What Is Being Done by IT to Fix HealthCare.gov?
By now, everyone in the world knows that the rollout of the Affordable Care Act was a disaster, and we also know that information technology (IT) has taken a beating. So why were red flags not raised before the rollout, and how do we fix this mess? Let’s search for the answers together.
According to an article on Reuters, HealthCare.gov wasn’t tested—at least not sufficiently. The article details how a last-minute design change and little end-to-end testing of the system contributed to the problem.
Those who work in IT, and especially quality control, know this prevailing theme: Only two weeks of testing were completed rather than the months of testing that were needed.
So, how does this mess get fixed? For starters, Verizon has been called in to help solve HealthCare.gov’s performance issues, according to USA Today. Additionally, the US Department of Health and Human Services is reaching out to contractors outside of the usual government choices to see if the private sector can help.
Another article in USA Today points out that some technical experts are saying a complete overhaul—i.e., a rewrite of the website—may be needed and that the current technical aspects of the site are flawed.
The Obama Administration has stated that the website will be fixed by the end of November. Some are saying fixing the site by the end of November is not possible, as an article in the Christian Science Monitor points out. The piece references a story in The Washington Post stating that the website is unlikely to be working by the end of November as well.
I think the main problem with this deadline is that it is the same problem as the original October 1 deadline: It's a deadline. I believe date-driven efforts are tough to achieve; by their very nature they force you to cut corners.
What do you think? What can be done to fix the website?
