Why end-users should lead complex procurement projects
There is absolutely no doubt that the procurement of complex systems for use by military and government services is a specialist business, rightly dominated by technical experts. I begin to wonder though whether too many procurement projects are failing for lack of proper engagement by the key group of people; the end users.
All too often in recent years I have watched expensive procurements fail to deliver what the user wanted and have wondered why this might be. A common cause of failure (in my experience the most common) is the unwillingness of the end-user really to engage in the process and his desire to hand over the problem to his engineering experts.
Invariably our clients at Digital Soula Systems recognize that buying “capability” (the ability to achieve a particular effect) is dependent on properly bringing together people, processes and technology to create a working system. Most understand the need to produce a carefully written Concept of Operations (CONOPS) that describes the effects they want to achieve and the processes and people that will be employed to do so.
Sadly though, it is all too often true that the end-user ignores the project once the CONOPS has been completed. Uncomfortable in the technical procurement world, a system’s operators (people like me) tend to walk away and leave the detailed business of writing requirements and working with industry to the technical experts. Far too often the consequence is that the equipment disappoints when delivered.
The only people that can identify that a system is ready for deployment are the people who will use it. Failing to keep them fully engaged throughout the purchasing process is a recipe for failure. Perhaps we should see more Project Sponsors and Project Managers drawn from the ranks of the user?
James Hall is a Director of Digital Soula Systems, a GCC-based professional services company providing specialist support to Clients in the Defence and Security sectors.
