Blog post -
The problem with it systems acquired through public procurement
For two decades, Aapo Koski, who is employed in Systematic’s Finland office, has worked with critical information systems. At the suggestion of a friend, he decided to make use of the knowledge, he has acquired through the years and write a PhD about the main problems inherent in IT systems acquired through public procurements.
How it all started…
I have worked in the software industry, specifically with critical information systems, for more than two decades. About 5 years ago, I was catching up with a friend from university who is now a professor at University of Helsinki. He proposed that we use my personal experiences from various software projects to write some scientific articles on information system procurement, focusing on the public sector. Right away, I saw this as a great opportunity to analyse and refine my thoughts on the main issues with software centric system development and how we can improve. This work eventually resulted in my PhD thesis, which I successfully defended this August.
What the problem is…
One of the main contributions of my thesis was the identification and root-cause analysis of the three main problems inherent in public information system procurement: insufficient communications between the client and businesses, the long duration of procurements and the working methods prevalent in software companies. It is evident that too much trust is placed on procurement notices being understandable and comprehensive. In many cases, the prospective providers get things wrong, especially if the software company is unfamiliar with the client’s sector..
How Systematic deals with the problem…
At Systematic Defence, we have understood this problem and mitigate the risk by hiring people with a defence background. That way, we at least speak the same language as our customers. In order to improve the situation further, we need to work in smaller steps, be in close communication with the customer and be more and more involved in the operation of the system, providing services instead of packages of software. The bottom line to enable this development is full trust between the system vendor and customers.
Why doing a PhD was worthwhile…
Writing a PhD suited me well. I felt no pressure to finish my PhD by a specific deadline, as it was kind of a hobby rather than work. At the same time, I felt -and still feel- that the topic of my thesis is important enough to be published and shared with as many people who work with information systems as possible.
I have witnessed the gap that exists between academia and the industry. I hope that my thesis, in some small way, can help bridge this gap by showing that practical experience has an important role to play in understanding where the focus of research and education should be.
Read more about Aapo's PhD here.
- Aapo Koski is from Tampere, Finland and is 52 years old
