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Officials testify on failed IT projects
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by Douglas Schuette
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Testifying before a state legislative committee Wednesday, University of Wisconsin System officials said that a multimillion-dollar software project derailed last year due to insufficient planning, nonstandard business practices and poor communication.
UW System Senior Vice President Don Mash said a more thorough planning process and increased oversight, both internal and external, would help prevent similar problems in the future.
"UW takes seriously its responsibility to manage our IT systems effectively and efficiently," Mash said.
Implementation difficulties with the appointments, payroll and benefits system resulted in an eventual cancelation in July 2006. Officials estimate $26 million of taxpayer money was sunk into the project.
Kate Wade, a member of the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau, said the UW System is largely exempt from Department of Administration oversight. She recommended the Board of Regents report periodically to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee on IT system issues.
UW System spokesperson David Giroux called transparency a "top priority" in an interview with The Badger Herald and said the UW System welcomes the call for oversight.
According to Giroux, the Board of Regents would likely approve a resolution supporting further oversight, including reports to the committee, at next week's meeting.
"The legislators are effectively our shareholders, our major investors, and they deserve to know what's going on here," Giroux said.
He added that, while system officials knew the decision to cancel the project would expose them to criticism, it was ultimately the right choice.
Many mistakes were made along the way, Giroux added, but continuing to implement the project would have cost "millions and millions more."
"To stop it and save the taxpayers money was the right thing to do," Giroux said.
Janice Mueller, another member of the Legislative Audit Bureau, said the bureau's IT projects report found themes of poor planning, monitoring and oversight across Wisconsin.
According to Wade, 81 projects were underway July 1, 2006, and 22 are labeled "high-risk," since they account for more than 92.7 percent of the projected $201 million final cost.
Wade said accurate cost projections were difficult to find since cost estimates and timelines are not updated as projects progress. The 22 "high-risk" projects, she added, should be reassessed.
Several legislators inquired about contract penalties — punishments written into contracts in case a company fails to complete its work in a satisfactory manner.
State Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, said incentives and penalties could both be written into contracts, but said accountability is vital.
"For me, I come down on the heavy-handed penalty side of people when contractors don't do what they say they will do," Lassa said.
Michael Morgan, secretary for the Administration Department, said the department "plans to convene a legal team that will look at the contracts of all these big IT projects … and hopefully come up with recommendations or provisions."
Giroux said there were no penalties issued for contract failures in the UW System's software project.
Anonymous (May 3, 2007 @ 4:28am):
This is what happens when liberal cowards prevent us from shipping jobs overseas. What better way to fulfill the Wisconsin Idea than by outsourcing IT operations to an overseas base! Look into it, vote Germain Q. Stemme!
- Germain Q. Stemme
Anonymous (May 3, 2007 @ 9:09am):
stemme -- you understand using your name is kinda silly, right? no one knows nor cares who you are
Anonymous (May 3, 2007 @ 9:14am):
Germain,
That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
This wasted 26 million dollars is the result of supervisors not asking the people that actually do the work "What do you need to do your job?". This is a result of an administrator that would not work with the system being created being the sole contact person for project. This is the fault of an administrator that thought "I know what is best". This is the result of an administrator being taken out for lunch by a sales person and having that sales person tell us what we need instead of us tell them what we need.
Anonymous (May 3, 2007 @ 1:17pm):
Who is Kate Wade? Is she the mother of BH writer Gabbie Wade? As a frequent reader, I really think the BH has lost a lot without Gabbie's feature articles.
Anonymous (May 3, 2007 @ 1:26pm):
9:09am:
I think you should only say something if you will stand by it, i.e., use your name. Anonymous comments are an excuse for people to voice irrational opinions and thoughts that are not well thought out. Freedom of speech is good, but logical and competent discussion is better.
--Germain E. Stemme
Anonymous (May 10, 2007 @ 9:50am):
So the article makes it sound like the implemenation failure was entirely the contractor's fault. I somehow doubt the state was entirely a victim in the whole thing. Over the years, I've been involved in many IT infrastructure software implementations as a recipient, and the first thing to know is that these tools aren't going to work when they initially get turned on. The second thing to remember is that it takes a long, long time to work out all the bugs. A lack of preparation and/or training on the buyers part will potentially doom the project to failure. This includes modifying business practices if necessary ahead of the implementation. If anyone tries to say anything different, then they're fooling themselves.
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