David Shive, the General Services Administration’s chief information officer, said focusing on the needs of users enabled the agency to deliver new tools to its business units in at least 14 days, Federal News Network reported Thursday.
On the sidelines of the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council’s Imagination conference, Shive shared that GSA’s human-centered design approach has evolved over the last five years, noting that the agency is considering the future needs of users in buying, developing and delivering the capabilities they require.
In an interview during a Federal News Network podcast, the CIO shared that the agency was able to provide new business tools to the Public Bidding Service in a little over 14 days by using low-code or no-code platforms that allow rapid application development.
Acknowledging that future requirement predictions may not be 100 percent accurate, he said the approach must be combined with agility to respond to unforeseen needs.
Improving Data Management for AI-Related Technology Programs
GSA is continuously improving its technology programs, including by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence. Shive said that enhancing data management is one of his top priorities for 2025, noting how poor data hinders technology programs, particularly those using AI. “If the underlying data is poor and generates all types of hallucinations and problems, then it affects the effectiveness of those spaces,” he explained.
According to the official, he worked with the GSA’s chief data officer to create an enterprise data strategy designed to protect cybersecurity and privacy and achieve good AI outcomes safely and ethically.
“We’re pouring tons of time and attention into that space, so that our agency partners, so that the users within GSA, so that citizens that interact with government through GSA products and services can feel confident about the systems that they’re using, that they’re doing things that they were designed to do and only the things they were designed to do,” Shive said.