public sector it teams

Abstract: The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act introduces a structured framework for governing high-risk AI systems, emphasizing transparency, risk management, and role-specific accountability. However, current assessment practices often rely on monolithic system views or disconnected checklists, limiting their ability to capture the socio-technical complexity of real-world deployments. We explore the use of the Information Flow Methodology (IFM), a modeling-based approach to AI Act compliance assessment. IFM represents decision systems -- whether algorithmic, human, or hybrid -- as networks of information sites and transformation channels, enabling structured analysis of how information, decisions, and responsibilities flow across organizational and technical boundaries. We apply IFM in a real-world case involving a recruitment support tool used by a public-sector organization, evaluating both the Provider's system and the Deployer's recruitment process. Our results demonstrate that IFM can serve as a scaffold to bridge both component-based and holistic perspectives, and how technical systems are situated within socio-technical contexts. In doing so, IFM supports transparency, identifies risk pathways, and enables alignment analysis between intended and actual use. We argue that such modeling provides a foundational tool for effective, context-sensitive AI governance and accountability -- offering capabilities beyond conventional checklist-based assessments.

Abstract: InnerSource (IS) is increasingly viewed as a way to improve large-scale software development. However, evidence on its adoption in public sector organizations remains limited. This paper reports a study of IS adoption in a Swedish Public Sector Organization. Drawing on nine semi-structured interviews and an internal workshop with 13 participants, we examine motivations, challenges, and improvement strategies for IS adoption. The results show that the main motivations are improving reuse, strengthening cross-team collaboration, and enabling faster and more cost-efficient development. Key challenges relate to a lack of an open culture and mindset, management of reusable assets (e.g., ownership, documentation, and code visibility), and ways of working (e.g., siloed practices and limited time for contributions). The study also identified improvements to address challenges, including fostering an enabling culture and mindset for IS and knowledge sharing, strengthening management support, and establishing internal platforms and governance for reusable assets.