Expert urges modular contracts, digital service and user‑centered design to curb expensive state IT failures
Waldo Jaquith of US Digital Response told the committee that large, waterfall contracts often fail; he recommended agile methods, product ownership, modular procurements (suggested contract increments under ~$10M and three‑year performance periods), and a state digital service to reduce risk and vendor lock‑in.
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Waldo Jaquith, senior adviser with US Digital Response, told the Science, Technology & Telecommunications Committee that typical large custom‑software contracts carry high risk of cost overruns, schedule slips and failure to meet user needs. He used a Rhode Island Medicaid modernization example in which Deloitte was paid roughly $364 million on a project initially estimated at $100 million to underscore the scale of common overruns.
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