One of the best ways of solving problems with technology is to break them up into smaller problems by looking for the fracture lines, understanding orthogonality & then composing independent modules together.

So why do some organisations repeatedly do the opposite?

I don’t think it is malicious but it is incompetence.

Need core principles of thoughtful design with focus on data, an open architecture founded on standards, a declarative approach, limiting scope /responsibility and prioritisation of abstractions rather than concretions.

Perhaps it is the way technology ‘projects’ are funded & managed, with solutions viewed through the prism of buying a solution end-to-end? I think if the public sector is going to embrace digital, we need to promote technical skill, not simply generic project management ability.