Today’s Morning Buzz is brought to you by Jorge Valens, Innovation Manager for Miami-Dade County’s Information Technology Department in Miami, Florida. Follow Jorge on LinkedIn, BlueSky, and Threads.
- What I’m watching: “Alien Earth” on Hulu
- What I’m listening to: “Heard it in a Past Life” by Maggie Rogers (one of those “take with you to a desert island” albums)
- What I’m reading: “Heat 2” by Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner
Picture this: While your team works through which features to include in your new application portal, residents are still waiting in line each week, hoping to access the programs they need. Your staff works hard processing applications by hand, managing stacks of paperwork as best they can.
This scenario happens often in our work as public servants. You’re building a new intake process or upgrading a back office system. Requirements keep expanding as stakeholders weigh in. Your product owner suggests helpful additions while your design team crafts an intuitive interface.
Balancing these goals with critical items such as security, compliance, and realistic timelines presents genuine challenges. But the issue remains: Your community needs better services today, not when everything reaches theoretical perfection.
Launch, Learn, and Improve
The pursuit of perfection can sometimes get in the way of progress. Each month spent adding “just one more feature” or layering on an additional step is another month residents can’t benefit from your improvements. While comprehensive solutions have their place, waiting for complete perfection can conflict with serving immediate community needs.
Government teams — not just those in IT — can benefit from adopting a product mindset that emphasizes minimum viable products (MVPs). Start by identifying your end goal or vision. Then determine the absolute minimum that must be launched to provide immediate relief.
Your initial release doesn’t need every bell and whistle; it just needs to solve core problems better than your current solution. When residents can apply online instead of waiting in line for hours, that’s meaningful progress. When they can check their application status without making multiple phone calls, you’ve made their lives easier.
Start with People, Not Process
Before diving into the work, first invest time observing how residents actually use your services today. Spend a morning in your lobby watching how people navigate your current system. Walk through the entire journey from their perspective — from initial contact through service delivery. Partner with front-line staff and a select group of residents to map out this experience. This ground-level insight can not only inform the complete solution, but also the pieces that you can implement first.
The key is building feedback loops with real users. Use these loops to make incremental enhancements regularly. Add a progress bar so applicants know where they stand, or rework a part of the process in real-time if you identify issues after the first few days. These small changes compound into significant improvements over time.
Ship Smart, Iterate Faster
The goal isn’t to rush out incomplete solutions. It’s about delivering meaningful value quickly and improving thoughtfully over time. Begin with a solid foundation that addresses residents’ most pressing needs, then build something delightful through continuous improvement. Government processes naturally take time, but finding the right balance between thoroughness and action allows your work to make a real difference in people’s lives right now.