Investigation of Geobase Implementation Issues: Case Study of Information Resource Management

Billions of dollars have been wasted on failed information system (IS) projects over the last decade in the private and public sectors. More specifically, the tri-service environment of the U.S. military has not implemented a single successful geospatial IS (GIS). The lack of a service-wide insertion process for GIS was cited as the most significant cause for military GIS failures. GeoBase represents the USAF\u27s most recent GIS implementation. The GeoBase program focuses on Information Resource Management (IRM) and cultural issues. The GeoBase Sustainment Model (GSM), anecdotally developed by GeoBase leadership to reflect implementation issues and the IRM practices of the program, presents a prime research opportunity to examine the legitimacy of the initiative. Within the Federal Government, stricter control on IS has been established in an effort to increase the rate of IS project success. IRM has been offered as the solution. This researcher conducted a case study investigation of GeoBase implementation issues as perceived at the USAF-MAJCOM level to qualitatively assess the validity of the anecdotally constructed GSM. The researcher also assessed the model against key IRM dimensions. Based on a content analysis of the reported implementation issues, IRM documentation, and the GSM itself, the model adequately represented the reported implementation issues and the key IRM dimensions. However, the model was underspecified. Inclusion of communication, a category of reported implementation issues, and advisory committees, a major IRM dimension, would more fully specify the model. A fully specified model may act as the service-wide GIS insertion model, which is currently lacking. (12 tables, 14 figures, 75 refs.