As hard as this may be to believe, the task of updating and bolstering IRS’s tax processing capabilities has been in the works for the past 30+ years.  I know because I was part of one of the first projects in the early 1970’s to move IRS into the future of technology. 

Well, after three decades, it appears as though IRS has decided it’s time to change course — again.  The agency has concluded that taking smaller bites at this elusive apple are preferable to big, gagging chomps.

This article is not intended to criticize IRS or its managers in striving to stay abreast of the technological power curve.  I think that being one step ahead of the game is virtually impossible.  That basically explains the IRS quandary in a nutshell, and such a phenomenon is not restricted to only one government agency.  It’s endemic in the nature of government procurement, organizational culture, etc.

Just when IRS decides to move on Course Correction #1, technology makes a huge left or right turn, and the Service has to adapt and begin work on Course Correction #2, and then #3, and so on.  The problem is that the procurement and development processes don’t move as quickly as technology evolves.  In short, IRS and others are always behind the power curve.  It’s as if only smaller, more nimble organizations can possibly hope to move fast and frequently enough to stay abreast of what’s the latest and greatest Information Technology capabilities.

David Perera’s article (from govexec.com) provides interesting background, including an IRS Executive Summary about how the agency plans to deal with this challenge.

What’s the solution?  How can federal procurement policies parallel real-life technology developments so that needed operational improvements can be made while also maintaining sound review of acquisition practices?

Fred Apelquist, contributing editor

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