Having served in a Records Management/Archives capacity for 35 years, I can
say there have been many times when there was a Cassandra like quality to
my job. For those of you not familiar with Greek mythology, Cassandra was
cursed by the gods with the ability to see the future, yet no one would pay
heed to the warnings she gave as a result of that (specifically, her
warnings to fellow Trojans about the pending fall of Troy).

I can't tell you how many times I have warned about the implications of
technology projects as they were being planned and implemented: if you do
(a), the bad result will be (b). In fact, much of the credibility I have
now earned is due to the fact that my predictions have for the most part
been accurate, and many folks that survived the wreckage  now are in high
level positions of influence and actively seek and heed my advice.

This is not an issue of government vs. private sector vs. vendor. As long
as careers and money can be made from projects like this, what I call
"magical thinking" will prevail. I can assure you that in my experience,
the fault lies at times with in-house people grossly over-promising what a
given application will deliver; at other times, the contractor is at fault
for significantly mis-representing how the system will actually perform;
sometimes its a combination of the two; and sometimes its even elected
officials grasping for a solution that promises to save money, preserve
services, etc...making them a ripe target for the unscrupulous. Sometimes
the mistakes are honest ones (being on the leading edge of change carries
risks); sometimes not so honest (watch out for project leaders becoming
consultants for the contractor upon implementation). And, bluntly,
sometimes they are just downright dumb!

If we define the problem as being inherent in a given type of
organization/person (government, private sector, consultants, etc...) we
play into the hands of the unscrupulous ("Don't listen to THEM, they're
typical of <insert prejudice here>.").

One of the reasons it is important to maintain records management as a body
of knowledge is that my experience in the field has been a consistent gauge
in analyzing long term impacts of a given system. That's why I was accurate
then, that's why I get listened to now. I might also add that I live
comfortably, but never intended or expected to get rich at what I do.
Consequently, personal career or profit have never entered my analysis.

Integrity counts.
-- 
Dwight Wallis, CRM
Multnomah County Records Management & Distribution Services Manager
1620 SE 190th Avenue
Portland, OR 97233
ph: Records- (503)988-3741
ph: Distribution - (503)988-3533, x29131
cell: (503)260-2263
fax: (503)988-3754
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