You might have seen the news that TSA recently spent $47,400 on a random number generator iPad app. While most are assuming that this app is limited to what is shown in the viral video that started the stories, I think people are underestimating the reality of what it takes to build, test, and distribute an enterprise app for a defense-related federal agency. I’m not suggesting that the amount spent isn’t high for this type of app or that government inefficiency is justified, but that amount isn’t exorbitant when you consider the amount of overhead required for IT projects in the government. Even basic mobile apps built for an agency like Homeland Security are more expensive than people might think for the following reasons:
- It probably needs user authentication - when it starts up, which means connectivity to an existing TSA identity management system, this increases time and cost.
- It likely has administrative and reporting functions - such as managing users, and reporting which lines were selected, and other data reporting, maybe even analytics.
- There is likely a backend server - it can exponentially increase the cost of building the overall solution, which now includes a server-side application and all the corresponding work that entails.
- It needs to be secure - if it is capturing any information, which means encryption for data in transit and at rest, possibly including anti-hacking technology such as code-obfuscation and other security features to prevent people from claiming that it is not random, which drives up cost.
- It needs to comply with government regulations - Section 508, governance, security, and a host of other rules add further complexity to building even a simple functional app or web site.
- It has to be securely distributed - unlike a regular app, it can’t just be posted on a public app store, but rather must be distributed via a mobile device management or mobile app management solution, requiring further integration and testing. It is unlikely we will get confirmation of the full functionality of the app because, for obvious reasons, that is classified.
- It has to be built by people with security clearance – that limits the number of firms and personnel who can build and test the app, thus increasing the minimum cost.
While I am sure there are no shortage of areas for improving efficiency and streamlining government spend, this particular case is probably not the best example. Even if the stories about it (based on a two min video clip by a passenger) represent the full app functionality, they still underestimate other requirements on what it takes to build, test, and distribute an enterprise app for a defense-related federal agency.
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