How a start-up in the White House is changing business as usual | Haley Van Dyck

譯者: William Choi 審譯者: Helen Chang

I'm here to talk to you today

今天我在這裡要向大家講述

about a story that we have all been conditioned to believe

一個我們習以為常認為不可能的事。

is not possible.

It's a story about a living, breathing start-up

這是關於一間新創公司

flourishing in an unlikely environment:

在不可能的環境 -- 即美國政府裡，

走向繁榮的故事。

the United States government.

Now, this start-up is fundamentally beginning to disrupt

這個初創團隊正從根本上

由內而外徹底改變政府的運作方式，

the way government does business from the inside out.

在此之前，讓我們從談問題開始。

But before I get there, let's start with the problem.

For me, the problem begins with a number: 137.

對我來說，問題始於 137 這個數字。

137 is the average number of days

137 是每位退伍軍人

a veteran has to wait to have benefits processed by the VA.

向退伍軍人協會申請福利 所需要等待的平均天數，

137 days.

137 天。

為了提交申請，

Now, in order to file that application in the first place,

she has to navigate over 1,000 different websites

首先需要瀏覽超過一千個不同的網站

and over 900 different call-in numbers,

及九百多個不同的電話號碼，

all owned and operated by the United States government.

全部都是由美國政府擁有及運作。

我們生活在瞬息萬變的時代，

Now, we live in times of incredible change.

私人機構不斷變化，

The private sector is constantly changing

and improving itself all the time.

不斷自我改進，

For that matter, it's removing every single inconvenience in my life

因此改善了生活中

that I could possibly think of.

任何我想得到的不便之處。

I could be sitting on my couch in my apartment,

我能坐在家裡的沙發上 用手機訂購熱騰騰無麩質的餐點，

and from my phone, I can order a warm, gluten-free meal

that can arrive at my door in less than 10 minutes.

十分鐘內就能送到我家門口，

But meanwhile, a working mother who depends on food stamps

但與此同時，一個需依靠食物券

to support her family

養家活口的上班族媽媽，

has to complete an arduous, complicated application

卻要填寫艱深複雜的申請表格，

which she might not even be able to do online.

甚至可能無法上網填寫。

And the inability of her to do that same work from her couch means

她無法在家中沙發上申請，

that she might be having to take days or hours off of work

意味著她得請假幾個小時甚至幾天，

that she can't spare.

而她負擔不起請假不工作。

今天介於科技革命的受益者

And this growing dichotomy

between the beneficiaries of the tech revolution

和無法受益者之間日益加深的鴻溝，

and those it's left behind

is one of the greatest challenges of our time --

是我們這時代所面對 最挑戰的課題之一。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Because government's failure to deliver digital services that work

因政府未能提供可行的數位化服務，

is disproportionately impacting the very people who need it most.

嚴重影響了非常需要被服務的人民；

It's impacting the students trying to go to college,

影響到申請大學的學生、

the single mothers trying to get health care,

申請醫療保健的單親媽媽、

和從戰場回家的退伍軍人；

the veterans coming home from battle.

They can't get what they need when they need it.

他們無法獲得亟需的幫助。

對這些美國人而言，

And for these Americans,

government is more than just a presidential election every four years.

政府不僅僅是四年一次的總統選舉，

而是能服務他們的生命線。

Government is a lifeline that provides services they need

and depend on and deserve.

他們需要、依賴和應得這些服務。

Which is, quite frankly,

坦白說，

why government needs to get its shit together and catch up.

這是政府需要「糞」起直追的原因。

就是這樣。

Just saying.

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Now, this wasn't always a problem I was passionate about.

以前這並不是一個 我非常熱切關心的問題，

When I joined President Obama's campaign in 2008,

2008 年，我加入 歐巴馬總統的競選活動，

we brought the tech industry's best practices into politics.

當時我們把科技產業 最佳的實務經驗帶到政治中，

We earned more money,

我們募到更多的經費，

we engaged more volunteers

吸引到更多的參與志工，

and we earned more votes than any political campaign in history.

而且贏得史上最多的選票。

我們是一家尖端的新創公司， 就此改變了政治的遊戲規則。

We were a cutting-edge start-up that changed the game of politics forever.

So when the President asked a small group of us

所以當總統要求我們這小組人

把同樣的創新方法直接帶進政府，

to bring that very same disruption directly into government,

我知道這不會是件容易的工作，

I knew it wasn't going to be easy work,

but I was eager and showed up ready to get to work.

但我熱切渴望能立即上工。

Now, on my first day in DC,

我到華盛頓的第一天，

my first day in government,

為政府工作的首日，

I walked into the office and they handed me a laptop.

走進辦公室，

他們遞給我一台筆記型電腦，

And the laptop was running Windows 98.

一台依舊使用 Windows 98 作業系統的電腦。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I mean, three entire presidential elections had come and gone

自政府更新那台電腦至 Win 98 作業系統後，

since the government had updated the operating system on that computer.

我們已歷經了三次的總統選舉，

Three elections!

三次總統選舉！

當時我們就意識到

Which is when we realized

this problem was a whole lot bigger than we ever could have imagined.

問題遠遠超出我們的想像。

Let me paint the picture for you.

讓我描述一下情況。

The federal government is the largest institution in the world.

聯邦政府是世界上最大的機構，

一年花費超過 860 億美元， 「860 億美元」

It spends over 86 billion dollars a year -- 86 billion --

on federal IT projects.

在聯邦政府的 IT 專案上。

For context:

周邊景況是：

that is more than the entire venture capital industry spends

比整個創投業

annually -- on everything.

全年的總開支還要多。

Now, the problem here

錢花了，但問題是

is that we the taxpayers are not getting what we pay for,

我們納稅人未能得到 相對應有的服務，

because 94 percent of federal IT projects

因為 94% 的聯邦政府 IT 項目

are over budget or behind schedule.

不是預算超支，就是進度落後，

94 percent!

94%！

對你們當中很會計分的人而言，

For those of you keeping score,

yes, the number 94 is very close to 100.

94 非常接近 100。

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

還有另一個問題，

There's another problem:

40 percent of those never end up seeing the light of day.

40% 的電腦從未見到天日，

They are completely scrapped or abandoned.

不是被報廢，就是被遺棄。

對任何組織而言是非常痛苦的時刻，

Now, this is a very existentially painful moment for any organization,

because it means as government continues to operate

因為這意味著若政府繼續走著老路，

as it's programmed to do,

failure is nearly inevitable.

失敗幾乎無可避免。

And when the status quo is the riskiest option,

當維持現狀是最危險的選擇時，

that means there is simply no other choice

意味著除了徹底汰舊換新， 沒有其他的選擇了。

than radical disruption.

那麼我們該怎麼做呢？

So, what do we do about it?

How do we fix this?

我們要怎樣解決這個問題？

最諷刺的是

Well, the irony of all of this

is that we actually don't have to look any further than our backyard,

我們只需在自家後院尋找即可，

因為美國擁有 最具創意、最厲害的人才；

because right here in America are the very ideas, the very people,

who have swept our world into a radically different place

這些人在過去 20 年裡

than it was two decades ago.

已經徹底改變了世界。

So what would it look like

想像一下，如果申請學生的貸款、 處理退伍軍人的福利

if it was actually as easy to get student loans or veterans' benefits

as it is to order cat food to my house?

跟訂購貓糧宅配到府一樣容易， 會是什麼景象呢?

What would it look like

想像一下，如果有一個簡單的途徑，

if there was an easy pathway for the very entrepreneurs and innovators

請來那些曾經顛覆過 科技產業的創業家、發明家

who have disrupted our tech sector

一起來重整政府的行政系統 會是怎樣的情況呢？

to come and disrupt their government?

Well, my friends, here's where we get to talk

各位朋友，我們接下來聊聊

令人振奮、改變政府的全新方式。

about some of the exciting new formulas we've discovered

for creating change in government.

Enter the United States Digital Service.

進入「美國數位化服務」。

The United States Digital Service is a new network of start-ups,

美國數位化服務是

新創公司的新網絡，

a team of teams,

由不同團隊組成的小組

organizing themselves across government to create radical change.

在政府內跨部會組織起來，

從根本激進地改變政府。

The mission of the United States Digital Service is to help government

美國數位化服務的使命是要幫助政府

deliver world-class digital services

for students, immigrants, children, the elderly -- everybody --

為學生、移民、兒童、長者及所有人

at dramatically lower costs.

提供成本低而世界級的數位化服務。

We are essentially trying to build a more awesome government,

基本上我們正試著建立 更棒的民治、民享的政府，

for the people, by the people, today.

We don't care -- (Applause) Thank you.

我們不在乎...（掌聲）謝謝。

(掌聲)

(Applause)

Who doesn't want a more awesome government, right?

誰不希望政府更棒，對不對?

We don't care about politics.

我們不在乎政治，

我們關心的是怎樣使政府做得更好，

We care about making government work better,

because it's the only one we've got.

因為我們只有這個政府。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Now, you can think of our team -- well, it's pretty funny --

可以把我們小組想像為 --

很有趣，我們小組有點像是

you can think of our team a little bit like

the Peace Corps meets DARPA meets SEAL Team 6.

和平志工團加上國防高等研究計劃署 再加上海豹突擊隊第六隊，

We're like the Peace Corps for nerds,

我們就像書呆子的和平志工團，

但是不前往瘋狂、有趣、遙遠之地，

but instead of traveling to crazy, interesting, far-off places,

而是花很多時間在室內用電腦

you spend a lot of time indoors, behind computers,

helping restore the fabric of our democracy.

幫助恢復我們民主的架構。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Now, this team -- our playbook for the United States Digital Service

我們小組 -- 美國數位化服務的腳本

is pretty simple.

非常簡單。

首先，招募我國最優秀的人才，

The first play is we recruit the very best talent

our country has to offer,

and recruit them for short tours of duty inside government.

招募他們來為政府短期服務。

These are the very people who have helped build the products and companies

這些研發產品及建立公司的人

that have made our tech sector amongst the most innovative in the world.

使我國的創新和科技領先全球。

Second, we pair these incredible people from the tech core

其次，我們把這些科技人才

with the dedicated civil servants already inside government

與政府裡專職熱忱的公僕配對

on the ground creating change.

來創造改變。

Third, we strategically deploy them in a targeted formation

第三，戰略地將他們部署到

at the most mission-critical, life-changing, important services

政府所提供最關鍵、 攸關民生的重要服務。

that government offers.

And finally, we give them massive air cover,

最後，給予他們

from the leadership inside the agencies

從機構內部領導人 上至總統的大力支持，

all the way up to the President himself,

to transform these services for the better.

來轉變、改善這些服務。

Now, this team is beginning to disrupt

如今小組已著手翻轉

how government does business from the inside out.

政府自裡到外的慣行作法。

If you study classic patterns of disruption,

經典的顛覆模式裡

one very common pattern is rather simple.

有個常見而簡單的模式，

It's to take something that has become routine and standard in one industry

是把某個行業裡的標準常規，

and apply it to another where it's a radical departure

應用到另一行業

from the status quo.

而徹底顛覆現狀。

Think about what Airbnb took that was normal from hospitality

試想一下 Airbnb 改變了 旅館業原有的常態，

也徹底改變了我的寓所。

and revolutionized my apartment.

美國數位化服務正在這樣做。

The United States Digital Service is doing exactly that.

We are taking what Silicon Valley and the private sector has learned

我們汲取矽谷及民營企業的大量經驗；

through a ton of hard work

about how to build planetary-scale digital services

他們建立全球規模的數位化服務，

that delight users at lower cost,

以低成本提供怡人的服務；

而我們將它應用到政府部門，

and we're applying that to government,

where it is a radical departure from the status quo.

徹底背離了既有現狀。

Now, the good news is:

好消息是：

it's starting to work.

已開始有了成果。

We know this because we can already see the results

我們明白看到一些早期計畫的成果，

from some of our early projects, like the rescue effort of Healthcare.gov,

例如援救 Healthcare.gov 原先偏離的工作。

when that went off the rails.

Fixing Healthcare.gov was the first place that we ran this play,

我們第一期就修復了 Healthcare.gov，

and today we are taking that same play

如今正大規模擴展到

and scaling it across a large number

of government's most important citizen-facing services.

多個提供人民主要服務的政府部門。

讓我花點時間誇耀我們的小組 --

Now, if I can take a moment

and brag about the team for a second --

it is the highest concentration of badasses

這是個集中了超酷狠角色，

我所能想像得到的夢幻組合。

I could have ever dreamed of.

We have top talent from Google, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter and the likes,

我們有來自谷歌、臉書、亞馬遜、

推特及其他公司的頂尖人才在職，

all on staff today,

all choosing to join their government.

全都自願加入政府工作。

And what's incredible is,

令人難以置信的是

everybody is as eager and kind as they are intelligent.

每個人都熱忱、善良又聰明。

And I might add, by the way, over half of us are women.

再補充一點， 我們當中超過一半是女性。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

The best way to understand this strategy

要理解這策略的最好方法是

is actually to walk through a couple of examples

透過兩個實際的例子，

of how it's working out in the wild.

看看它怎樣在現實領域裡運作。

I'm going to give you two examples quickly.

很快舉兩個例子。

The first one is about immigration.

第一個例子與移民有關。

This, my friends, is your typical immigration application.

朋友們，這是個典型的申請移民程序。

Yes, you guessed it --

你猜對了 --

it's almost entirely paper-based.

幾乎全用紙本。

In the best case,

在最理想的情況下，

the application takes about six to eight months to process.

整個處理程序約需六至八個月；

It is physically shipped thousands of miles -- thousands of miles! --

把紙張運送到千里之外，千里啊，

往返六間以上的處理中心。

between no less than six processing centers.

Now, little story:

說個小故事：

大約十年前，

about a decade ago,

the government thought that if it brought this system online,

政府認為若把整個系統放上網路，

it could save taxpayer dollars and provide a better service,

可替納稅人省錢且提供更好的服務，

的確是個好主意。

which was a great idea.

So, the typical government process began.

典型的政府作業流程運作就此展開。

Six years and 1.2 billion dollars later,

在花費了六年及十二億美元後，

no working product was delivered --

產品未能如期交付 --

1.2 billion with a "B."

請注意十二億美元的「億」字。

Now at this point, the agency responsible,

在此之際，負責的部門，

也就是美國公民及移民服務局，

US Citizenship and Immigration Services,

could have kept pouring money into the failing program.

原可停止挹注大量資金 到這個失敗的專案裡，

Sadly, that's what often happens.

遺憾的是，事情經常如此， （註：仍然挹注大量金錢）

That's the status quo today.

那就是既有現狀，

政府並未停止給錢。

But they didn't.

The dedicated civil servants inside the agency

局裡具有專業熱忱的公務人員

decided to stand up and call for change.

決定站出來呼籲改革。

We deployed a small team of just six people,

我們部署了一個六人小組；

and what many people don't know is

不為多數人所知的是

that's the same size as the rescue effort of Healthcare.gov --

這小組與拯救 Healthcare.gov 的 團隊同樣小，只有六個人。

just six people.

And that team jumped in, side-by-side,

他們跳進來肩並肩

to support the agency in transitioning this project

幫移民局把這數位化專案

into more modern business practices, more modern development practices.

轉為更現代的商業模式， 部署更現代的實踐步驟。

Now, in non-tech speak,

用白話說

what that basically means is taking big, multi-year projects

就是把跨越多年、巨大的專案，

and breaking them up into bite-sized chunks,

分拆成一個個小計畫；

so that way we can reduce the risk

如此不但可以降低風險，

and actually start to see results every couple of weeks,

還能每隔幾週就見到實際成效，

而不是在黑箱中一等就等好幾年。

instead of waiting in a black box for years.

So within less than three months of our team being on the ground,

結果，我們小組在 不到三個月的時間內

we were already able to push our first products to production.

已經推出第一個成品：

I-90 表格，

The first one, this is the form I-90.

This is used to file for your replacement green card.

是用來申請補發綠卡的。

Now, for immigrant visa holders,

對於拿移民簽證的申請者來說，

a replacement green card is a big deal.

補發綠卡是件大事；

Your green card is your proof of identification,

綠卡是身分證明文件、

it's your work authorization,

工作許可證，

it's the proof that you can be here in this country.

證明你可以合法留在美國。

So waiting six months while the government processes the replacement

因此，要等政府花六個月補發綠卡

一點也不酷。

is not cool.

I'm excited to tell you that today,

今天我很高興能夠告訴各位，

如今首次可在網路上

you can now, for the first time, file for a replacement green card

entirely online without anyone touching a piece of paper.

完成申請補發綠卡的手續， 且毋需任何紙本，

It is faster, it is cheaper,

過程較快、成本更低；

and it's a better user experience for the applicant

對申請人來說是更好的用戶體驗，

and the government employees alike.

對公務人員來說也一樣。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Another one, quickly.

很快舉另一個例子：

Last fall, we just released a brand-new practice civics test.

去年秋天，我們發布了 全新的公民入籍考試。

假如要申請成為美國公民，

So as part of becoming a US citizen,

you have to pass a civics test.

就必須通過公民入籍考試，

For anyone who has taken this test, it can be quite the stressful process.

所有經歷過公民入籍考試的申請者 都知道過程的壓力相當大，

我們小組發布了簡單易用的工具， 用的是通俗易懂的語言，

So our team released a very easy, simple-to-use tool in plain language

to help people prepare,

來幫助申請者準備，

to help ease their nerves,

幫助他們放鬆心情，

to help them feel more confident

幫助他們更有自信

in taking the next step in pursuing their American dream.

進到繼續追求美國夢的下一步。

Because all of this work, all of this work on immigration,

因為所有這些有關移民的工作

is about taking complicated processes and making them more human.

都涉及將複雜的過程弄得更人性化。

The other day, one of the dedicated civil servants on the ground

日前，政府內一個專業熱忱、 直接參與的公務員說了

said something incredibly profound.

讓人印象深刻的話。

She said that she's never been this hopeful or optimistic

她說在她服務於政府的整段歲月裡，

about a project in her entire time in government.

未曾如此地充滿希望和樂觀。

她已任公職長達 30 年。

And she's been doing this for 30 years.

That is exactly the kind of hope and culture change

這正是我們努力要創造的希望

we are trying to create.

和改變文化的氛圍。

For my second example, I want to bring it back to veterans for a second,

第二個例子，我想談談退伍軍人

and what we are doing to build them a VA

和我們正為他們建立的 VA（退伍軍人協會）

that is worthy of their service and their sacrifice.

為他們的服務犧牲而做的 有價值的 VA。

我很榮幸地說，

I'm proud to say that just a few months ago,

we released a brand-new beta

幾個月前我們剛發布了全新的

of a new website, Vets.gov.

測試版網站 Vets.gov，

Vets.gov is a simple, easy-to-use website

Vets.gov 是個簡單易用的網站，

that brings all of the online services a veteran needs into one place.

所有退伍軍人需用的線上服務 全都集中一處。

One website, not thousands.

一個網站，而不是數千個網站。

網站尚未全部完工但已有相當進展，

The site is a work in progress, but it's significant progress,

because it's designed with the users who matter most:

因為它的設計針對最重要的用戶：

the veterans themselves.

退伍軍人們。

This might sound incredibly obvious, because it should be,

聽起來理所當然，本該如此；

but sadly, this isn't normal for government.

但遺憾的是原先並非如此。

Far too often, product decisions are made by committees of stakeholders

大多時候，成品設計的決策 由利益相關者所組成的委員會制定，

who do their best to represent the interests of the user,

他們雖儘可能為用戶的利益著想，

but they're not necessarily the users themselves.

但他們未必是用戶本身。

So our team at the VA went out, we looked at the data,

因此，我們的 VA 小組查看數據，

we talked to veterans themselves

和退伍軍人討論，

and we started simple and small,

從簡單而小的服務著手，

兩項對他們來說最重要的服務：

with the two most important services that matter most to them:

education benefits and disability benefits.

教育福利及傷殘津貼。

I'm proud to say that they are live on the site today,

我很榮幸地說，今天兩者已上線了。

and as the team continues to streamline more services,

而我們小組正持續優化更多的服務，

服務會被移來新網站，關閉舊網站。

they will be ported over here, and the old sites, shut down.

(Applause)

（掌聲）

To me, this is what change looks like in 2016.

對我來說，這是改變 在 2016 年的樣子。

When you walk out of the Oval Office,

當我第一次走出橢圓形辦公室時

the first time I was ever there, I noticed a quote

注意到總統繡在地毯上的一句話，

the President had embroidered on the rug.

It's the classic JFK quote.

是甘迺迪總統的經典語句：

It says, "No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings."

「沒有任何人類命運的問題 是人所不能解決的。」

It's true.

真的是如此。

We have the tools to solve these problems.

我們擁有解決這些問題的工具，

We have the tools to come together as a society, as a country,

擁有整個社會、國家的工具，

and to fix this together.

我們能共同解決問題。

是的，是很難，

Yes, it's hard.

特別難，難在我們必須去爭取，

It's particularly hard when we have to fight,

難在我們必須拒絕屈服於 來自認定無法改變的壓力。

when we have to refuse to succumb to the belief that things won't change.

But in my experience,

但是經驗告訴我，

it's often the hardest things that are the most worth doing,

最值得做的事情往往最難做，

because if we don't do them,

因為如果我們不做，

who will?

誰會去做呢?

這是我們的責任，

This is on us,

是我們所有人同擔的責任，

all of us, together,

因為政府不是個抽象的機構或概念，

because government is not an abstract institution or a concept.

Our government is us.

我們的政府就是我們。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Today, it is no longer a question

今天，「能否改變」已不再是個問題。

of if change is possible.

The question is not, "Can we?"

問題不在於「我們能嗎？」

The question is, "Will we?"

而是在於「我們會去做嗎？」

Will you?

你們會嗎？

Thank you.

謝謝大家。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

謝謝。

Thank you.

(Applause)

（掌聲）