IT = It's trouble!

I've commented before on how we seem to be oblivious to lessons we should learn from the past. The latest example is the new NHS super computer system. It was supposed to be up and running by now, but the latest news is that it will probably not be in service before 2008. And the cost - well it started out at something like £3bn, was later uprated to twice that, and the latest estimate has ballooned to something like £20bn. Why am I not surprised? Because we've seen it all before - and not just once. The Home Office computer system, the DVLA system, the Court system, the Tax Office system, and many others - they all went horribly over schedule and over budget. And at the end of the day, none of them have really delivered as promised. So why should this one be any different? Why oh why don't we learn from history?