Due to confusion in the office, I went ahead and wrote a document of the 9 steps to execute a purchase order in the state.
It involved 6 state employees, (the Project Manager, the Design Chief, Budget Analyst, Contract Specialist, Accounts Payable, and the Deputy Administrator) as well as 5 separate physical transfers of hardcopy documents (though this may change with a new digital initiative).
I’d bet each control point was put in place due to mistakes or malfeasance in the past. And I’m certain they help catch inadvertent mistakes.
I get it, we’re spending taxpayer money. But so is the time and effort of each of the individuals involved in this exercise. This is a case of security versus convenience. Ultimately, I suspect the future is digital, it might save much time, but at least we won’t be shuffling sheets of paper up and down the state when using the “send” button a few times could save us at least a week.