No IT project is without risk, but before a commission is accepted there should be some reasonable expectation of success based on well-defined parameters.
And what happens when there’s failure? If it’s largely the responsibility of an outside contractor there can be recriminations, including bitter lawsuits. Often things are settled behind closed doors in the private sector. But if the customer is a government, there can also be a very public whipping.
That apparently is what has happened in Britain, where according to a news report two IT companies have been banned from government tenders.
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The government’s new procurement officer told a newspaper that past performance will be taken into account when bids are up.
This isn’t new, but governments usually don’t advertise they’re going to be vindictive. Perhaps it’s time they did.