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Open Source 'Wasn't Available' Two Years Ago, Says UK Gov't IT Project Chief
An anonymous reader writes "The head of delivery for the UK's Department for Work and Pensions' flagship welfare reform project, Universal Credit, has said that the department didn't adopt open source and web-based technologies at the beginning of the project because 'such things weren't available' two and a half years ago. Howard Shiplee told the Work and Pensions Committee this week that the department is now using open source technologies in its enhanced version of Universal Credit, which was initially developed by the Government Digital Service (GDS) and will be rolled out nationally by 2017 for most claimants. The existing system being used in pathfinder pilots and developed by the likes of IBM, HP and Accenture will be largely be replaced by the digital version."
Then either they needed something highly specific, or this guy isn't qualified to evaluate technology.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Even though the article is also lean on the details, at least it provides the actual quote, which is:
"It relies not on large amounts of tin, black boxes, but uses open source and mechanisms on the web to store and access data,” Shiplee told MPs. When asked why he didn’t adopt this approach two and a half years ago at the start of the project, Shiplee said: “Technology is moving very rapidly, such things weren’t available as they are today.”
Ok, so "such things" - does not necessarily refer to "open source". It may (and probably does) refer to "mechanisms on the web to store and access data". Perhaps something "in the cloud", given that article does not provide sufficient detail - hard to say.
Using Free Software? ;-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Before people blow up :-)
- This usually means that the department wasn't permitted to use 'un-vetted/approved/etc' software at that time (it may have been that they actually /wanted/ to use something open source 2 years ago, but various bits of bureaucracy didn't allow for it)
This is government after all :-)
Shiplee said: “Technology is moving very rapidly, such things weren’t available as they are today.”
If you actually read the contents of the article, it seems that Howard Shiplee was taken out of context. (Say it aint so)
It seems to me that lots and lots of small components were available for the final software product, but due to the complexities of navigating a large bureaucracy, larger systems that closely fit the requirements were needed. At the end of the day, it's just boxes on a piece of paper to an architectural "expert" somewhere. At the end of the day, it's all about risk, and how that risk is managed. The usual trick for middle management to keep their jobs, is to get the risk exported.
“You would find it very hard to find vendors in the market place to do this work at full risk. So the department took up the risk.”
Anyone who understands the concept that an entity, both corporate or government can't export risk is deserving of respect. Sure, you can have contracts with vendors that give guaranteed SLA's, but at the end of the day, if a government service goes down, and there's a 100% risk export, for sure when the media gets to it, "IBM messed up, it's not our fault!" simply doesn't cut it. A ton of mud will still stick to those who are beholden to the responsibility of a service that they provide.
Even financially, the risk that is exported is only ever as good as the other companies working capital and professional indemnity insurance.
Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
"We wanted software for free, and weren't interested in spending the money to have someone write and support the feature we needed. So instead we wasted millions of pounds and man-years of time on a commercial solution we elected to toss the second someone committed the feature to the codebase."
Probably not far off the mark. I'm noticing it in Australia, and not just in the public service, that hardware like tablets, don't appear to be solving anything or improving productivity, it mostly appears like as if they're shoehorning them in because people want them or they want to appear like they're keeping up with the times.
Some of these people literally believe that the Internet is a corporate creation that was spearheaded by Bill Gates... so you can see how solidly they understand the history of networking.
Some of these people literally believe that the Internet is a corporate creation that was spearheaded by Bill Gates... so you can see how solidly they understand the history of networking.
A buddy of mine was once consulting for a firm whose new "CTO" argued with him, vehemently insisting that Bill Gates invented TCP/IP...
Pretty funny coming from a guy who didn't bother reading the article.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
I won't waste my time clicking on anything from computerworld even if it's the UK affiliate. How about referencing decent journalism or even a 5th grade writing level?
"Keeping up with the times" is important, if you're - for example - administering a hospital, and physician satisfaction (an item that's almost entirely perception) is a major consideration for retaining high-quality staff.
I've worked in healthcare IT pretty much forever, and there's a lot more to appearances than meets the eye... ..or I suppose it's exactly what meets they eye :)
I've been using the OpenOffice suite in one of its various previous or successor incarnations for nearly 15 years now, so yeah, its clearly not true that there were no usable Open Source alternatives 2 and a half years ago.
However, what has happened in the last two and a half years is that Google Docs acquired the capability to use old Microsoft formats (in April of 2010 to be precise) and work offline (September of 2011). If they are using Google Docs and consider all its cloud-based collaboration features along with Microsoft file support and/or offline capability essential features that make their new setup worthwhile, then its perfectly fair to point out that this alternative was not available two and a half years ago.
Wow, then as CTO, that's an epic fail. Time was you needed 3rd party software to use TCP/IP on Windows, and Microsoft was very late to the game in supporting it.
I'm sure that company has made some really awesome decisions with this clown at the helm. I'm betting small shop with limited technical breadth?
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
It's not just tablets, organisations everywhere have for years been deploying new technology that brings with it the promise of improved productivity. In reality it often does not... You take old hardware and old software that works just fine, and spend a fortune replacing it with new faster hardware running new slower software. The end result often isn't any faster, and users have to take time getting used to it while not using any of the new features. Often the new version is much worse than what it replaced, and instead of the software supporting the business, the business has to adapt to the way the software works.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
...badly.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Bah! The Internet and the World were only created last Tuesday. Any history before that is just a test of true believers in Last Tuesday-ism I dare you to prove otherwise! Also, don't listen to those Last Wednesday heretics. They're just crazy.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
The guy must have just broke out of a block of ice and still thinks it's 1978. On the plus side, he missed Jersey Shore and the Kardashians.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
No. He was just mis-quoted to get people all pissed off and get some ad revenue.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
millions of geeks all groaned in frustration and were suddenly silenced.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
I'm noticing, and not just in the public service, that hardware like tablets, don't appear to be solving anything or improving productivity, it mostly appears like as if they're shoehorning them in because people want them or they want to appear like they're keeping up with the times.
Reminds me of when PCs were first being introduced in Government offices back in the early 1990s.
Back then, they "didn't appear to be solving anything, or improving productivity" for many offices. For some, though, there was someone who either could see the potential, or could make something out of it all.
So, it was a long term goal that (ultimately) paid off
"She's furniture with a pulse"
It's not just tablets, organisations everywhere have for years been deploying new technology that brings with it the promise of improved productivity. In reality it often does not... You take old hardware and old software that works just fine, and spend a fortune replacing it with new faster hardware running new slower software.
(should be +5 insightful right there)
There have been many companies *cough* Microsoft *cough* whose stock answer since the early 1990s has been "throw more hardware at the problem" (because of the implicit "our new software soaks up so much more system resources than the old stuff, that you'll need it").
It's only in the last few years that the hardware has overtaken the software so much that people forget how bad the "new stuff isn't any faster than the old stuff" had got.
instead of the software supporting the business, the business has to adapt to the way the software works.
A previous boss of mine (company director) stated "the needs of the business dictate the IT required. Not the other way round" Unfortunately, there are so many instances of the IT tail wagging the business dog that it really isn't funny any more (as if it ever was). Sharepoint, I'm looking at you, here (amongst many others on the wall of shame)
"She's furniture with a pulse"
GNU has been around since *1983*!
Linux was released in *1991*!
By 2010 the city of Munich public services had deployed SuSE Linux in 20% of its front end systems following prior announcement of the plan in 2003, with the stated intention to complete the transition to FOSS by 2015. citation
Personally, I've been using Linux in various flavours and for various projects since 1996.
So clearly, the Head of Delivery is full of shit.
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
Wow, then as CTO, that's an epic fail. Time was you needed 3rd party software to use TCP/IP on Windows, and Microsoft was very late to the game in supporting it.
I know, I know. It was completely ridiculous.
I'm sure that company has made some really awesome decisions with this clown at the helm. I'm betting small shop with limited technical breadth?
You mean like: throw out the system developed in house on a somewhat obscure platform that worked perfectly and had low license costs, and spend years trying to replace it with something re-built in Oracle, just so he could have "managed migration of enterprise system to Oracle" on his resume? Yep...
Indeed. For most end-users doing recreational stuff, the iPad fits the bill fine. Gave the SO one last year for xmas, it's nearly attached to her at the hip. But, when it comes to doing actual work, she still picks up the laptop. Me, I use a Linux laptop and virtually never touch the iPad. On the other hand, the TV functions as a rather large monitor...
No, the World was created 1386723418 seconds ago, according to date +%s.
Open Source took off with RMS in the 80's.
The DWP is run by a politician, Ian Duncan Smith, to whom the aphorism "How can you tell a politician is lying? His mouth moves" applies in spades. He is also not very bright as well as being incompetent. The government of which he is a member is one of the most ideological we have had in decades and cares little about actual evidence for the policies.
...breaking, it's fucking BROKEN already! IDS has ADMITTED in the Select Committee inquiry that the system IS NOT READY for rollout and that it is so full of flaws that the planned completion of rollout in 2017 WILL NOT HAPPEN.
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
before giving the headline or summary any attention what so ever you need to take note of "Posted by Soulskill", that is all you needed to do to be certain that the summary bears no resemblance to the actual article and has been twisted to some sort of flamebait.
Wow. Unqualified to be CTO, AND more interested in his own ends than what's a good choice for the company.
A stellar combination.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
You can't rationally argue a person out of a position that they didn't rationally get into.
I've learned this from being married. When somebody's ego is at risk being wrong it does not matter what they are arguing. They will more than likely NOT admit they are wrong.
It's better just to say "ok" and move on to something more important.