Friday, February 7, 2020

Iowa caucus mess offers lessons to Dems


     Monday’s Iowa Democratic caucus disaster already feels like ancient history, with Tuesday’s teary Queen-for-a-Day State of the Union and Wednesday’s shameful Senate impeachment acquittal in the meantime.
     But before the smoldering wreckage disappears in our rearview mirror, it’s worth a second look. Self-criticism is a liberal superpower. We can consider ourselves, assess candidly, recognize what is wrong and, in theory, fix it.
     So let’s take a look. Shadow Inc., an obscure tech company founded by former Hillary Clinton campaign staffers, was supposed to be the secret weapon to bring the Democrats up to speed against well-oiled Republican technology efforts. Instead, it thoroughly botched what should have been a dramatic Democratic milepost to the 2020 presidential election. What happened?
     I spoke with Shlomo Engelson Argamon, interim chair of the computer science department at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He began by cautioning that neither he nor anybody knows exactly what went wrong yet and won’t for a couple weeks.
     That said, there are obvious take-aways that can considered right now.
     “In software development, a Silicon Valley attitude is: ‘Move fast and break things,’” Argamon said. “Build things quickly, throw them out there, see what happens. Get feedback from users. If they break, fix them and improve them. Learn by deploying.”


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4 comments:

  1. Things seem hopeless now but something has to give.

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  2. What a great column today! All CEOs should read it so they are on the same page with their IT Department and Operations Department. Most times the CEOs have no clue about all that is involved with rolling out a new software product or phone app. I’ve seen rollout failures resulting in consultants being called in at the cost of millions of dollars “to fix things.” People really need to understand that technology is more than just pushing a button!

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    Replies
    1. Boeing & the 737 Max's disastrous software is the prime example of this.

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  3. I've never really understood the Iowa caucuses. Or why they should be taken so seriously.

    Tom

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