An $80 million update to the University of Wisconsin System payroll computer software, which dates back to the 1970’s, will be proposed by the UW System President Kevin Reilly next week.
In the regents’ meeting Sept. 10, the project titled “The Human Resource System Project,” which will combine and restructure all of the payroll software in the UW System schools, will be considered.
“The UW System today does not have a single human resource system. Rather, UW institutions rely upon more than 700 ‘shadow systems’ — individual computer programs at local offices that run independent of the master database,” Reilly said in a letter to legislators.
UW System spokesperson David Giroux said it will be a huge undertaking to consolidate these various systems. He said it will need 500,000 hours of labor and at least two or three years to complete.
Giroux added the system is in dire need of an update, and the people who run it are aging and will retire fairly soon. He said there are no young programmers out there who want to learn the current system, which adds to the urgency of the system overhaul before there is a catastrophic failure.
“Try and think of any technology that you use today that was developed in the 1970’s,” Giroux said. “I don’t know anyone who drives a 1970 automobile and uses it for daily transportation.”
He also believes the main differences between this go-round with the overhaul compared to the failed attempt a few years ago is the transparency in the plans.
Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, was against the system overhaul the first time around and still has a lot of issues with the new proposal, according to his spokesperson, Mike Mikalsen.
One of the biggest problems for Nass is the large cost associated with the proposal and 55.3 percent of the cost going to outside consultants, Mikalsen explained.
He added the “one size fits all” program will not accommodate all UW System schools and they believe that inevitably this will force dramatic and costly upgrades.
“The real major improvement compared to the last project is approaching it as a public relations proposal,” Mikalsen said. “They still need to look at the grit of what is in the plan, and once you look at the plan, that is where the problems come in.”
Vice Chancellor for Administration Darrell Bazzell said he is very optimistic the system will get done on time and within the budget.
As far as using outside consultants as a large portion of the budget, Bazzell stated the UW System first looked to available staff in the UW System and then to outside expertise.
According to Giroux, the long-term success of the project depends on having enough UW staff to work on it, but they also require one-time-only expertise on project management and installment.
