Code for America

Fellowship Experience

Introduction

who i am ... what is code for america

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Amy Mok

• born in Hong Kong
• studied computer science/software engineering
• built satellites
• developed software
• helped others grow and thrive

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Code for America

We believe government can work for the people, by the people in the 21st century.

We build open source technology and organize a network of people dedicated to making government services simple, effective, and easy to use.

Code for America Fellowship Experience

5 programs

• brigades
• code for all
• peer networks
• civic startups
• fellowship

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Fellowship

Showing what’s possible

Code for America Fellowship Experience

San Antonio, Texas

is changing ... quickly

Code for America Fellowship Experience

San Antonio is a very old city

older than the united states

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Locals call it a big small town

it's still all about who you know

Code for America Fellowship Experience

The city's moment has come

a visionary mayor

Code for America Fellowship Experience

City Residency

embedded in the city to understand community issues

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Local
government

• city council
• economic development
• human services
• animal care services
• and more ...

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Communities

• food bank
• haven for hope
• sa2020
• westside development
• and more ...

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Ride-along with Code
Enforcement
Officer

experiencing neighborhood issues firsthand

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Prototype

overwhelming number of ideas to work on,
which one can we solve with technology?
which one can provide the most impact?

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Focus area

• open data
• civic engagement
• neighborhood revitalization

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Neighborhood Revitalization

• history
• pride

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Bridging The Gap

how do we help city to preserve history and
homeowners to be proud of their houses

Code for America Fellowship Experience

I want a better home and better community.

How? Through fixing up my home with

REPAIRS

Code for America Fellowship Experience

We want to make sure it's done right
... and help.

How? By administering

PERMITS

Code for America Fellowship Experience

The goals are aligned, but we've still got a

DISCONNECT

Code for America Fellowship Experience

We want to make the system seem less

COMPLEX

and help it move

FASTER

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Build and Test

and iterate

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Homebase

Your one-stop shop to fix up your house.

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Apply for the

PERMITS

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Technology

• Ruby on Rails
• Minimal Javascript
• PostgreSQL Database with PostGIS Extension
• Heroku
• Travis-CI

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Door Hangers

Making Code Enforcement tickets make sense.

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Share and Deliver

Leaving our legacy

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Showing the product to agency

• impress them with something concrete
• tell them how it will save time for their staffs
• show them how it will help the people they serve
• work together to roll out the product
• keep them in the loop at all times

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Not just hand the product to IT staffs, hold their hands

• teach them user-centered design
• work with them to understand and use agile development
• have them practice
• continue to coach them until they get it
• get their managers excited

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Foster the
new relationships

Guide agency and IT staffs on how they can work together after we leave

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Lessons Learned

doing and sustaining something different is always hard

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Don't create new project to learn new concepts, add changes to their current assignment instead

• competing priority
• out of sight out of mind
• other departments do not understand

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Most of the time it is not about the technology

• use of words and languages are more important
• ordering of choices can make a big difference
• make the process more efficient and effective

Code for America Fellowship Experience

We may not see the changes yet, but we have planted the seed

• they have seen what's possible
• it takes a long time for government to make changes
• be patient and don't get discourage

Code for America Fellowship Experience

Thanks

[ Check out our work in San Antonio ]


@amymok

Code for America Fellowship Experience