Open Source
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Using AI to Reverse-Engineer a Legacy Application into a Modern Software Specification
In this post, I demonstrate a hands-on example of using AI tools with a legacy technology system to build the foundation for a modern software solution. Continue reading
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Ending the Sugar Rush
A new study reveals a troubling pattern in open source projects adopting AI coding tools. The fix, it turns out, may lie in an idea as familiar as a CONTRIBUTING.md file — but updated for the AI era. Continue reading
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From Sharing Code to Sharing Knowledge
For two decades, the vision for government technology has been “build once, share widely.” But as AI changes the economics of software development, the future may look less like sharing code and more like sharing the knowledge that makes building easier. Continue reading
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The Collapsing Cost of Software Development
The cost of generating software code is collapsing. AI coding tools have matured faster than most realize. For governments, this changes everything. Continue reading
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Three Projects I’m Proud of in 2025
In 2025, I built a lot of things to help me understand the changes that are happening and the things we need to focus on going forward to make government work better. Here are three I am most proud of. Continue reading
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Infrastructure as Code for AI: The Rapid Evolution of Agent Instructions
AI coding agent instructions have evolved from simple markdown files to sophisticated orchestration frameworks in months, not years. For government, this rapid maturation offers new opportunities for collaboration that traditional code sharing never achieved. Continue reading
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Revisiting an Old Idea: Building a Rules Engine with CouchDB
Recently, I decided to dust off this old project and give it the attention it deserves. Using CouchDB’to build a sophisticated, scalable, easily managed rules engine. Continue reading
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Thinking Outside the Portal
The centerpiece of any government open data effort is usually a data portal. Data portals host open data or provide listings for datasets, and typically include things like license information, data schemas, developer documentation and a host of other details aimed at making it easier for end consumers to find and use data. There is… Continue reading
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Civic Onboarding
Tomorrow, the President will speak at SXSW and issue a call to action for people inside and outside government to collaborate and solve the hard problems facing our country. This is a call to action that governors and mayors should echo – our communities are filled with people that want to help. Reading about the… Continue reading
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Participation and the Cult of Catalogs
“Anonymous access to the data must be allowed for public data, including access through anonymous proxies. Data should not be hidden behind ‘walled gardens.’” – 8 Principles of Open Government Data In the world of open data, there are few things that carry more weight than the original 8 principles of open data. Drafted by a… Continue reading
About Me
I am the former Chief Data Officer for the City of Philadelphia. I also served as Director of Government Relations at Code for America, and as Director of the State of Delaware’s Government Information Center. For about six years, I served in the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS), and helped pioneer their work with state and local governments. I also led platform evangelism efforts for TTS’ cloud platform, which supports over 30 critical federal agency systems.
Civic Innovations 