Mr Richards on technology, information, and people

Let's get past the outrageous title of this Atlantic article "Did Porn Cause the Oil Spill in the Gulf?" for a moment (although I did stop and read it and so it did serve its alluring purpose), and note the ultimate point the author attempts to make : nepotism is at blame for the oil spill and corporate finance going awry.

A GAO report I read recently regarding a Navy ERP project comes unwittingly, but unsurprisingly, to mind. The GAO recommended in a previous report, in 2005, that the Navy ERP Program office institute a IV&V function as a business best practice and to contribute to its program's success. IV&V being "independent verification and validation" assessment of Navy ERP to Navy and DOD management.

ERP implementations are notoriously difficult, and even more so in the federal space with its unique business practices, controversial replacement of long-lived and dearly loved legacy systems, and the cornucopia of diverse contractor and consulting firms that can lead to managerial cluster#*@! . Independent verification and validation that the new system is implemented right seems the least you might do, right? Currently this IV&V function is met by contractors who report to Navy ERP's release manager. This is kind of like filling out my own performance assessment form - or inspection sheet.

The fact is this is not an "independent" team, and all their findings are questionable. It is interesting to note that the contractors involved in performing the IV&V, also help run the local IT framework and on-site facilities maintenance. Maybe we should hire a truly independent group who all don't live and work on-site, and that actually report to someone other than the program management itself.

**I admit the corollary is not strong in this particular instance, that nepotism is to blame for how the IV&V was hired. But let's use a "broken-window" policy here.

Labels: gov