
Faulty Iowa App Was Part of Push to Restore Democrats’ Digital Edge - tysone
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/us/politics/iowa-caucus-shadow-app.html
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nwvg_7257
Insane. "It was so rushed, they said, that there was no time to get it
approved by the Apple store. Had it been, it might have proved far easier for
users to install. Instead, the app had to be downloaded by bypassing a phone’s
security settings, a complicated process for anyone unfamiliar with the
intricacies of mobile operating systems, and especially hard for many of the
older, less tech-savvy caucus chairs in Iowa.

The app also had to be installed using two-factor authentication and PIN
passcodes."

Why on earth did they make an app which they didn't even have time to get
approved? This could have been done easily with a website. Honestly, they
could have used Google Forms. A highly secure, off the shelf, and much cheaper
option would have be to setup a G Suite workplace, mail security tokens to the
caucus leaders, have them make accounts on a computer, and submit the results
through a form.

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whack
Probably because the entire software development process, including the
bidding conducted by the Iowa democrats, was done using Waterfall. The client
delivers a 50 page document detailing every single requirement that must be
exactly followed, and delivered by a specific date, and who cares about
incremental milestones.

If they had followed the agile process, the very _first_ thing they should
have done is get a bare-bones app uploaded and approved onto the app store,
with just one or two features. Let the actual users download the app, and
report all bugs and usability problems. And make sure these issues are fixed
early on, before the app grows into a bloated mess with rotten foundations.
Maybe they wouldn't have been able to get every single feature implemented on
time, but they would at least have something that does some things really
well.

Agile gets a bad rap these days, but stories like these are exactly what
happens when people regress back to waterfall.

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timhigins
This is ridiculous. It sucks that the IDP didn't have anyone on staff to be
able to legitimately evaluate if this was feasible of not, or even if Shadow
Inc. was selling bullshit.

We need to educate the government + parties about tech!

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verdverm
They should have worked with the USDA (D for digital)

