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Software Vendor Given 30-day Notice

Posted on Nov 23, 2007 in Press Releases

On November 9, 2007, Administrative Director Thomas R. Keller issued a notice of default to ACS Government Systems, Inc. with regard to its contract with the Hawai`i State Judiciary to provide software and services for the Judiciary’s Information Management System (JIMS) project. The notice of default provides that, if ACS does not cure the default within 30 days, the contract will be terminated. (See attached pdf file.)

After months of discussions with ACS, the Judiciary has reluctantly concluded that, notwithstanding representations made by ACS representatives, the ACS software does not meet the functional requirements for the desired case management system and that ACS cannot or will not modify the software to meet contract requirements, correct software design defects, or provide appropriate service. Further, the Judiciary has concluded that ACS misrepresented the capabilities of the software to induce the award of the contract.

If the contract is terminated, the Judiciary will seek other ways to complete the JIMS project. Options include modifying the current software, if possible, or seeking proposals for replacement software. The Chief Justice’s vision and the Judiciary’s dedication to the project, however, continue as the Judiciary remains committed to establishing a modern, efficient, and accessible case management system for the benefit of the public and the courts.

In 2003, ACS was the successful bidder on the Judiciary’s Request for Proposals to implement an integrated statewide court case management system. The agreement called for implementation to be conducted in phases or “modules.” The Judiciary anticipated implementation would take seven years. The project began with the traffic module that the Judiciary started using in November 2005. Although presently in use, the traffic module has not been acceptable to the Judiciary because a number of functional requirements have not been met.

The price for the traffic module was $5,193,594, of which $3,807,204 has been paid. Payment of the remaining $1,386,390 is being withheld. The Judiciary paid an additional $1,154,378 for change orders that included the development of interfaces to communicate with other systems, additional equipment, changes to the baseline software, additional third-party software licenses, additional training, etc.

The Judiciary and ACS entered into “statements of work” for the criminal and jury modules. No work was done on the criminal module, and the Judiciary will demand a full refund of the $697,824 that was paid before it became apparent that software deficiencies precluded work on that module. The jury module uses different software, is in its first phase of implementation, and is not included in the notice of default and potential termination at this time.

The Judiciary is aware that ACS is involved in litigation in Tennessee over the same case management software. The Tennessee case is Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County v. Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., d/b/a ACS Government Systems, Inc. No. 3:07-0080 (U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee).

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Contact: Marsha Kitagawa, 539-4909

For more information, contact the Communications and Community Relations Office at 808-539-4909 or via email at pao@courts.hawaii.gov.

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