An Excursion into Government Legacy IT Systems - II

2.     Stakeholders

2.1     OAI

We stipulate that OAI will play the role of smart buyer of IT systems for the government. To obtain cost-effective results, OAI will need to understand agency requirements, vendor products and services, and program constraints (such as cost and schedule). In the role of smart buyer, OAI will perform these functions:

·         set GS-21 requirements in close cooperation with the agencies;

·         request contractor proposals for system engineering (SE) development;

·         request vendor solutions within SE guidelines; and

·         conduct integration, test, evaluation, and acceptance of proposed solutions.

Critical point: since a variety of risks – from discontinuity of service to perceived favoritism – would be associated with turning over responsibility for Government IT to a private company, short of revoking its own charter, OAI does not have the option of refusing the smart buyer role.

2.2     Integrated Process Team (IPT)

IPTs are widely used throughout industry and government because they raise the probability that all stakeholders have input to project decisions. This lowers the risk of omitting critical factors from consideration. The IPT will be under OAI supervision, but the full value of the IPT can only be realized if OAI is responsive to IPT guidance. That guidance must reflect the full range of stakeholder concerns.

2.3     The initial customers – government agencies

OAI will work directly with selected government agencies, and agency leadership, to set program goals, schedules, and cost estimates. A common source of resistance to a new system lies with the workers who must use it. However, when those workers are invited to apply their experience to the benefit of the system design, they are much more likely to become system advocates. Therefore, OAI will work closely with internal agency-system users to get their buy-in and have the “wind at their backs.” These are the natural roles for agency users in conjunction with OAI:

·         Define system requirements and User Interfaces (UIs);

·         Conduct initial (Alpha) testing and recommend refinement;

·         Submit trouble tickets as appropriate;

·         Participate in testing, evaluating, refining, and accepting the system;

·         Periodically review system performance and recommend changes; and

·         Train users and user-trainers;

2.4     The ultimate customers – the public

The systems of certain agencies, such as the VA and OPM, will enable public access; other agencies, such as DHS, may not. For the former, it will be important to assess the user experience. Public satisfaction may or may not be a driving force, but public dissatisfaction can destroy morale and progress. Therefore, the OAI must ensure that sufficient time and attention are devoted to introducing and monitoring system access by the public.

2.5     System Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) Contractors

While OAI is a government agency, many OAI activities will require specialized contractor skills. To avoid potential conflict of interest, SETA contractors who directly support OAI and the GS-21 program must be “fire-walled” from developers and vendors; moreover, they may not hold OAI management positions.

Since innovation is part of OAI, it is recommended that OAI use innovation in contracting. For example, rather than issuing Requests For Proposals (RFPs) which focus on price (low bid), OAI should strongly consider issuing RFPs which solicit innovative approaches to tasks which OAI has already priced according to their budget. This approach would have several benefits:

·         OAI would quickly learn to price tasks realistically;

·         Proposal emphasis would be on quality and job performance;

·         Proposers would be encouraged to organize personnel based on ability to do the job rather than on cost;

·         The fixed-price contract would not generate cost over-runs;

·         Companies would have strong incentives to improve cost-effectiveness since they would retain any savings as profit.

2.6     Vendors / Private Companies

The heavy lifting of GS-21 development will fall on private companies. They will be invited to participate in several different ways:

·         Participate in the definition of the GS-21 architecture and standards;

·         Develop a GS-21 integration, test, and evaluation (ITE) Facility; and

·         Offer artifact (hardware and software) to implement GS-21 requirements within architecture and standards guidelines;

·         Integrate, test, and evaluate prototypes in the GS-21 ITE Facility.