sector that align with the private sector, and identify technology to help the US government be able to scale services effectively. Above all, the team will be expected to provide accountability that will ensure agencies see results.

The White House administration is currently seeking public comment on the Digital Service Playbook and the TechFAR Handbook on GitHub.

The Digital Services Playbook, available online, is a playbook of 13 key “plays” taken from successful best practices from the private sector that if followed, should help the government build effective digital services.

The TechFAR Handbook is a guide that explains how agencies can execute key plays in ways consistent with the Federal Acquisition Regulation. According to a statement, the guide will help agencies use existing authorities to procure development services in new ways that closely match the private sector.

This article originally appeared at: http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/new-us-digital-services-team-brings-private-sector-expertise-government-tech-projects