The FBI's Upgrade That Wasn't

[Robbien]

$170 Million Bought an Unusable Computer System

By Dan Eggen and Griff Witte
Washington Post Staff Writers

It was late 2003, and a contractor, Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), had spent months writing 730,000 lines of computer code for the Virtual Case File (VCF), a networked system for tracking criminal cases that was designed to replace the bureau's antiquated paper files and, finally, shove J. Edgar Hoover's FBI into the 21st century.

Software problem reports, or SPRs, numbered in the hundreds, Azmi recalled in an interview. The problems were multiplying as engineers continued to run tests. Scores of basic functions had yet to be analyzed. "A month before delivery, you don't have SPRs," Azmi said. "You're making things pretty. . . . You're changing colors."

Within a few days, Azmi said, he warned FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III that the $170 million system was in serious trouble. A year later, it was dead. The nation's premier law enforcement and counterterrorism agency, burdened with one of the government's most archaic computer systems, would have to start from scratch.

. . .

But the problems were not the FBI's alone. Because of an open-ended contract with few safeguards, SAIC reaped more than $100 million as the project became bigger and more complicated, even though its software never worked properly. The company continued to meet the bureau's requests, accepting payments despite clear signs that the FBI's approach to the project was badly flawed, according to people who were involved in the project or later reviewed it for the government.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/17/AR2006081701485.html

[bemildred]

1. This is business as usual.

Similar examples are legion in government IT contracting. Never does anyone consider the notion that the procurement system is broken. and that the occasional acceptable result is accidental.

[LearnedHand]

4. I know quite a few SAIC people, including some familiar with this contract

SAIC is definitely not one of those Halliburton-type bloodsucking contractors. It's an employee-owned company whose employees are extremely dedicated and hard-working. According to those who know about this project, it suffered from the very beginning with the FBI not knowing how to specify what its requirements were, and then seriously changing requirements all the time while the developers were trying to develop the code. Apparently, it was a monumental version of scope-creep right up to the last minute.

[dionysus]

6. scope-creep...

i hear that and i can tell you're legit IT...
scope creep is the bane of my existance...

[bemildred]

7. I am familiar with SAIC.

I have no interest in praising or blaming them here.

[Richard Steele]

9. Well then I would really appreciate if you could share more of...

...their side of this issue. If I have leapt to the wrong conclusions
about this, I'd appreciate being pointed back towards the correct ones.

Especially in the area of HOW this contract was managed through the years.
Any time the Goverment spends 170 million with nothing to show for it,
I am very certain that some of that "waste" went into someone's pockets
illegally.

As I said below, SOMEONE needs to go to prison for this.
But I'll add the caveat: I wish I had enough information to
conclusively determine WHO that 'someone' is.

[UpInArms]

2. ...

he estimated population of the United States is 299,323,686
so each citizen's share of this debt is $28,351.81.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$1.72 billion per day since September 30, 2005

09/30/2005 $7,932,709,661,723.50
09/30/2004 $7,379,052,696,330.32
09/30/2003 $6,783,231,062,743.62
09/30/2002 $6,228,235,965,597.16
09/28/2001 $5,807,463,412,200.06

[Richard Steele]

3. Well beyond simple incompetence- how is this not outright THEFT?

These people weren't inventing computers from scratch in
the 1940's, fer chrissakes. They were supposed to be creating a
database, that's all.

Are we supposed to believe that no commercial software was fit
to allow the FBI to create a database?

How the HELL do you even spend 170 MILLION dollars on tasks
that thousands of companies accomplish every day, and end up
with jack squat? How is that even POSSIBLE?

Someone needs to go to prison over this- probably a LOT of 'someones'.

[madeline_con]

5. Hear! Hear! n/t

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

8. No suprise. The FBI is too big and decentralized

for anyone to make a decision anywhere.

Furthermore, agents in Alaska need different data than those in NYC, Philly or DC.