[Sheflug] Failed IT Project

[Richard <nospam [at] sheflug.co.uk>]

Dear All

Held this one over.  Thought it might be good for a rainy day  :)

The Computing trade paper which is at www.vnunet.com for the 31st of
August reports that the Ministry of Defence have overspent on a failed
IT project.  Perhaps they should have used Linux instead ?

"PAC report bemoans the MoD's waste of millions

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been heavily criticised for spending
£21 million on a failed IT development with no more functionality than
a £1.3 million of the shelf alternative, writes Steve Ranger.

A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report published last week said that
a preference for bespoke systems instead of packages, combined with a
lack of ruthlessness in cancelling doomed projects, had contributed to
need less waste of taxpayer's money.  The MoD spent £21 million on the
Common User Data System (CUDS) project, a signal message handling
system for the Royal Air force.  The contract was signed in 1989, with
the system being delivered in 1994.  Prime contractor GEC Plessey
Telecommunications, which in turn subcontracted hardware and software
elements to Bull and EDS.  A review in 1997 revealed significant
shortcomings, however.  In 1998, the MoD implemented an off the shelf
solution at a cost of only £1.3 million, with projected running costs
of just £1.7 million a year.  

A lack of understanding of the technical complexity of computerising
service pay also led to the failure of the Pay Replacement System 2
project in 1996, with £8.7 million being written off.  As with the
CUDS projects, the PAC said losses to public funds could have been
reduced had the project been suspended sooner.  

The PAC said the MoD must recognise that any decision to design and
implement a bespoke system presents both high risks and high costs. 
"The Department needs to evaluate those risks with great care before
embarking on bespoke projects in future," it said.  The MoD admitted
the system had been poorly specified."


So, there you are, another case where Linux wasn't used in the right
place :)

-- 
Richard
Sheffield UK

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