FBI's Sentinel program works out the kinks, worries about funding
DoJ inspector general sees progress, at least in comparison to the failed Virtual Case File program; $150 million needed, but congress will likely give much less; Lockheed Martin stands to gain if budgetting issues are resolved
The FBI’s $425 million Sentinel project, the much-needed replacement for the much-troubled Virtual Case File (VCF) case management system, is on the right track, the Justice Department’s inspector general reported this week. The $170 VCF failed due to poorly defined design requirements, immature information technology investment management processes, and poor management continuity and oversight.
These problems have mainly been resolved, the inspector general said, although he remains nervous that the FBI will not receive the $150 million it needs to complete the Sentinel project. The president’s fiscal 2007 budget calls for $100 million, a request obeyed by the House but ignored by the Senate, which in its own 2007 appropriations bill has only allocated $40 million. Any negotiotiation, it seems, would further shortchange the program. “The FBI’s [chief information officer] recently told us that an FY 2007 appropriation of less than $100 million would be cause for concern and could result in an unanticipated level of reprogramming of FBI resources to fund the Sentinel project,” the inspector general said.
Lockheed Martin won a $57 million task order in March to work on the first stage of the program, with options to earn $248 million for three additional phases.
-read more in Brian Robinson’s FCW report
