The Numbers Matter, But It's the Requirements that Count

It's not like the U.S. census is a surprise. After all, it has taken place every decade for the past 200+ years. Which is plenty of time, you'd think, to get the process right. But that's not the case with the upcoming 2010 census, which, at a cost of at least $11 billion, is the most expensive census ever.

Driving up the cost of the 2010 census is the Harris Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) that was supposed to save at least $1 billion, but which may end up costing taxpayers $2 billion extra. So what's the problem? According to people who participated in real-world trials, the mobile FDCA system--which will be used by 600,000 temporary census takers--is just too darn hard to use.

The FDCA Mobile Computing Environment, which includes the mobile hardware device on the front end, a database on the back end, and a bunch of stuff in between, was designed, integrated, and managed by Harris, with the help of Accenture, Unisys, Dell, High Tech Computer, Sprint, Oracle, Client Network Services, and Headstrong. The "in-between" stuff includes biometric fingerprint sensor security (which will give census takers access to the system, rather than traditional passwords), Sprint telecommunications services, GPS mapping, and the like.

How serious is the problem? Serious enough that the Census Bureau is thinking about going back to the more traditional pencil-and-paper approach of conducting the census. A suggested alternative is to use web-based cellphone applications that run on existing network infrastructures.

Harris is standing behind its FDCA system, claiming that the computers actually are easy to use, with a failure rate of less than 1 percent when tested in the field. "After you spend about 30 minutes to an hour familiarizing yourself with it, it's as easy to use as a modern cellphone," said a Harris spokesman. Somehow I don't find that comforting. After 30 minutes of fiddling, I've yet to fully understand a cellphone.

The core problem seems to be in the area of requirements. According to the Census Bureau, there was a communication problem. No, not a "telecommunication" problem, but "a lack of clarity in defining technical requirements...especially with regard to the testing and functionality." This lack of clarity led to a device/system that was difficult to use, which will cost you and me a lot of tax dollars.

Oh well, there's always the 2020 census.

-- Jonathan Erickson
jerickson@ddj.com

Posted by Jon Erickson at 02:00 PM  Permalink