Archive for 7. October 2009

It’s up to the people

7. October 2009 by admin.

Earlier this year, managed care provider Centene finished deploying a new financial system, Computerworld reports. CIO Don Imholz says the project, which involved multiple PeopleSoft modules as well as financial planning and reporting software from Hyperion, was completed “very quickly”-in 12 months-and on budget.Imholz believes the project was successful for a number of reasons, including that the company implemented proven technology and hired a systems integrator experienced with PeopleSoft to help. Most importantly, Imholz says the project was successful because of “good teaming between the IT organization, the finance organization and the systems integration resources.”

In other words, much of the project’s success came down to people skills.

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The public gaze

7. October 2009 by admin.

Getting a project up and running is sometimes a matter of juggling figures to make its return on investment look unbeatable and the project timeline remarkable. Such juggling carries high risks, as can be seen from a report from the Auditor-General for the Australian state of NSW who has slammed a large State Government IT billing project that is expected to be nine years late and $23 million over budget. The project is intended to centralize the application and issuing of licenses, apart from driver’s licenses, used throughout the state. It was intended to replace more than 40 licensing systems in about 20 government agencies, issuing more than 4 million licenses of more than 300 varieties to individuals and businesses.

This is (at least) the second public sector billing project the Auditor-General has criticized. Most notable was his 2003 report, when Sydney Water ran into problems with a new billing system

Launched in 2001, the project was to have been completed by 2005, although it is not now expected to be concluded until 2014. “It is now nine years late, $23 million over budget and will return less than one-third of the original estimated net savings,” Auditor-General Peter Achterstraat said in a report released 7 October. “Put simply, this is poor project management.”

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