[kictanet] Has the ICT Sector Failed?

Wed Mar 6 10:41:53 EAT 2013

Listers,

I beg to differ here. It is about time we became perfectionists and stopped making excuses for our failure to ensure that the system was FULLY functional before the actual election took place. It is true that systems fail but in this case, it never really worked properly RIGHT FROM THE ONSET. If we keep adopting this attitude that 'systems fail' how will the processes and efficiencies ever be improved? It is wise to accept our weaknesses so we can improve on them. The moment the writing was on the wall, IEBC ICT Team should have advised of the risk of proceeding with the failing system in order for them to simply announce that they would have to run the elections on a dully manual system-expectations must always be managed, especially knowing how crucial these particular elections are for every party. Why is it that we don't normally read that systems failed during elections in all other countries. Probably because they fully prepare and have back up systems that work I event one fails!

Regards,

Gilda Odera

On Mar 6, 2013, at 9:52 AM, Erik Hersman <erik at zungu.com> wrote:

> Agreed with Evans here.  
> 
> Every single tech system has problems, that IEBC does as well should be no surprise.  I've been spending last night and this morning trying to better understand how the IEBC's data flow works, their lack of clarity here is the only problem that I can find.  You can see my questions, sources and even the IEBC RFP for the system here: http://iebctechkenya.tumblr.com/
> 
> Polling station uses Safaricom SIM cards »
> App installed in phone, proprietary software from IFES » 
> Transmitted via Safaricom’s VPN » 
> Servers hosted/managed by Next  Technologies (needs confirmation) »
> Google hosted website at http://vote.iebc.or.ke »
> Google hosted API at http://api.iebc.or.ke
> 
> You'll note that, besides the IEBC itself, there are at least 4 (large) organizations that have to be in sync in order for the system to work (Safaricom, IFES, Next Technologies, and Google).  That's no small task, and as you can see by the list of companies involved, these are largely not local companies. 
> 
> 
> Erik Hersman
> 
> www.ushahidi.com | www.iHub.co.ke
> www.whiteafrican.com | @whiteafrican
> 
> On Mar 6, 2013, at 9:42 AM, Evans Ikua <ikua.evans at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Edith, I beg to differ. Its not ICT that has failed here. Its the processes. Just throwing some expensive servers and plenty of bandwidth at a problem will not solve it. The top leadership has to fully understand their organization's ICT strategy. They have to internalize the opportunities that technology brings to the table, as well as the inherent risks that come with it. This cannot be left to techies, however good they may be. The reason being that if the organization that you lead fails (and the reason was technology), its you who is answerable, not the techies. This is the spirit of IT Governance.
>> 
>> It would be interesting to know if the IEBC commissioners fully understand the risks of the technologies that they are relying on.
>> Let us not blame the technology.
>> 
>> Evans
>> 
>> On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 8:55 AM, Edith Adera <eadera at idrc.ca> wrote:
>> Listers,
>> 
>> It is a shame that for the first time in Kenya's history when IT is given a chance to bring credibility and efficiency in the electoral process, ICT has failed SPECTACULARLY!
>> 
>> what went wrong?
>> 
>> Edith
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>> 
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> Kind Regards,
>> Evans Ikua,
>> lanetconsulting.com,
>> lpi-eastafrica.org,
>> ict-innovation.fossfa.net,
>> Skype: @ikuae
>> Cell: +254-722-955831
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>> 
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>> 
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
> 
> _________________

Regards,

Gilda Odera

Regards,

Gilda Odera

On Mar 6, 2013, at 10:20 AM, Agosta Liko <agostal at gmail.com> wrote:

> Roland
> 
> The governance experts are saying - lack of governance
> 
> The networking experts are saying - lets get better VPNS
> 
> The server experts are saying - we should have used HP or SUN or IBM
> 
> The database experts are concerned Oracle was used (Open Source Guys would want MySQL)
> 
> Software Developers - why use language X and not you
> 
> Software Testers - want more testing
> 
> Everyone is pitching their wares ... no one is sure what happened ....... ... and the job is over this week :)
> 
> On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 10:00 AM, Roland Omoresemi <roland at tezzasolutions.com> wrote:
> Can we really blame ICT when the true culprit appears to be the lack of proper testing of the systems in play?
> 
> IEBC could have performance tested (both load and stress) their systems to see how they would react under varying loads.
> 
> The tools and human resources were right there in Kenya but it is obvious we failed to apply them to help create a different result than what we currently face.
> 
> What we are witnessing is a classic case of what happens when we fail to adequately test our applications. Our non-conformance cost skyrockets...IEBC now has to worry about the cost of doing damage control on the biggest stage ever when it could have spent a fraction of the same cost to perform load or stress tests which would have helped them identify issues/bottlenecks in their systems long before now.
> 
> This is also not much different from what some of our local companies do...we deploy critical systems without proper testing and we then pray and hope nothing happens.
> 
> It is saddening that we don't see much value in setting aside adequate time for testing our applications (most especially those that are customer-facing) or we push whatever little testing we do to the very last minute when its practically too late to make any difference...or until the "s..." hits the ceiling and we then start to wonder why any of our issues could be happening.
> 
> Could we really blame ICT here or should we be looking closely at our lack of proper software testing?
> 
> - Roland
> ------Original Message------
> From: Edith Adera
> Sender: kictanet
> To: Roland Omoresemi
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> Subject: [kictanet] Has the ICT Sector Failed?
> Sent: Mar 6, 2013 12:55 AM
> 
> Listers,
> 
> It is a shame that for the first time in Kenya's history when IT is given a chance to bring credibility and efficiency in the electoral process, ICT has failed SPECTACULARLY!
> 
> what went wrong?
> 
> Edith
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
> 
> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/roland%40tezzasolutions.com
> 
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
> 
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
> 
> ---------------------------------------------
> Roland Omoresemi | CEO
> Tezza Business Solutions Ltd
> p: +19139612234
> e: roland at tezzasolutions.com
> w: http://www.softwaretestingafrica.com
> skype: banfii
> gmail: rolandomoresemi at gmail.com
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> 
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
> 
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> 
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
> 
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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