For this purpose I'm separating goverment employees and legislators. While government employees may not know specifically about software, that makes them like most clients. You need PMs and engineers to figure out what to do as the project progresses.
When there's a subcontractor involved though, there's an additional profit motive involved as well as requirements legislators set up to maximize the profit for the subcontractor.
It also means requirements need to be written out in advance and in a way that may not be optimal. When you're working between employees of the same organization, that's a lot less of a problem, at least as long as legislators don't put plenty of hurdles up.
When there's a subcontractor involved though, there's an additional profit motive involved as well as requirements legislators set up to maximize the profit for the subcontractor.
It also means requirements need to be written out in advance and in a way that may not be optimal. When you're working between employees of the same organization, that's a lot less of a problem, at least as long as legislators don't put plenty of hurdles up.