  Software engineering is at the core of the digitalization of society.
Ill-informed decisions can have major consequences, as made evident in the 2017
government crisis in Sweden, originating in a data breach caused by an
outsourcing deal made by the Swedish Transport Agency. Many Government Agencies
(GovAgs) in Sweden are rapidly undergoing a digital transition, thus it is
important to overview how widespread, and mature, software development is in
this part of the public sector. We present a software development census of
Swedish GovAgs, complemented by document analysis and a survey. We show that
39.2% of the GovAgs develop software internally, some matching the number of
developers in large companies. Our findings suggest that the development
largely resembles private sector counterparts, and that established best
practices are implemented. Still, we identify improvement potential in the
areas of strategic sourcing, openness, collaboration across GovAgs, and quality
requirements. The Swedish Government has announced the establishment of a new
digitalization agency next year, and our hope is that the software engineering
community will contribute its expertise with a clear voice.
