A new case management system being implemented by the U.S.
Federal Bureau of Investigation to help fight terrorism could cost
as much as US$500 million, blowing away the $170 million it sank
into a previous project that was abandoned a year ago, according to
a government watchdog group.
In a 91-page audit report released Tuesday by the inspector
general's office in the U.S. Department of Justice ( PDF available
at http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a0614/final.pdf),
cost estimates for the new FBI IT system range from $400 million to
$500 million, based on information provided by the FBI to
congressional inquiries. An exact figure for the project is
expected when the FBI finalizes a contract for the system, called
Sentinel.
That contract award is officially expected sometime in the next
30 days, but Tuesday an FBI spokeswoman said that it will come
shortly.
"The FBI has completed the vendor evaluations in the Sentinel
contract award process," FBI spokeswoman Catherine Milhoan said in
a statement. "We are currently in negotiations with one of the
vendors and have advised the other vendor that their proposal was
not within the competitive range. We cannot disclose the identity
of either vendor at this point."
Milhoan said the number of bidders that pursued the contract and
related details will also be made public when the contract matters
are settled.
The inspector general's office, which was previously highly
critical of the FBI's earlier failed attempts to upgrade its
technology systems as a result of "poorly defined design
requirements, lack of mature Information Technology Investment
Management processes, and poor management continuity and
oversight," was much more upbeat about the proposed Sentinel system
and its planned oversight.
"With Sentinel, the FBI is relying on improved management
processes, use of commercially available components and a
four-phase approach over 39 to 48 months to develop a replacement
for its obsolete Automated Case Support (ACS) system," the audit
stated. "In reviewing the management processes and controls the FBI
has applied to the pre-acquisition phase of Sentinel, we believe
that the FBI has adequately planned for the project and this
planning provides reasonable assurance that the FBI can
successfully complete Sentinel if the processes and controls are
implemented as intended."
The report added that several concerns remain, however -- for
example, the program management office for the project is not yet
fully staffed, and there are questions about Sentinel's ability to
share information with external intelligence and law enforcement
agencies. It also remains uncertain whether Sentinal can provide a
common framework for other agencies' case management systems.
The audit also said the inspector general's office will continue
to monitor the FBI's system security plans as the project evolves.
As of December 2005, the FBI had not completed a system security
plan or a required verification and validation plan. Even so,
Sentinel was allowed by the FBI to proceed, the report said.
According to the inspector general, the FBI said at the time that a
system security plan couldn't be completed until Sentinel's vendor
provides detailed information on the project's design. A separate
contract will be awarded to develop an independent verification and
validation (IV&V) plan. Those explanations were deemed
"reasonable" by the inspector general's office. "However, in our
next audit, we will monitor whether the FBI completes the system
security plan and the IV&V plan during the early stages of
Sentinel's development," the inspector general's report stated.
The new Sentinel Case Management System is designed to replace
an antiquated system for managing records, workflow and evidence
that FBI workers need in order to handle cases.
The earlier attempt to upgrade the system, dubbed the Virtual
Case File (VCF) system, was a three-year project that failed to
meet expectations. Last August, the FBI began soliciting bids for a
replacement for the failed VCF effort.
According to the audit, Sentinel will be rolled out in four
phases. The Associated Press reported last week that Lockheed
Martin Corp. was the winning bidder for Phase 1, which will provide
a Web-based portal where FBI and other government law enforcement
agents can gather data and information.
Phase 2 will begin the shift to paperless case records by
creating an electronic case document management system and data
repository, while Phase 3 will entail the rollout of an elaborate
"universal index" database of people, places or things relating to
cases. Phase 4 will implement the project's new case management and
reporting capabilities and will then move all the existing ACS data
over to the new systems, according to the FBI.
Network World staff contributed to this report.
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