# Working on Wicked Problems

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2026-10-16
- Length: 1h 26m
- Episode: 22
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-10-16-working-on-wicked-problems
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/de6986c8

## Summary

Noah Harlan, founder of Kiip (now part of FindHelp), explains how his software studio’s work on a flawed open-source data locker for NYC and Baltimore led to the creation of a case management platform for community-based organizations. He details the 'wicked problem' of administrative burden in social services, arguing that open-source infrastructure fails when it ignores the user experience of both frontline staff and vulnerable individuals. Harlan highlights specific failures, such as the misconception that homeless people lack phones and the bureaucratic traps that cause people to lose housing, and describes how Kiip’s simple, secure application helped a client avoid jail and secure stable housing.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-10-16-working-on-wicked-problems#t=0) Introduction and Show Banter
- [8:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-10-16-working-on-wicked-problems#t=489) Noah Harlan’s Background and the Origin of Kiip
- [16:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-10-16-working-on-wicked-problems#t=986) Defining Wicked Problems and Systemic Failure
- [32:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-10-16-working-on-wicked-problems#t=1939) The Universality of Administrative Burden
- [44:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-10-16-working-on-wicked-problems#t=2660) Case Study: How Kiip Prevented Homelessness for a Client
- [56:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-10-16-working-on-wicked-problems#t=3365) Comparing Vulnerable Populations: Foster Care, Reentry, and Veterans
- [1:02:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-10-16-working-on-wicked-problems#t=3721) Security, Privacy, and the Limits of LLMs in Social Tech
- [1:14:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-10-16-working-on-wicked-problems#t=4489) Advice for Entering the Social Impact Sector

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Kiip (product)
- FindHelp (company)
- HOPEX (company)
- New America (company)
- Acumen (company)
- AlleyCorp (company)
- Estonia (other)
- India (other)
- Salesforce (product)
- Cynefin framework (other)
- Rittel and Webber (other)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-10-16-working-on-wicked-problems. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.