Questions raised over consultants paid millions to design, debug new DMV computer system (terrorist alert!)

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September 30, 1999

Questions raised over consultants paid millions to design, debug new DMV computer system

By Brendan Riley ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

CARSON CITY (AP) - A key lawmaker wants more details on consultants paid millions of dollars to design and "debug" a problem-plagued computer program at the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety.

Assemblyman Bob Beers, head of a subcommittee reviewing $35 million-plus Project Genesis, says flaws aren't unexpected but more should have been caught in advance of the program's Sept. 7 startup at the DMV.

Beers, R-Las Vegas, also wonders whether the agency was fully aware that what was termed a "big bang" startup had the potential to be a big bomb. He's hoping for some answers at a subcommittee meeting Tuesday.

Genesis bugs have forced Nevadans to wait in long lines for several hours to register cars, renew license plates or conduct other DMV business. Some mail transactions also have bogged down.

"This probably wasn't as debugged as it should have been," says Beers, a computer consultant. "There have been dozens of serious bugs and hundreds of medium-size bugs identified since Sept. 7."

DMV traffic hasn't been light in the meantime. The agency averages 131,000 vehicle registration renewals, 10,000 new vehicle registrations, 6,000 new drivers licenses and 30,000 license renewals per month.

All those involved - Gov. Kenny Guinn's administration, Deloitte & Touche Consulting which designed and built the program and Best Consulting which monitored it for problems - won't publicly blame one another.

Pete Ernaut, Guinn's chief of staff, says the governor doesn't want to lay blame and takes responsibility for making the final decision "to pull the trigger on Genesis."

"It does absolutely no good for anybody to search for blame or point fingers," Ernaut added. "It's up and running and we can't turn back."

Donna West, the DMV's project manager for Genesis, and Deputy DMV chief Ginny Lewis add that in retrospect starting up the system was the right thing to do.

"To test every potential transaction, nobody could have done it," Lewis said Thursday. "We needed to go into a live environment."

They also say lines have shortened at DMV offices around the state as employees become more familiar with the Genesis program that'll eventually let people go to smog stations or use Internet connections to get license renewals.

Ernaut also notes that Guinn inherited the Genesis project when he took over from former Gov. Bob Miller last January. The project had been in the works for several years.

Deloitte's onsite project manager, Jon Lemelin, declined comment, deferring to the DMV's West and Lewis.

Carroll Livingston, vice president for corporate operations for Best Consulting, said Genesis "was delivered on time and within budget" and should be a big success once the kinks are worked out. The system is supposed to be fully operational by 2003.

Did Best Consulting live up to its contract requirement to warn in advance of potential problems? "We're on record as notifying them of our concerns," Livingston said.

Livingston also said it's not fair to bring up his company's out-of-court settlement with the state because of problems with another computer project with the state Taxation Department.

The state had sued after giving Best nearly $1 million for the Taxation Department program - that figured in the loss of millions of tax dollars for state and local government coffers. Early on, DMV was aware of the tax agency flap but still went ahead with Best.

For the Genesis project, the state has given Best Consulting $3.6 million. Deloitte and Touche has received about $10 million for its efforts.

A review of the two companies' Genesis contracts shows that Deloitte had to design and create the program, and provide training and "corrective maintenance," among other things.

The Deloitte contract also says it's the state's responsibility to install, link and test computerized work stations, in line with the Deloitte design.

The Best Consulting contract is for oversight and "quality assurance." That includes a report on "any risks that will need to be managed during the testing process, and recommendations to mitigate risks."

Printable text version | Mail this to a friend

September 30, 1999

Questions raised over consultants paid millions to design, debug new DMV computer system

By Brendan Riley ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

CARSON CITY (AP) - A key lawmaker wants more details on consultants paid millions of dollars to design and "debug" a problem-plagued computer program at the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety.

Assemblyman Bob Beers, head of a subcommittee reviewing $35 million-plus Project Genesis, says flaws aren't unexpected but more should have been caught in advance of the program's Sept. 7 startup at the DMV.

Beers, R-Las Vegas, also wonders whether the agency was fully aware that what was termed a "big bang" startup had the potential to be a big bomb. He's hoping for some answers at a subcommittee meeting Tuesday.

Genesis bugs have forced Nevadans to wait in long lines for several hours to register cars, renew license plates or conduct other DMV business. Some mail transactions also have bogged down.

"This probably wasn't as debugged as it should have been," says Beers, a computer consultant. "There have been dozens of serious bugs and hundreds of medium-size bugs identified since Sept. 7."

DMV traffic hasn't been light in the meantime. The agency averages 131,000 vehicle registration renewals, 10,000 new vehicle registrations, 6,000 new drivers licenses and 30,000 license renewals per month.

All those involved - Gov. Kenny Guinn's administration, Deloitte & Touche Consulting which designed and built the program and Best Consulting which monitored it for problems - won't publicly blame one another.

Pete Ernaut, Guinn's chief of staff, says the governor doesn't want to lay blame and takes responsibility for making the final decision "to pull the trigger on Genesis."

"It does absolutely no good for anybody to search for blame or point fingers," Ernaut added. "It's up and running and we can't turn back."

Donna West, the DMV's project manager for Genesis, and Deputy DMV chief Ginny Lewis add that in retrospect starting up the system was the right thing to do.

"To test every potential transaction, nobody could have done it," Lewis said Thursday. "We needed to go into a live environment."

They also say lines have shortened at DMV offices around the state as employees become more familiar with the Genesis program that'll eventually let people go to smog stations or use Internet connections to get license renewals.

Ernaut also notes that Guinn inherited the Genesis project when he took over from former Gov. Bob Miller last January. The project had been in the works for several years.

Deloitte's onsite project manager, Jon Lemelin, declined comment, deferring to the DMV's West and Lewis.

Carroll Livingston, vice president for corporate operations for Best Consulting, said Genesis "was delivered on time and within budget" and should be a big success once the kinks are worked out. The system is supposed to be fully operational by 2003.

Did Best Consulting live up to its contract requirement to warn in advance of potential problems? "We're on record as notifying them of our concerns," Livingston said.

Livingston also said it's not fair to bring up his company's out-of-court settlement with the state because of problems with another computer project with the state Taxation Department.

The state had sued after giving Best nearly $1 million for the Taxation Department program - that figured in the loss of millions of tax dollars for state and local government coffers. Early on, DMV was aware of the tax agency flap but still went ahead with Best.

For the Genesis project, the state has given Best Consulting $3.6 million. Deloitte and Touche has received about $10 million for its efforts.

A review of the two companies' Genesis contracts shows that Deloitte had to design and create the program, and provide training and "corrective maintenance," among other things.

The Deloitte contract also says it's the state's responsibility to install, link and test computerized work stations, in line with the Deloitte design.

The Best Consulting contract is for oversight and "quality assurance." That includes a report on "any risks that will need to be managed during the testing process, and recommendations to mitigate risks." http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-gov/1999/sep/30/509373401.html

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), October 01, 1999


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