article

BC gov not alone in bungling IT projects

[WHAT]

1. ] BY LORI CULBERT AND ROB SHAW @vancouversun.com - 

[WHY]

1. ] 

[WHERE]

1. ] READ THE FULL ARTICLE
1. ] http://www.vancouversun.com/health/alone+bungling+computer+projects/11589163/story.html?__lsa=1ddf-17c3

[WHEN]

1. ] 2015-12-15

[EXAMPLE]

1. ] A botched attempt to digitize Ontario’s health records led to the resignation of the health minister, the squandering of $1 billion of taxpayers’ money, and a public loss of confidence in government IT projects 
2. ] The private sector succeeds more often than government with large IT projects. Corporations will often recruit experienced people to the management team, with incentives like bonuses to keep everyone tied to the success of the project. 
3. ] Too often, he added, government workers are trying to run IT projects in addition to their regular work. “Essentially the projects are off the side of the desk,” , 
1. ] UBC. Professor Hasan Cavusoglu, who studies IT systems. 
4. ] I could show you things from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the U.S., where the same things happen,” “There is a gap between technology leadership and business leadership … The (IT) business case process in the government ... is abysmal.” 
1. ] international IT consultant John Thorp, of Victoria. 
5. ] The B.C. government is in the middle of a series of large-scale IT projects, many that have shot past their deadlines or are riddled with problems. They are, collectively, $350 million over budget and counting 
6. ] The Canadian Automated Air-Traffic system was 11 years late and, at $1 billion, more than 50 per cent over budget. Transport Canada continually tolerated problems in its early development, putting the project behind schedule and in danger of collapse with more than 5,300 ordered changes to the system. It then admitted the project had become a “mess.” then dumped that mess in 1996 onto Nav Canada, as part of its privatization of Canada’s air navigation service. 
7. ] Nav Canada, now a private corporation, took a different approach — demanding $7 million in penalties from a contractor, threatening to make its own system outside of the contract and making it clear to software firms there was no further changing of the project’s scope. 
8. ] IT problems are more visible with government projects and, therefore, it might be impossible to know if private companies truly have better success rates.
1.  B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake
9. ] Big government IT initiatives are often very complex, because while private corporations focus mainly on profit as a main goal, governments have other issues to consider, such as privacy concerns, accountability to outside interests like unions, and leadership changes when cabinet ministers are shuffled.“The failure rate (for IT projects) varies from 50 to 65 per cent,” said Saraf,  “I haven’t seen this number getting reduced over the years.”
1. ] SFU professor Nilesh Saraf, Beedie School of Business.
10. ] When it comes to consultants, the B.C. government has changed how it gets advice on IT projects. Ministries started reducing their reliance on outside contractors last December and have hired 30 in-house technical experts to help manage IT projects,  ] “This helps to ensure continuity and corporate knowledge of the systems,” she said. It’s also expected to save $450,000 annually in outside consulting fees.
1. ] said Bette-Jo Hughes, B.C.’s chief information officer. 
11. ] And the Health Ministry is poised to hire a panel of outside experts to act as a set of second eyes and provide advice on IT systems in development, before problems crop up.
12. [ more ]
1. ] Federal email program: Ottawa’s $400 million “email transformation initiative” to consolidate 63 federal government email systems into one technology is at least 18 months behind schedule
2. ] Ontario welfare: A new system to administer welfare and disability payments was budgeted at $242 million but has ballooned to $294 million,  
3. ] Hydro One: Ontario’s massive Crown energy corporation was beset by thousands of problems as a result of glitches in its new computer billing system. 
4. ] Ehealth Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan’s electronic health records system project started in 1997 and dragged on until 2015 at a cost of more than $500 million.
5. ] Saskatchewan foster children: The government has spent $51.4 million so far on a computer system for tracking foster children
6. ] Saskatchewan fishing licences and campsites: New software for fishing licences pushed the process online and meant business owners and general stores in remote rural parts of the province, without an Internet connection or colour printer, were suddenly unable to issue licenses to local residents. 
7. ] Canada’s air traffic control system: It was supposed to replace Canada’s aging flight data technology, but the new air traffic control system was 11 years overdue, and its $1 billion cost was 50 per cent more than Ottawa had budgeted. 
8. ] Ehealth Ontario: A massive project to digitize Ontario’s health records was beset by scandal, with more than $1 billion squandered,
9. ] Ontario children’s aid societies: A planned Ontario system to link files together from children’s aid societies is four years behind schedule and $50 million over its $150 million budget,

[HOW-TO]

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[REFERENCE]

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DESCRIPTION: BY ROB SHAW AND LORI CULBERT @ thevancouversun.com -

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