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It's good to hear the current project is doing it right. (Former USAF here) The Air Force hasn't done too well in recent years... DIHMRS (the integrated one y

by jcurbo 13y ago

It's good to hear the current project is doing it right. (Former USAF here) The Air Force hasn't done too well in recent years... DIHMRS (the integrated one you mentioned) then ECSS, which just got cancelled at the end of last year. (http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/air-force-cancels-ecss/2012-11-29 http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/air-force-cancels-ec...) DoD acquisition at any level is about as convoluted as imaginable, trying to do things the 'right' way is that much harder when dealing with organizational inertia and red tape.

JPKab 13y ago
My God, don't even get me started with how awful the ECSS debacle was. I didn't work on it, but had a buddy who did. For those reading this who don't know the random acronyms of the DoD, ECSS was a billion dollars flushed down the toilet attempting to integrate the dozens/hundreds? of the Air Force's logistics systems into a single ERP. The Air Force learned (far too late) that the only way these integrations can succeed is if all of the funding for the legacy IT systems is controlled by the executive in charge of replacing them with the new system. (believe it or not, they didn't have this in place before, so the legacy systems had an actual disincentive to cooperate.) ECSS was an eye opener for me when it came to one of the key challenges in reforming IT in the DoD: geographically isolated fiefdoms that make up the legacy systems that any new, efficient, integrated will replace. The awful truth is that the knowledge required to build new, integrated systems is in the heads of the workers of the disparate legacy systems, scattered in helter skelter throughout the country. These workers don't WANT any new system to succeed. They know there is no way they are going to be have a job with the new consolidated system in place. They, for the most part, are coasters who haven't kept a remotely current skill set, and could NEVER get a job in the private sector. So they drag their feet, won't return the phone calls of business analysts, let alone cooperate with them in documenting the current data and processes. I love the military community, especially the officers and enlisted. I like about a 1/4 of the civillians I encounter. The other 3/4 of the civillian workforce I encounter are either lazy or grossly incompetent. I hate saying that, but its been brewing too long in my head for me to think any different. The 12,000 asshats at DFAS are proof.

by jcurbo 13y ago

JPKab 13y ago

My God, don't even get me started with how awful the ECSS debacle was. I didn't work on it, but had a buddy who did. For those reading this who don't know the random acronyms of the DoD, ECSS was a billion dollars flushed down the toilet attempting to integrate the dozens/hundreds? of the Air Force's logistics systems into a single ERP. The Air Force learned (far too late) that the only way these integrations can succeed is if all of the funding for the legacy IT systems is controlled by the executive in charge of replacing them with the new system. (believe it or not, they didn't have this in place before, so the legacy systems had an actual disincentive to cooperate.) ECSS was an eye opener for me when it came to one of the key challenges in reforming IT in the DoD: geographically isolated fiefdoms that make up the legacy systems that any new, efficient, integrated will replace. The awful truth is that the knowledge required to build new, integrated systems is in the heads of the workers of the disparate legacy systems, scattered in helter skelter throughout the country. These workers don't WANT any new system to succeed. They know there is no way they are going to be have a job with the new consolidated system in place. They, for the most part, are coasters who haven't kept a remotely current skill set, and could NEVER get a job in the private sector. So they drag their feet, won't return the phone calls of business analysts, let alone cooperate with them in documenting the current data and processes. I love the military community, especially the officers and enlisted. I like about a 1/4 of the civillians I encounter. The other 3/4 of the civillian workforce I encounter are either lazy or grossly incompetent. I hate saying that, but its been brewing too long in my head for me to think any different. The 12,000 asshats at DFAS are proof.