De-inscribing And Re-inscribing Legacy Technologies In The UK Public Sector

• In Event: STS, Technoscience and How Discontinuation Matters II

Abstract

As many governments around the world embark on ‘digital transformation’ projects to deliver public services to citizens, the narrative is shaped by terms such as innovation and agility.
Yet many of these public services are already digital in one sense of the word. There are technologies in place supporting the processes and transactions of bureaucratic life, some are 40 or more years old. The challenge emerges when digital transformation aspirations meet legacy technologies.

The paper uses Latour’s example of Aramis as a starting point to question what happens when a once loved technology is deemed to be ‘legacy’. It also describes how some technologies stubbornly refuse to be de-inscribed, holding on to their purpose for dear life. I also explore how legacy technologies act as a source of organisational remembering and forgetting (Bowker and Star 1999).

This paper uses a case study of the UK public sector and their integration of legacy technologies in public services over the past decade. This is based on oral history interviews with former civil servants and government contractors responsible for the strategic or technical de-inscription or re-inscription of legacy technologies particularly in the transition of public services to the GOV.UK website. The case study will refer specifically to the legacy technology supporting vehicle registration and how it has been rendered near invisible to the end user.. Additionally, the paper will explore how policy, procurement and civil service culture contribute to the de-inscription or re-inscription of legacy technologies in an era focused on digital transformation.

Author

• Jessamy Perriam, IT University of Copenhagen