I feel that I have some responsibility for trying to bring Virginia’s State Government back on track. One should not make such a bold statement as I have done in my “Article 150. The Biggest Boondoggle Ever in State Information Technology without pointing out what the state needs to do to get out of this mess and start anew. To refresh your memory: “The Biggest Boondoggle Ever in State Information Technology”. This is how I described what is happening in Virginia’s Information Technology Agency VITA in an email to Governor Kaine (August 2009).

Unless the VITA contract leads to a Relational Database Management System RDMS solution the present $2.3 billion contract between VITA and Northrop Grumman will be the biggest ever boondoggle in State Information Technology.

I stand by the above conjecture with complete confidence because what ever VITA is doing it is nearly a complete waste of state funds. In fact VITA should never have been tasked at all. VITA was setup to manage and to make all of the 270 or so state agencies’ and entities’ computer systems work efficiently and to do this they contracted with Northrop Grumman in 2005. This was the wrong approach the assumption made then was that there was a computer problem and I agree the state’s computer systems are obsolete stand alone systems sometimes described as silos and there are more than 270 of them. But there isn’t enough money in the state of Virginia and there never will be to fix this problem by patching the old systems together. Five years into the contract and all there is little to show for all the money spent except an integrated email system.

So if this were the wrong problem what should the Legislature have been doing. For all government problems the correct approach is to determine the best way to meet the states obligation organize for that and then investigate how to make it operate efficiently by automating the process. This attempt to fix Virginia’s obsolete IT systems before organizing and streamlining the 270 agencies and entities makes the current approach completely backward.

The real problem should have been stated “How does the state make the process of providing service to the public more efficient?” And after you have determined the best way to do that, then provide the more efficient computer systems support.

I recommend the following approach, organize a select group of men into a high level Lean Team to study this process to find the best way for the public to interface with government for services similar to what the state of Iowa is doing. Then organize functional Lean Teams in each of the agency’s and entity’s functions to find the best way of doing each function similar to the way Minnesota is doing it.

Next, I would follow one of the best examples of government innovation developed by the city of Hampton Virginia. (On my website read my Article 101. The Hampton Virginia Innovation story.) With the Hampton Virginia system adapted by the state the public when needing services would call a State Centralized telephone Portal called a Customer Relations Management (CRM) system for services rather than going to each agency. Telephone call takers answer questions take applications and do anything required for the service for all of the 270 agencies. Call takers are supported by a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) database. The agencies and entities are streamlined and combined with the number of them being significantly reduced from 270 to around 25. Service to the public is provided 24/7 with the number of trained call takers on duty dependent on the number of customer calls received.

I further recommend the implementation of a new Centralized Relational Database Management System RDMS similar to that being developed in Washington State. The RDMS is developed completely separate from the current obsolete agency computer systems. No funds should have been wasted on trying to patch the old systems. When the New Centralized Data Center and its systems are up and running the plug is pulled on the old systems.

So why didn’t VITA come up with this solution. The answer is nearly all of the people associated with VITA have training or some kind of connection to IBM. So what’s the problem with IBM? Simply this, IBM is in business to sell a proprietary system that shuts out competitors and forces the customers to use its proprietary software. The RDMS is an open software system where an IBM computer could be replaced by a competitor’s computer. Computers can then be purchased simply for their competitive computing power and not just because it will work with the software. At least some of the VITA members must have known about the RDMS solution because it has been around for more than twenty years but it is simply not good business for IBM or its friends. VITA for all practical purposes may as well be on the IBM payroll. See my Article 161. “IBM, The Most Costly Hoax of the Century”.

My final recommendation is for streamlining by eliminating levels of government and downsizing the way agencies are organized through the elimination of their bureaucratic structure. The high level Lean Team after completing their work on the reorganization of Virginia’s agencies and is then merged with Top Management to become the Top Management Steering Team. Group Steering Management Teams are formed from mid management with Functional Lean Team Management reporting to them from the lower level.

The Contract with Northrop Grumman should be canceled. The quickest way for that to happen is through pressure from the public. But the reality is that there is going to be a huge fight to keep Northrop Grumman on the job and prevent the loss of the old obsolete systems and especially the obsolete IT jobs with them.

What’s different from these reforms?
The State of Virginia has moved from its 19th century bureaucratic organization to the 21st century Steering Management Teams and Functional Management Teams. The state has a Centralized Database facility with a RDMS with query capabilities similar to that of Google and costing far less than the current systems to maintain.

See these articles on my website: http://managementconsultant.blogsome.com
Article 150. The Biggest Boondoggle Ever in State Information Technology
Article 151. The Promise of Going ‘Lean’
Article 152. The Process of Replacing Bureaucratic Management With Lean Teams
Article 153. Example of the Advantage of a Relational Database
Article 154. Streamlining Iowa Boards and Commissions Using Lean and More
Article 156. Getting the most out of Lean as used in Government
Article 157. Using Lean to Balance Agency work Loads
Article 158. The Streamlining of Georgia Boards and Commissions Using Lean
Article 159. Mean, Lean Reform In Government Accounting
Article 160. Minnesota State Government Leads the Nation in Lean
Article 161. IBM The Most Costly Hoax of the Century