The FBI's Virtual Case File Failure
Visiting the WashingtonPost.com today, I came across an article titled "The FBI's Upgrade That Wasn't". Working in Washington a couple years ago, and working in government at the time (not the FBI), I had certainly heard about the "Virtual Case File" project. It was an intriguing project to hear about even just in general terms. It would truly be what we all imagine or in some cases see played out in movies and on tv - an FBI computer system that could be use to pull up files on an agent's PC. What in reality is still mostly green-screen mainframe work with no ability to attach a photo or have advanced searching.
Now, this kind of a system is not small. Not even Joe Schmoe off the street would think this to be an easy task. Nor one that could be done quickly. Stuck in the 80's and in the wake of 9/11, the FBI, in an effort to try and get the system they needed to fight terrorism soonest - as all of us Americans, the President, and Congress wanted -- made their first mistake, they upped the deadlines and added new requirements.
If you're a developer - or a development manager - aside from the newsworthy-ness of the article - it's a great example of poor software maangement - you bail on a project like this. Article is well worth the read.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic...