How seriously troubled is Sentinel, the FBIs digital case file and investigative lead management program?
As reported in this issue, the FBI is halting work on the third and fourth phases of Sentinel, its four-phase effort to throw its information management practices into the 21st century. Even if the cause of this delay is minor, as FBI officials say it is, anything that hints of IT problems at the FBI provokes bad memories of Virtual Case File. VCF, of course, is Sentinel’s failed predecessor program, a disaster on which the government spent $105 million for naught, and which died an agonizing death in 2005. Cynics think we’re headed for a sequel, especially given the FBI’s previous propensity to throw good money after bad when it comes to failing IT programs. For a sense of how well Sentinel is doing, let’s consider a few facts from a November 2009 Justice Department inspector general report (.pdf): • The FBI has already dipped into its Sentinel risk management reserve. It did so in part to offset an $18 million cost increase to phase 2 in 2009 from changing the overall price tag of $4
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