culture & language experiences in iraq
DESCRIPTION
Culture & Language Experiences in Iraq. International Workshop on Usability and Biometrics June 2008 Peter T. Higgins. Topics. Project Outline Initial Contacts Deployment issues System language issues Bottom Line. Project Outline. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
1
Culture & Language Experiences in Iraq
International Workshop on
Usability and Biometrics
June 2008
Peter T. Higgins
2
Topics
Project Outline Initial Contacts Deployment issues System language issues Bottom Line
3
Project Outline
DEPSECDEF wanted to help identify Iraqis as part of a classic anti-insurgent strategy - 2004
Army took lead for a rapid purchase and deployment of an AFIS
Schedule did not permit: End user interviews Language tailoring
4
Initial Contacts
In spite of critical war time need - one vendor protested at least 4 times Changed schedule from 10 weeks to 10 weeks
spread over 7 plus months Project personnel met with Iraqis while they
visited US Got strong feedback from charts used to brief
bidders Separate criminal and civil workflows and data -
privacy
5
Initial Contracts
Met the Iraqi delegation in LA Only to learn that they did not know they
could not visit Motorola Factory due to protests
Could not understand role of lawyers
Took them to Anaheim PD and LA County Sheriff’s Department Surprised at crime rates
6
Deployment Issues
The 10 weeks plus a month in transit led several fingerprint examiners to apply for transfers General Thalmer visit General Adnon visit
Electric components purchased on the local market - high risk
7
Sample of Challenge
Copper wire bypasses fuse
8
Deployment Issue
Oversight Committee - screening for former criminals applying for trusted positions Balance “police” and “OPM” Installed some of their own people “inside” Weekly meetings with US Army & police Wanted ownership of system or a second system Later on - PM’s Office asked for sample law to
authorize national ID card system - privacy concerns
9
System Language Issues
Initial deployment of ~500 portable livescans ran into numerous language issues Turned off edit checks - still paying for that -
rippled into AFIS edit checking AFIS Vendor Livescans
Army trained language expert challenged with technical terms
Testing required integration of Arabic speaker into team
10
System Language Issues
AFIS Latent Case Management (LCM) Initial reaction - we can’t use English in court
cases - will not use LCM features After we delivered LCM in Arabic - we don’t need
that, we’re professional fingerprint experts - we work in English
11
Bottom Line
System a major success Iraqis own it and operate it
Lesson learned from Russian experience
Developing good English skills
12
Contact InformationPeter T. Higgins
Higgins-Hermansen-Banikas, LLC Reston Town Center 1818 Library Street, 5th Floor Reston, VA 20190
1-703-956-3004 (VA Office)1-202-438-6611 (Cell) - best [email protected] www.thehhb.com