The Phoenix rises (again)
IBM found the “Golden Fleece” when it signed the government “payroll” project
The following essay was written by my friend and former client, Steve. A Canadian with a degree in Computer Science and a life-long interest in Artificial Intelligence, Steve built a very successful career managing software development organizations. He retired a few years ago at the level of senior Vice President for an international corporation. While his full name has been withheld to protect his privacy, Steve’s perspective is well worth sharing.
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The Phoenix rises (again)
I doubt that any of us need to be reminded about the general incompetence of our federal government, but just in case, the latest news on the Phoenix “payroll” project should suffice.
The original 2011 contract with IBM was valued at $5.8M, and it is currently at $545M before the latest $106M extension. That means that we will be paying IBM over $650M for Phoenix. I cannot even wrap my head around that - over $650M for a payroll system. Even assuming a fairly high pay rate, say $300K average, that’s over 2,000 man-years. For a payroll system. I’ve built far more sophisticated software products in a tiny fraction of that effort.
Can it be more absurd? Of course it can - this is the federal government of Canada we are talking about.
So, on top of the $650M, we are paying McKinsey over $27M to help out. I think many of us could have provided an equally valuable, or even more valuable service for somewhat less than $27M. For example: "Fire the lot of them, effective immediately!"
And let’s not forget the other corporate beneficiaries: ITNet/Systematix ($29M), PwC ($23M - for “advisory service”), Ceridian (~ $40M), Workday ($30M).
But wait - there’s more! Public sector unions have secured “compensation” payments to federal employees to offset the stress of not being paid correctly. That stress is apparently worth around $700M !
The icing on the cake is that the current round of extensions to IBM’s take is to ensure a smooth transition to a replacement system.
I don’t think this could be more screwed up if it was done deliberately.
— Steve
https://spectrum.ieee.org/canadian-governments-phoenix-pay-system-an-incomprehensible-failure