F.B.I. Director Faults Himself for Delays of Software

The New York Times ^ | February 4, 2005 | MICHAEL JANOFSKY

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Quiet please. The Bureau is down for its morning nap.

[stainlessbanner]

hampered by the ever-changing needs of the F.B.I

Scope creep

[3AngelaD]

If every bank, credit union, department store and grocery store in the known world can figure out how to keep records, communicate and compare notes, why can't the FBI? I think the contractor ought to have to pay back the government.

[bd476]

LOL. I am feeling some sympathy for Director Mueller. It sounds like he's being made out to be the fall guy.

On the other hand, SAIC sounds like they are also being made out to be the fall guy.

Then there is the second opinion company who sounds jealous that they didn't get $100 million in the 2001 contract bid.

Related stories:

SAI says FBI should deploy its software

California defense contractor warns employees following computer theft

[bd476]

Stainlessbanner wrote: "Scope creep."

What does that mean?

[LibFreeOrDie]

Here's an interesting alert from SAIC, the company who developed the software:
http://www.saic.com/cover-archive/announce/012805.html

"SAIC was victim to a break in at one of its corporate facilities on January 25, 2005, and several personal computers were stolen that contained personal information on current and former stockholders."

Here's SAIC's testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee:

http://www.saic.com/cover-archive/law/trilogy.html

[bd476]

I agree. I am wondering why they subcontracted this out. Wouldn't it have been less expensive and more secure to hire their own computer software program designers?

Oops, I forgot, the Feds don't pay enough for those guys with pens in their pockets.

[isthisnickcool]

$105 million? What are the automating? The universe?

What was the problem with this? Gee, they were using snORACLE. That wasn't the problem was it? Nah! /sarcasm off

Checkout how many job openings they have. Over 1000 in Virgina alone. Hey, I thought all the tech jobs were going overseas! Well, at least they have Workforce Diversity.

Looks like a bloated pig of a company working on bloated pig government projects and not doing a very good job judging by their failure on this FBI project.

[stainlessbanner]

Scope creep is a project management term that means requirements constantly change; the scope of your project changes. Large projects like this always have scope creep because nobody can ever agree on what should be delivered.

[RKV]

Scope creep: Changed and or additional requirements which are not initially specified. Could be "gold plating" could be necessary functions not uncovered during the design phase. Fairly typical occurance on large complex design from scratch jobs due to the top-down nature of requirements analysis. Very hard to avoid. Requires ruthless management to get a working product which covers user needs. Other ways around this are to 1) buy commercial product and adapt it or 2) stage deliveries so that functions are delivered, tested and implemented in pieces so that their risk can be removed from the overall project. Look at how much a new airplane or sub costs for similar situations.

[bd476]

Thank you LibFreeOrDie. :)

Earlier I posted Arnold Punaro's proposed testimony before a Senate Sub-Committee here:

Arnold Punaro's Record Testimony

And SAIC's statement concerning the break-in and theft of several company computers is posted here:

Theft of SAIC Computers Containing Stockholder Personal Information

Here's another thread with the news story concerning the theft of several of SAIC's computers:

California defense contractor warns employees following computer theft

[bd476]

Thank you Stainlessbanner. That makes complete sense. So you are saying that it is not uncommon to have "scope creep" on this large of a project? That must be true. Much has happened between early 2001 and December 2004. I wonder how this will resolve.

[bd476]

Thank you RKV! :)

If a hypothetical computer program was delivered in stages, which in this case, I believe it was, and then they find glitches, which in this case, they did, I wonder if at the point of complaining about the glitches, if the FBI then decided to ask for even more features added into the original program.

That might have meant SAIC having to start all over again with a very delayed completion of the original project.

[LibFreeOrDie]

"But it concluded that modernizing an "antiquated case management system" was far from complete after three years of trying, at a cost of $170 million.

I hope they tried to create a new, simplified way of doing things FIRST instead of enshrining the old, inefficient process in new code.

Part of the problem may be due to stonewalling, or passive-agressive "sabotage" on the part of gubment employees who don't want to change the way things are done, or who want this project (and administration) to fail.

I've worked on several large-scale software projects; scope creep + employee stonewalling + poor management = a "Death March" project.

[LibFreeOrDie]

"If a hypothetical computer program was delivered in stages, which in this case, I believe it was, and then they find glitches, which in this case, they did, I wonder if at the point of complaining about the glitches, if the FBI then decided to ask for even more features added into the original program. That might have meant SAIC having to start all over again with a very delayed completion of the original project.

Bingo! That is EXACTLY what happens!!

[stainlessbanner]

Have you read the Book Death march? I'll bet you have.

[bd476]

Maddening way of getting anything done.

[stainlessbanner]

bd476 - you got it! Now that you understand risk management and scope creep, the FBI is looking for a new project manager : )

[maestro]

F.B.I. Director Faults Himself for Delays of Software ....

....(This has nothing to do with the 'INS'...?)

/sarcasm