Story 2016-03-17 17DYF AU Government paying IBM $484 Million to fix MyGov

AU Government paying IBM $484 Million to fix MyGov

by
Anonymous Coward
in code on (#17DYF)
In the latest in the MyGov government portal catastrophe, the Australian government is following in the footsteps of the UK an US governments by throwing 484 million dollars at IBM to somehow fix the problems with the ailing portal for which tens of thousands of Australians have complained about. The key problems reported by users have to do with system availability, stability and lack of clear usability for key activities. It has been preventing users from being paid their due government payments for months, some users have reported. Will IBM be able to do what contractors such as Accenture and HP have failed to do in other countries? Can the MyGov be fixed at all, or will it need to be replaced? How does the recent joint venture between ATO, DHS and the new DTO agency affect IBM joining the party? Will agile save the day or bury this problem deeper? Australian citizens desperate to see positive benefit for the millions spent to integrate Medicare and Centrelink to form one agency which promised to reduce costs and deliver more are hanging on to the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next in the MyGov saga.
Reply 3 comments

Punchline (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2016-03-19 15:39 (#17MKB)

This feels like it is missing something...

Re: Punchline (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2016-03-20 20:06 (#17QR4)

Can you come up with one?
I'm somewhat reminded of the time IBM were contracted to build a computer system for the New Zealand Police. There were constant spec revisions that went on and on, until IBM said "We can't work like this." The government sued them, and I seem to recall they (correctly) lost.

Re: Punchline (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2016-03-21 22:46 (#17VNT)

".. and after 11 years and 4 billion dollars the MyGov project is deemed to be a success. IBM will now hand over the reigns to Accenture to finish the project in less than six months for a small fee"