Designing the Successful Technology Project

By David J. Mulholland, Lieutenant, U.S. Park Police, Washington, D.C., and Consultant/Police Technology Specialist, IACP

The implementation of technology in law enforcement is not an easy task. The law enforcement executive must decide which tech­nology to implement and then choose the most viable solution and equipment from among many competing vendors. This decision-making process is complex and time-consuming, regard­less of the agency's size.

To further complicate matters, most law enforcement agencies don't have the in­house technical staff to assist them with the daunting venture. Law enforcement executives, already faced with limited financial resources, are often unable to hire and retain a full com­plement of personnel with information technol­ogy expertise.

Those agencies that do have compe­tent information technology experts on staff suffer the same malaise that is often found in the business world. The staff is burdened with the great task of maintaining current technolo­gies. Thus, they rarely have time to keep up with the rapidly changing face of technology. The expertise of legacy staff is generally related to the agency's legacy systems. But, when a deci­sion is made to upgrade a technology or imple­ment a new technology, the agency often finds itself relying on the "expertise" of the vendor. While technology solution providers are a good resource and are, for the most part, honest and reliable, the law enforcement agency should never rely solely on the input of the vendor to determine what, when, and how to implement a technology.

Those who have been involved in suc­cessful IT (information technology) project implementation would agree that there are sev­eral crucial steps that the law enforcement exec­utive must follow. All successful technology projects incorporate the steps in some fashion.

Unfortunately, the seemingly common sense steps are often overlooked, and that oversight could cause the agency the success of the proj­ect.

Step 1: Have a Strategic Plan. Technology projects that are implemented on a whim or without proper thought of how the technology complements other agency programs or integrates with other agency projects are doomed from the start. A law enforcement agency must have a strategic plan for IT that is firmly rooted in the agency's mission and val­ues. The strategic plan should identify those technologies that maximize the efficiency of the agency's resources and increase the safety of officers; define the expected outcomes of imple­menting those technologies; and determine an end-to-end course of action to implement and manage those technologies. Because technology changes so rapidly, long-term strategic plans must be living documents, with a certain degree of flexibility built in.

Step 2: Identify and Incorporate the Key Stakeholders. Failed IT projects in law enforcement often have one element in com­mon. They overlook key stakeholders in the planning and implementation stages. The law enforcement agency should conduct a thorough and comprehensive user needs assessment. This user needs assessment should incorporate per­sonnel from all functions and levels of the agency. Even if a unit or section doesn't seem as though it will be directly affected by the pro­posed technology, incorporating the thoughts, opinions, and needs of personnel from those units can often provide innovative ideas during project planning. It is also essential to remem­ber that stakeholders aren't limited to those in the agency itself.

Step 3: Identify the Projects of Local Agencies and Other Partners. A law enforcement agency is not an island. It partners with other agencies such as fire and emergency medical services, transportation agencies, public works, and environmental services. When designing a project, it is important to take a look at those agencies to see if they have imple­mented or are planning a similar project. The law enforcement agency should design its tech­nology project so that it is interoperable or can be interoperable in the future with those key stakeholders and their projects.

Step 4: Study Successful Projects. Some law enforcement executives are hesitant to implement technologies because they have heard horror stories of failed IT projects here or there. While there is some value to determining why projects fail, time is better spent learning why projects succeed. A law enforcement agency should replicate successful projects, not dwell on failed projects. Spend time identifying simi­lar technology projects that have succeeded, and interview multiple persons involved in that project.

Step 5: Determine the True Cost of the Project. The initial cost of implementing technology in an agency can be substantial. Most agencies don't enjoy the freedom of unlimited financial resources. They must vigor­ously justify the expenditures to their city, county, or state executives and legislators. Successful programs have studied and evaluated the true cost of the technology implementation. The overt costs of the technology project are balanced against the transparent cost savings. An IT project should maximize the efficiency of the agency, and therefore reduce the drain of financial or human resources. A comprehensive list of those savings should become a part of the strategic plan.

Step 6: Use a Team Approach. Very few law enforcement agencies have subject mat­ter experts in all fields of IT. When planning and implementing a technology project, it is wise to use as many resources as possible. Successful IT projects have brought together subject matter experts from multiple agencies and fields to assist in developing project goals, standards, and specifications. This can be done at a formal level using working groups, or at an informal level of having subject matter experts review strategic plans, requests for information (RFI), requests for proposals (RFP), and vendor responses.

Step 7: Check References. Most law enforcement agencies require that a vendor pro­vide references. Unfortunately, some choose never to contact those references. The vendor should not be allowed to arbitrarily choose its references. The law enforcement agency should ask the vendor to list its last ten customers for the specific product it is evaluating. Those cus­tomers should then be contacted and queried as to their satisfaction with the technology itself, as well as with their satisfaction with the vendor as a business partner.

The IACP Law Enforcement Information Management Section (LEIM) pro­vides many outstanding resources for the law enforcement executive and law enforcement IT staff to help accomplish these seven essential steps in successful project planning and imple­mentation. The LEIM Section presents two out­standing training opportunities during the year: the LEIM conference and exposition held each May, and the technology institute held during the annual IACP conference each fall.

At these events, successful, innovative, and experienced law enforcement IT project designers and managers present overviews and in-depth examinations of current and emerging technologies, lessons learned, and visions for the future. The learning, however, does not end when the workshops are over. These training venues provide opportunities for developing an extensive network of law enforcement IT profes­sionals who are willing to answer questions and provide future advice when needed.

The LEIM Section also offers a com­prehensive online resource, the IACP Technology Clearinghouse (www.iacptechnolo-gy.org). The clearinghouse includes a database of mobile computing projects throughout the country, sample RFIs and RFPs, model policies, articles on current and emerging technologies, presentation materials from the LEIM Conference and the Technology Institute, and many more resources.

The world of law enforcement tech­nology is expansive and rapidly changing. A law enforcement agency should not be expected to go it alone. The IACP offers numerous law enforcement IT-related initiatives aimed at assisting law enforcement executives with imple­menting IT projects. The IACP LEIM Section remains committed to assisting agencies with these essential steps in successful project plan­ning and implementation. In addition, the IACP has produced a report entitled Toward Improved Criminal Justice Information Sharing: An Information Integration Planning Model, which relates directly to the steps neces­sary to plan an IT project. That report and other resources can be found at the IACP Technology Clearinghouse.