For Technology Transformation Service Commissioner Rob Cook, the prognosis of what ails the public's trust in government is apparent, but then so is the cure.

Speaking at the 2017 DATA Act Summit, Cook detailed how the faith in the federal sector had eroded in the decades since Vietnam and Watergate, but also how the summit's eponymous legislation is the first step in reversing the trend.

"We still need the [public's] trust, but now we really have to earn it," he said. "And there are two ways that are really important to earning it: That there is trust that the government can be counted on to do something well that is earned by consistently demonstrating competence. And the trust that you are not hiding something is earned by being transparent."

Cook said that the DATA Act — which required federal agencies to report spending data starting on May 9 — is the embodiment of those two goals: a law that sets the framework for standardized agency spending data open to the public and has been established through the competency of agile development processes.

"Too many government projects are poorly managed, they cost way too much, they ship late if at all and they don't work well, if at all," he said. "The project to implement the DATA Act was the exception. It was on time, it was under budget and it delivered on its promise."

The secret sauce for the law's success to this point centers on the paradigm shift of project management currently emanating from the technology sector, namely agile development.

By moving the government toward a user-centered approach that included multiple rounds of feedback, and iterative development, Cook said the Treasury Department and 18F were able to collaborate more quickly on evolving their DATA Act programs and deliver on mission processes.

"That way of working has been honed in the private sector over the last couple of decades," he said. "It recognizes the basic reality that technology has gotten too complex to plan everything out in advance. Nobody is able to do that."

Instead, the TTS commissioner pointed 18F’s collaboration with industry in sprint sessions that developed prototypes, tested it with users, solicited feedback and applied changes. At the same time, the Treasury Department applied the same procedures to develop the spending data standards.

"It’s really a collaboration," he said. "On the technology side, we know the technology better than the user does, but the user is the authority on whether or not what we are building actually works for them. It ends up being a co-creation between the technology expert and the use expert."

The speed of applying iterative changes allows the government to demonstrate expertise, but Cook added that doing the process in a way that’s open to the public allows generates the feedback critical to the agile approach.

"The spending transparency is good for our democracy and it will change how Congress, [

Non-governmental organizations] and the public relate to spending," he said. "I look at this as proof that the government can do things competently and transparently.

"It can earn our trust and now that we have an example, why would we settle for anything less?"

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