IT — Government

You manage the modernization of legacy systems: mainframe COBOL applications for tax processing, benefits eligibility, motor vehicle registration, criminal justice, and financial management. Many of these systems are 20–40+ years old, running on hardware that's no longer manufactured, maintained by a shrinking pool of COBOL programmers, and integrated through point-to-point interfaces that nobody fully understands. Modernization approaches include replatform (lift-and-shift), refactor (re-architect), replace (COTS/SaaS), or encapsulate (API layer over legacy). Each approach has different risk, cost, and timeline profiles. Government procurement rules add 6–18 months to any technology acquisition.

You ensure all digital services (websites, applications, documents, kiosks) meet Section 508 accessibility standards (aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA): screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, color contrast, alt text for images, captioning for video, and accessible document formatting. For state and local government, ADA Title II creates similar obligations. Accessibility is both a legal requirement and a service equity imperative — government services must be accessible to all constituents. Retrofitting inaccessible systems is expensive; building accessibility in from the start is dramatically cheaper.