Mark Headd
@mheadd
Author of "The SpecOps Method: A New Approach to Legacy System Modernization." #CivicTech #AI #SpecOps #OpenData
Important bit from this recent blog post that highlights both why up front spec development is so important in agentic engineering, and also why its so hard to do well. www.claudecodecamp.com/p/i-m-buildi...
Cool new feature to add agentic workflows to your GitHub repos. Another banger coming from the group at @githubnext.com and further validation that the future of software development is opening up for people that have developed the ability to communicate clearly. Words > Code github.github.io/gh-aw/
This is the most 2025 headline of all time. Imagine trying to explain this to someone living 10 years ago. www.wired.com/story/poems-...
I love this line. It's so true it hurts. "Few IT projects are displays of rational decision-making from which AI can or should learn. " spectrum.ieee.org/it-managemen...
An important point about the cost of housing, and the impact of scarcity. Reminds me of the old adage about trying to "fix" traffic congestion by building more & bigger highways. Simply adding more to the housing stock may not address the real underlying issue. davekarpf.substack.com/p/abundance-...
These two posts, appearing almost one after the other in my LI feed, pretty accurately sum up the current state of Generative AI today. #GenAI can almost magically generate breathtakingly detailed content with minimal instructions, but it also still gets very basic facts wrong.
This is a terrific description of Large Language Models, capturing their benefits and their (non-trivial) drawbacks. www.science.org/stoken/autho...
The appendix listing all of the deliverables, the responsible party, and the due date for delivery is super helpful. That should be mandatory on all documents like this.
It was a good year. My top songs: * Wish You Were Here: open.spotify.com/track/6KtLEC... * Unbelievable: open.spotify.com/track/5VYTKi... * Nice to Know You: open.spotify.com/track/77eRSo... * Teleharmonic: open.spotify.com/track/6o2yIQ... * Summon The Fire: open.spotify.com/track/5c44Ml...
In testimony given over 10 years ago, about the Reinventing Government reform effort of the 1990's, Elaine Kamarck made this important observation to help guide future government reform efforts. It was as true then as it is now. #CivicTech www.brookings.edu/articles/les...
How it feels sometimes trying to bring modern software development practices into government.
Next up, the building of the first atomic weapon and the consequences thereof. #booksky 💙📚
Currently reading "Platformland" by Richard Pope and it might be the best book on digital service delivery in government that I have read in a long while. I'm on my second highlighter because it's filled with terrific insights. A must read for those in #CivicTech. anatomyofpublicservices.com