[BITList] UK Govt IT

[HUGH]

Either the people buying/specifying the systems, or those designing them, 
are incompetent.  In my experience, best results are obtained from the old 
"horses for courses" rule.  Back in the 80s we had a system supplied by 
British Shipbuilders, but modified and tweaked at point of use by IT staff. 
Not one of the IT staff had any training in marine engineering or 
shipbuilding, and glitches and rows were common.  Not only that, technical 
inter-communication was nil since we (some of us) understood the problems, 
but they were never on our wave length.  This continued until there appeared 
an IT chap who had the curious notion that he was there to run a department 
in a marine engineering firm that served the needs of the engineering and 
commercial staff.  That he had been a marine engineer helped a lot.

What is needed is hard-headed and competent staff who can bang heads 
together to ensure the end product bears a close resemblance to what was 
specified, with no interference from hangers on.  What seems to happen is 
that there are layers of numpties between the specifiers and the producers. 
I experienced a case with some resemblance to this.  We were to design and 
supply big automated access hatches of various shapes and configurations for 
various areas in Torness and Heysham nuclear power stations.  A well known 
hatch supplier had started the contract then dropped out.  A site visit, and 
conversations with on-site people, convinced us that some survey work would 
be needed to establish the precise dimensions of the openings in the 
concrete, civil engineering tolerances being somewhat looser than those were 
were used to.  So I prepared a report detailing what was needed, as well as 
a suggestion for who should do the survey (a firm already on site).  A 
hanger on who was paid more than me, but knew far less about the contract 
and engineering in general, returned the report with the comment that "we" 
would not be needing a survey, it being a waste of money.  Being hard-headed 
and moderately competent I told my boss and his boss that, if such were to 
be the case, I would be unable to design hatches to meet the (rigorous) 
specifications.  When an impasse developed we solved the problem by engaging 
a surveyor over the head of the idiot in the middle.  And just as well, as 
the first survey showed.

Hugh.