Copyright Application Delays

The ways federal technology projects can get into trouble appear limitless. What we encounter most frequently are projects where the contractor lacks the management and technical capabilities to do a good job. A well-known example of this from the 1980s was PRC's struggle to manage the patent automation project.

Sometimes, projects are undone because of congressional meddling. For example, in the 1990s, the IRS's massive tax modernization program was derailed by Congress on two occasions, just as it was developing a head of steam. Occasionally, Federal projects are undone because the federal buyer devolves nearly all management authority and oversight to the contractor. Problems along this line arose in the 1990s and early 2000s when federal agencies implemented a Lead Systems Integrator approach to managing major programs, e.g., the Coast Guard's Deepwater program. More recently, the GAO reports that a major source of schedule slippage and cost overruns on Defense projects is DoD's propensity to launch these projects before the underlying technologies have achieved a measure of stability.

The Washington Post has just reported another way that federal projects can encounter troubles. In an article appearing on May 19, the Post states that major delays in processing paper-based copyright applications have arisen at the Copyright Office after implementing an automated approach to processing applications. What used to be a six-month process for processing paper-based applications has turned into an eighteen-month process. The new system was launched in July 2008, the result of a $52 million project.

The Post identifies two primary sources of problems. One is that the automation solution developed by the agency and its contractor is not so automated: applicants are still permitted to submit paper-based applications (about 45% of all applications). Problems arise, however, when these are manually converted to electronic format. A second identified source of problems is the inadequate training offered to employees to handle the new system.

In this case, the project problem has less to do with meeting project time and cost targets, and more to do with developing solutions that lead to superior performance.

David Christopher, associate chief operating officer at the Copyright Office, notes that the system will experience a major upgrade this year. This may help alleviate problems ... or it may give Murphy a second chance to implement his fearsome law.