Chris, I'm sure you're right about the challenge in the private sector writing off sunk costs. At least in the private sector, it's easier to take tax write offs, and reallocate the funds. At agencies, doing the right thing (to shut down a legacy system) is complicated by the threat that annual funding will suddenly disappear; and it can take a long time to get new funding for replacement systems.
Good point. I'll even note that the US Constitution allows non-military appropriations to last more than 2 years. But there is still a need for some flexibility in spending because next years priorities may or may not be this year's. That said, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better for Congress to set caps and then let the Administration decide what cuts to make if less money is available than has been appropriated.
Success is hard if one never allows oneself to fail, but it would be better to experiment with small projects and then move to the big time if the concept has promise. All employees in creative occupations (and I think that includes the computer professions) need some time to play, but they also have work they need to get done in a timely manner, and it's foolish to take big risks when small ones will work nearly as well.
ChrisMurphy, User Rank: Author 2/10/2014 | 7:26:24 PM
Re: Bold or timid?
"Sunk cost" thinking every bit as common in the private sector, too. With $100 million into a legacy system, it takes a lot of guts for anyone to say "put a fence around it and let's do another direction for new functionality." Good for Van Roekel for giving people some air cover to make that call.
Not every project qualifies When the Navy needed to replace its Intranet (NMCI), it still needed to create a system that supports more than 800K users around the globe (far from shore) and capable of handling all kinds of data stream and apps. And many govt data bases, ie. at Social Security and the IRS, hold 100s of millions of records.
danielcawrey, User Rank: Ninja 2/10/2014 | 2:32:56 PM
Re: Bold or timid?
I think given the amount of bloat that government projects often take on that smaller initiatives might be more effective.
Look, government is not like the private sector. As a result, I think that it is important for the public sector to do things differently, especially since everything is done with taxpayer money.
VanRoekel is definitely advocating the former -- not that agencies shouldn't think big, just not continue to commission huge IT projects that take years to execute. One of the root problems of government IT is that funding is allocated on a yearly basis. But when IT projects can take 3-5 years to build, they fall prey to disruptive changes in out-year funding, the rotation of political appointees and senior leaders who alter course, and an acquisition process that must meet so many requirements, the technology is outdated by the time it's built. VanRoekel is advocating commissioing smaller, more agile and more iterative IT improvements, and a shift to services where agencies.
2018 State of the CloudCloud adoption is growing, but how are organizations taking advantage of it? Interop ITX and InformationWeek surveyed technology decision-makers to find out, read this report to discover what they had to say!
Infographic: The State of DevOps in 2017Is DevOps helping organizations reduce costs and time-to-market for software releases? What's getting in the way of DevOps adoption? Find out in this InformationWeek and Interop ITX infographic on the state of DevOps in 2017.
Cybersecurity Strategies for the Digital EraAt its core, digital business relies on strong security practices. In addition, leveraging security intelligence and integrating security with operations and developer teams can help organizations push the boundaries of innovation.
Attend this video symposium with Sean Wisdom, Global Director of Mobility Solutions, and learn about how you can harness powerful new products to mobilize your business potential.
To save this item to your list of favorite InformationWeek content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
User Rank: Author
2/11/2014 | 6:01:38 PM