Today, in my Systems Development III class, I interviewed a senior official in the department of labor for the great lakes. I was able to play a consultant with a respectable authority figure instead of being a consultant to shady businessmen.
This interview consisted of a series of questions developed to get a better understanding of the IT problems that are encountered at the DOL. I learned that even with the Patriot Act and the government agencies' ability to share data more freely and without the need of passing through as much red tape, that these agencies haven't a clue as to how to go about accomplishing this task.
This official informed me that most development contracts that went to creating their database management system went to companies that don't exist anymore. A main frustration for him was that the development time exceeds the lifespan of the certain technology. He told me of several projects that, once completed, were never used because the technology was antiquated and out of date by the time the new system was to go live. He said that his department still works on the original mainframe system, that has quite limited functionality.
Another problem he faces with system development was that the contractors, whom most are awarded their work without bidding and through association with a person of influence, tend to receive their money without furnishing the finished product. Describing one instance, he said that for 7 years a company kept requesting more and more money to finish a project that was supposed to take 3 years and he has yet to see the finished product.
There have been successful projects that delivered results, but this official said that often the interface to these systems are so technical and cryptic that the people in his department opt to continue working with the old system. It reminds me of a child that begs his parents for a guitar, promising that they'd grow up to become rock stars, but, instead the guitar sits in a closet only to gather dust upon its enameled birchwood.
This interview consisted of a series of questions developed to get a better understanding of the IT problems that are encountered at the DOL. I learned that even with the Patriot Act and the government agencies' ability to share data more freely and without the need of passing through as much red tape, that these agencies haven't a clue as to how to go about accomplishing this task.
This official informed me that most development contracts that went to creating their database management system went to companies that don't exist anymore. A main frustration for him was that the development time exceeds the lifespan of the certain technology. He told me of several projects that, once completed, were never used because the technology was antiquated and out of date by the time the new system was to go live. He said that his department still works on the original mainframe system, that has quite limited functionality.
Another problem he faces with system development was that the contractors, whom most are awarded their work without bidding and through association with a person of influence, tend to receive their money without furnishing the finished product. Describing one instance, he said that for 7 years a company kept requesting more and more money to finish a project that was supposed to take 3 years and he has yet to see the finished product.
There have been successful projects that delivered results, but this official said that often the interface to these systems are so technical and cryptic that the people in his department opt to continue working with the old system. It reminds me of a child that begs his parents for a guitar, promising that they'd grow up to become rock stars, but, instead the guitar sits in a closet only to gather dust upon its enameled birchwood.
posted by T.S. Idiot at 10:57 AM
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