TroubleShooter by Colin Beveridge

No credit for universal obsolescence

Colin Beveridge — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:45:01 +0000

29th April 2013 and the UK Government launches the ‘pathfinder’ phase of a flagship policy (Universal Credit) which ‘enables’ online claims for consolidated social benefits. The main roll-out is scheduled to follow in October.

There were serious fears that the new service would present problems for computer users with up-to-date browser software. These fears, which have apparently been allayed by the Department for Work and Pensions, were based on current technology support issues with some of the current benefit systems (see below)

But, in the meantime, those outside the pilot geography for Universal Credit will have to continue using the current online benefits systems.

Some of those current systems, such as claims for Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance, have serious obsolescence issues. For example:

“The service was designed to work with the following operating systems and browsers. Many of these are no longer available.

Microsoft Windows 98:

Internet Explorer versions 5.0.1, 5.5 and 6.0

Netscape 7.2

Microsoft Windows ME

Internet Explorer version 5.5 and 6.0

Netscape 7.2

Microsoft Windows 2000

Internet Explorer version 5.0.1, 5.5 and 6.0

Netscape 7.2

Firefox 1.0.3

Mozilla 1.7.7

Microsoft Windows XP

Internet Explorer 6.0

Netscape 7.2

Firefox1.0.3

Mozilla 1.7.7″

the Government spends massive amounts on systems but these often lead to unexpected cost and disappointment. Why?

“Implementation planning? You need to go well beyond the plausibility barrier.”

colinbeveridge — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:40:13 +0000

“Implementation planning? You need to go well beyond the plausibility barrier.”

- colin beveridge READ MORE

Future CIO and a vision for IT: IT Now Magazine

Colin Beveridge — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 17:55:44 +0000

My article on a future for the CIO and the IT function has been published in the quarterly magazine by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. The magazine is only available online in the BCS Member Secure Area so, for the benefit of everyone who may wish to read the piece, here it is:

Download (PDF, 84KB)

A context sensitive future for promiscuous, context-aware devices?

Colin Beveridge — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:51:44 +0000

Mobile computing is one of the fastest moving areas of technology innovation and many of us have context-aware devices that can automatically connect to and engage with local infrastructure.

From a service provider perspective, we can choose either to accommodate, or to decline connectivity and availability for promiscuous connections from mobile devices. Generally this is done through a combination of business rules and user profiling.

However, it is apparent that some service providers see every connected device as an opportunity for maximum exploitation of data and contextual information, often far beyond the service user’s expectations.

I think therefore, as device owners, we also need to be able to define our own context-sensitive device profiles so that we can retain full ownership, control and accountability for our connectivity.

Of course, the onus for facilitating device management falls back to the device and service providers. But do they recognise the requirement and their obligations, or do they only think about the supply-side of the equation?