New dole system is 'digital by default', like it or not

[AtW]

When's the IPO? Don't let your virtual dirty spekulant friends miss out?

I'll send you a postcard!

[MarillionFan]

Standard SKA server spec now is a rack server with at least dual 6 core high frequency CPUs, at least 96 GB of RAM and enough slots for 16 disks powered by very fast RAID controller... the price of hard disks these days is

When's the IPO? Don't let your virtual dirty spekulant friends miss out?

[AtW]

Don't put your back out.

Standard SKA server spec now is a rack server with at least dual 6 core high frequency CPUs, at least 96 GB of RAM and enough slots for 16 disks powered by very fast RAID controller... the price of hard disks these days is

[MarillionFan]

More of infrastructure will arrive tomorrow - big heavy boxes

Don't put your back out.

[AtW]

You tell us, that's your entire M12 infrastructure.

More of infrastructure will arrive tomorrow - big heavy boxes

[MarillionFan]

How much can a few MySQL servers with a few front end boxes cost?

You tell us, that's your entire M12 infrastructure.

[Freamon]

How much can a few MySQL servers with a few front end boxes cost?

There's massive amounts of business analysis, data integration, software development and process design required alongside those. How do you think us contractors earn a living?

[eek]

How much can a few MySQL servers with a few front end boxes cost?

With both EDS and government involvement probably £5bn

[AtW]

How much can a few MySQL servers with a few front end boxes cost?

[vetran]

New dole system is 'digital by default', like it or not ? The Register



Agile eh? Hmm.

Who's doing this one? EDS HP of course.

Everyone will be 'doing' this one in weeks, sounds like fraud will be epic

[Freamon]

New dole system is 'digital by default', like it or not ? The Register

Universal credit – the government's "new and improved" benefits system – will be the first major government service to be digital by default.

This is according to Steve Dover, director of major programmes at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Dover says: "There will be a back office to deal with the more vulnerable in society, but it will be thinner and there will be a massive web-enabled internet channel for the vast majority of the transactions that will be done for universal credit," he told the Government ICT Summit event in London.

The project, which started a year ago and will begin rollout next year, has been a massive undertaking, Dover said, which he said involved "changing the culture" of the department. It will see the introduction of an operating model that will start to reduce the DWP's telephony channels.

...

The project has generated much interest around its use of an 'agile' development model. When the DWP began "dabbling" with agile, it ran into trouble because of its lack of understanding and subsequently sought help from outside organisations, in particular from the SME Emergn, and has retained the company's services, Dover said.

"The biggest danger is to let those specialists go. You can reduce them, but you need to keep them there, because people need to remain on that journey," he told delegates. "For example, it takes about six months to get one of our people to the point where they can do professional facilitation of agile elaboration workshops... It takes up to two years to become a fully fledged agile coach."

An "agile" approach will enable the introduction of universal credit in October 2013, Dover said: by comparison other methods of delivery would have delayed the project until February or March 2015, budgets would have doubled and "there would have been huge arguments along the way with our partners, our service providers, and within the departments between all the different silos: policy, business design, IT, implementation, release and operations".

However, concerns remain around how likely the universal credit scheme will be to deliver. A spokesman for the civil service PCS union, which represents DWP staff, said: "Some of the most vulnerable people in society will rely on universal credit, and it is absolutely essential that the underlying IT works. Give that the recent history of government IT is littered with failures, we have yet to be convinced that this will be successful. Failure, however, will be catastrophic."

Agile eh? Hmm.

Who's doing this one? EDS HP of course.