
California payroll: Another failure waiting to happen?
The State Controller’s Office is launching an assessment to recover its failed payroll project. This new project seems doomed even before it starts.
Massachusetts grills Deloitte over large IT failures
This week, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts held a hearing, most likely the first of several, examining failed IT projects run by Deloitte Consulting. The hearing focused on Deloitte projects for the state’s Department of Unemployment Assistance and Department of Revenue. I attended as an observer. The complex nature of large IT projects makes untangling truth […]

There Are No Stars On A Failed Project!
There was quite a lot of discussion on Twitter and in the blogosphere earlier this week about a major payroll project disaster plaguing the State of California government. That discussion broadened to include tales of more failed payroll as well as ERP and various other large-scale systems projects. If you want to immerse yourself in tales of such disasters, […]

California abandons $2 billion court management system
The California Court Management System is now officially dead. It’s time for state legislators to examine how the state manages it’s multi-billion dollar budget.

Barter or charity: California seeks free IT security services
California’s state Department of Motor Vehicles issued a request for quotation with unusual terms: requesting bidders to supply free work.

Could Fake Steve Jobs Go to Jail?
Online impersonators could be fined up to $1,000 and/or up to one year in jail according to California Senate Bill 1411, which Governor Schwarzenegger has just signed into law. The new law is meant to protect victims of cyberbullying, malicious impersonation – says Senator Joe Simitian, the Bill’s author on his homepage: “E-personation,” said Simitian, […]

Only in California: Electronic License Plates May Turn Your Car Into a Billboard
Here’s proof that Governments’ creativity in finding new revenue sources is unlimited, reports The Merc: The California Legislature is considering a bill that would allow the state to begin researching the use of electronic license plates for vehicles. The move is intended as a moneymaker for a state facing a $19 billion deficit. The device […]

Marin County sues Deloitte: Alleges fraud on SAP project
In a important case, Marin County, California filed a complaint against Deloitte Consulting for its role in an over-budget SAP implementation.

Smart Meters: PG&E Lost What Little Credibility They Still Had
This one sentence sums it up: After months of denying any technical problems with its SmartMeter program, PG&E publicly detailed a range of glitches Monday affecting tens of thousands of the digital meters. [From PG&E details technical problems with SmartMeters – San Jose Mercury News] This is the first time that PG&E has publicly acknowledged […]

Did Toyota’s Lean Supply Chain Go Bad?
There’s been a lot of finger pointing in the press recently when it comes to Toyota?s suddenly accelerating escapades, which seemed to downshift into third gear with the accelerator floored (even to the point of a made-for-media car chase and forensi…