Holy megabucks, Batman.
A little more than a week after a federal prosecutor said virtually every facet of New York City's automated payroll system was tainted by fraud, Mayor Michael Bloomberg demanded on Wednesday that the lead contractor on the project repay the city $600 million
SIX HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS for a PAYROLL SYSTEM?
That seems to include conpensation for the fraud. Good for the mayor, even if that might not stand up to a legal challenge.
ReplyDeleteFrom past experience, IT projects rarely come in on time or within budget – and they never please everyone or even necessarily accomplish what was intended. Part of the problem lies with the requester who doesn’t cover all the bases in the requirements stage, continuously makes changes during development and even after installation. The contractor too bears some responsibility – promising more than can be delivered, under-bidding to secure the contract and freezing out other competitors. And then there are the “gotcha moments” when additional expense is required for ‘unforeseen circumstances’ which will be delivered in “Release 2.0” – or Release 99.0...
ReplyDeleteFor a project to be successfully completed you need a strong User Manager and Project Coordinator to keep requirements and expectations in line from the user perspective and keep the contractor’s feet to the fire regarding delivery, expense and contractual requirements. Rarely do you get both – especially in the public sector - where bottom line and profit are not priorities. The Milwaukee Police Dept’s travails with their new communications system is a case in point.
Unhhhh..yah. Specificiations and procs are about 99% of success.
ReplyDeleteThe State of Wisconsin's failures in IT projects are also legendary.
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