Look over Item 4, "Drivers for Change" (in Part 1) and Item 5 "Options Available" (in Part 2).
If you were a Ministry official charged with approving this business case, would you approve it? (why/why not?) How would you go about deciding?
What kind of challenges does the business case present? (The Ministerial Inquiry is also there for those who are interested)
If it were my choice, I would accept the contract to implement the new system. As stated in the executive summary, the system was becoming outdated and needed upgrading due to a number of reasons that were making the existing system inflexible. However, I would have not accepted the contract from the vendor Talent2. While Talent2 was chosen on the basis of various reasons, Datacom should have been the preferred vendor as the Ministry had already had a strong relationship with Datacom as their prior system was with them since 1996. Keeping Datacom keeps company cultures close, as well as requirements analysis and data export minimal if the two organisations are well known to each other. In hindsight, it appears that the Ministry appreciated that Datacom was perhaps the best vendor, with Steven Joyce looking at 2012 into bringing Datacom in as a contingency plan.
ReplyDeleteThe challenges of the business case are extensive, and many of those challenges came up with Novopay. For one, the critical success factor of the project: the implementation of an effective and efficient system was not met. This comes from many different challenges that the Ministry had, mostly due to the poor management of Talent2. For one, critical success factors were never going to be met if important milestones were skipped over by project managers. But milestones were skipped in order to keep to the promised Go Live of August 2012, and the system suffered as a result. The poor project management also suffered extensive turnover, and as a result, the weak relations that were built between The Ministry and Talent2 were made even weaker as new members came into the project at a point where crucial members should not have allowed to have left. Tis caused a clash of the two company cultures, and ended up making many of the poor management decisions.
I concur with Rory’s view of that the implementation of the new system was an imperative for the Ministry of Education. The reasons behind the change was plenty as outlined in the section 4, Drivers for change, and to have a modern system with higher quality was critical since it contributes to the schools’ performance and working conditions. When making important decisions like this one, it’s of paramount importance to acknowledge and analyze the trade-offs between the different options. The trade-offs are being highlighted to some extent but I feel that it would have been helpful to prioritize the different features further. The information package only describes the advantages/disadvantages for every option. I would have preferred more knowledge about how much value each and every advantage would bring and more flavor on how important every characteristic were. That would have aided and provided enhanced guidance in the decision making.
ReplyDeleteThe challenges of this business case were plenty and hindered the implementation and results of Novopay. The fundamental challenge that brought the implementation down was the governance and management of the implementation. When I analyze this case it feels like the Ministry of Education lacked the skill of offshore readiness. Talent2 and the Ministry of Education didn’t start out with any kind of pilot project to see if the expectations, milestones or outcomes were realistic. Many risks weren’t considered enough and the vendors were over-confident in how to handle them. I argue that the Education of ministry should focus more on building up its offshore readiness to mitigate these kind of risks.
I agree with the posts above that one of the approved solutions should be chosen for implementation. The main goal for the ministry of education was to create better environments for better teaching. The original system was obsolete and inefficient in terms of managing teacher’s payroll, something that could definitely put pressure on teachers if payroll issues arise, impeding on their ability to teach. Based upon part 4 and 5 I feel that the ministry has analysed in depth what the possible options are, and the advantages and disadvantages on each options. Based upon the fact I’ve only read part 4 and 5, I would want to perform cost/benefit analysis on each option to find which one brings the most value to the ministry, and is affordable and deliverable within a reasonable time frame. Furthermore, the system chosen should clearly meet the objective of the project, which is to improve the payroll system, to ease pressure on teachers, to improve teaching quality, and improve education for NZ children.
ReplyDeleteI felt the business case presented an inappropriate vendor selection and management as a major challenge. It seems that the ministry did not realise that the vendor, talent2 was in financial difficulty at the time nor did they really check if the promises that the vendors made were realistic in terms of being able to deliver on time and cost. Because of this, the project ultimately had huge budget and functionality issues which meant several features were changed to meet the deadline. This in turn meant the system failed to deliver its purpose of designing a more efficient payroll system as many teachers did not receive pay, thus the inadequate vendor management resulted in the system failing to deliver on its objective.
I agree with rory and alex. I would approve this case. The business were lacking of new strategies that would improve their costs and business efficiency. They have a very limited information to access with their employees.
ReplyDeleteIn deciding, I would rather check the capability of the business first. For example, checking financial resources, the capability of existed systems to integrate with new ones, ensures that the changes would entirely meet the business's needs, providing surveys and getting feedbacks from employees/staff (asking if they are aware of these changes). After that, I would prefer to choose a vendor who is capable to meet the business's needs and understand their goals and objectives.
The challenges for this could be selecting vendor and poor management. For selecting the vendor, the Ministry didn't look at what are the capable of Talent2 taking this project (eg availability of financial resource). They relied on what are the things that Talent2 could offer. For poor management, it seems like Talent2 having a low performance fulfiling the project. I presume that the reason is that they weren't have enough resources to deliver the project.
Personally, I would recommend them to change it because their current system is outdated and inflexible as Rory stated above. I say this because their system isn’t uncongenial with their current environment. As illustrated in the case; the problems with the existing environment is that it lacks contestable support, access to payroll information and their HR information but also it lacks consistency in their application of payroll rules as well as technical and functional obsolescence. If they want to be able to accomplish their vision and their objective, a new system is needed to be in place. This can be achieved by selecting one of the options in the “Options available” section however before they select a certain options, I believe that they should seek more knowledge on the issue and also how these options would bring value to their business because if they select an option that isn’t compatible with their current environment. They will continue to experience the same problems at the same time they would be wasting their resources and their corporate image. Thus, I would use SWOT analysis on each of the options, that way I would be able to weigh out weakness and threats that these options will have. In addition I would also implement a mitigation plan for the risks that the selected option would inflict the business in the near future.
ReplyDeleteOn the challenge issue, I agree with my fellow peers above that the challenge that this business is currently facing is poor vendor selection and poor management. However, I believe the main challenge is the vendor selection. Because, they lacked the knowledge and information on their current vendor Talent2 thus led to poor management . If I was the ministry, I would set a specific decision criteria such as obsolescence, flexibility, quality, profit and many others that would aid the business managers to select a suitable vendor that would not only deliver value but also help them accomplish their milestones.
I agree with the posts above, as if I was in charge I would have accepted the contract to implement the new system. As outlined in the report, the old system had become outdated and needed upgrading due to a number of reasons that was identified in item 4, ‘Drivers for change’. This change was imperative for the Ministry of Education (MoE), as they needed a system to do the job right. This is because the system has a massive impact on schools’ ability to perform therefore impacting our countries children, and also the working conditions for teachers.
ReplyDeleteWhen making big decisions like this, I agree with Alex “its of paramount importance to acknowledge and analyze the trade-offs between the different options”. The report did acknowledge to some extent the trade-offs; however with such an important decision to be made I would of liked more detail then just advantages and disadvantages for each option. Instead I would of requested more helpful information on the different features of each option and, what value would each advantage bring to MoE’s payroll system.
The challenge the business case presented was incorrect vendor selection and management. Its pretty clear the MoE did not recognize the vendor Talent2 was in financial difficulty at the time, also their was an issue of promises being made that weren’t realistic in terms of delivery on time and cost. The result of this poor management was the project went over budget and had functionality issues that were not correctly changed before the deadline. In the end the system and vendor failed to deliver on its promise of an effective and efficient payroll system as many teachers did not receive payments.
I agree with the above posts. The business case should be approved as the old system does come with challenges and is perhaps slightly out dated. This is shown in the drivers for change section when issues were highlighted such as leave, pay scale etc issues. The system is important, as it is a critical success factor for teacher quality to have an effective HR payroll system to support the staff.
ReplyDeleteTo help decide which system to implement a series of decision criteria should be used. This is things such as flexibility, return on investment, functionality, speed of implementation etc. Theses will help to evaluate the systems against each other and for an appropriate system to be chosen.
Milestones are used to keep track of a project and to make sure it is progressing as it should be. However important milestones were missed in the case and it was not viewed as important and necessary to stick to them. This causes many challenges such as the threat the project will not be delivered on time if key milestones are dismissed and not valued as important to stick to.
As said by the others, the old system was outdated and needed to be changed. It had many issues that could be sorted out by having a new system, such as Novopay, which would also increase efficiency. It seems like the problems with the system are identified and the ministry have some idea of what they wanted with the new system, but the actual solution and how it would be implemented seems a bit unclear from the case provided. There were a range of alternatives provided for the ministry to look at and choose from, but the criteria for choosing those options is not very clear. The information provided is not very detailed and seems superficial and so it would be hard for me to make a decision based on the information provided. Even though a change was necessary, a more in depth analysis should have been done before choosing a solution.
ReplyDeleteThere were many challenges that were faced, and it seems that overall although a change was necessary, the readiness for change was not there. This can be pointed to incorrect vendor selection, sloppy management and even lack of alternatives or research done when selecting the appropriate solution. All these challenges came together to make the new system a headache for everyone involved and cost the ministry a lot of money while leaving them with a system that did not function properly.
As a ministry official in charge with approving the business case, I would approve this particular case. The current system is aging and does not provide a range of functionality required of a modern payroll service. Since 1996, Datacom has been very dependable in providing service to the current system. However, the business case stated that supplier Talent2 was selected instead of Datacom. As previously mentioned in the comments above the ministry should continue working with Datacom. In doing so the transfer of knowledge and data would be limited compared to transferring this data to a whole new outsourcing provider. The ministry should maintain the strong relationship that has been built up over the years between the ministry and Datacom.
ReplyDeleteThere are many challenges evident in the business case. I agree with the comments above that a challenge this business case presents is poor vendor selection and poor management. As mentioned above the ministry was not aware that the vendor was in fact in financial difficulty at the time and they did not check that the promises stated by the vendor would go through and if they would deliver on these promises. The lack of data and knowledge on the current vendor also contributed to poor management. Another challenge is that milestones were continuously skipped in order to meet the date set to go live. Therefore certain requirements of the system were rushed and overlooked. Thus these challenges lead to an inefficient payroll system in which some of the 105,000 employees did not receive payments.
I also agree with all of the comments made above especially with Rory and Alex. If I was a Ministry official I would definitely approve the case as it was evident in the Novopay report that the organisation was as Josephine mentioned lacking new strategies and their was no thinking outside the box of how they could implement new ones (no thinking outside the square) that would enhance their business efficiency, time and cost. This showed that they have a very narrow path to information in regards to access with their employees. I would go by deciding this by weighing out the pros and cons first also doing in depth analysis and research into the existing causes. Therby also getting the staffs opinion on what works well and what they could deem as the issue all through feedback a team meeting. I agree with Cecilia I think a SWOT analysis would be a great approach to use in order to analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
ReplyDeleteThe main challenge I think that the business case presents would have to be the selection process for the vendor as mention above. This is because the Ministry didn't look at what are the capabilities of whether the vendor could actually complete the needs of Talent2 taking this project an example of this being the availability of financial resource. They depended on what things Talent2 could already offer. They didn’t challenge them enough to see whether they could do more then what they were deeming to do. Another challenge would be poor management, as this is evident that Talent2 are having a low performance of being able to complete the project. The assumption being that it was lack of staff, budget and resources to complete the task however their could have been other problems that weren’t mentioned.
Change implementation was indeed essential for the Ministry of Education payroll system. Therefore I would agree to approve this business case. The principal rationale underlying the business case was the replacement of aging technology. With the new payroll system in place, an increase in efficiency through automation, improve consistency through standardised business rules, and improve payroll accuracy are expected. But first, the complexity of the entire process should not be ignored. According to the report, there have been many changes that took place in the past, which created complexity to the school payroll environment and there was lack of attempt to arrive at collective to simplify the processes. Thus the business case will have identified the risks and mitigations to risks. It should then also be able to identify benefits, some sort of matrix to measure all benefits and collect all evidence for expected benefits. Choosing the right vendor is crucial to decision-making process.
ReplyDeleteBusiness case sometimes can overestimate the benefits of IT investment or why a change should be implemented while the cost in achieving the benefits is sometime underestimated. For example, The Ministerial Inquiry report mentioned that according to PwC some of the issues about the sustainability of the Datapay software (when Datacom was the vendor) had been overstated, and that upgrade options were actually available for the existing Datapay system. Another challenge business case represent is that it focuses just on efficiency gains from IT, which improve individual processes but often at the expense of overall organizational effectiveness. With educational department, we can question whether standardise or centralised system is the best option for education payroll departments.
I would have to agree with posts above to approve this business case. I would approve the business case because Novapay’s payroll system is functional obsolescence and there are many numbers of areas in the provision of the ESP that is currently not meeting the business requirements of an HR/Payroll system. In terms of deciding, I would look at the risks and capabilities involved with the options available. From the list of options available, the business would need to look at the advantages and disadvantages of each and consider which one is best for the company, looking at both short term and long term benefits. The cost benefit analysis of the options and risk profile are good starting points.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cecilia that the challenges that the business case presents are the inadequate vendor selection and poor management. In relation to Talent2, there was insufficient information when selecting the vendor. When selecting the option that best suits the company, it would be wise to measure it against a decision criteria such as adaptability, cost-benefit analysis etc to meet their business objectives.
I personally would approve the business case too. Datacom’s system currently supplied is reliable over the years however it is now becoming aged because of restrictions with its functionalities. Although instead of continuing business with Datacom, Talent2 was selected but I believe the Ministry of Education should have remained with Datacom due to them being a more reliable vendor. This can be proven as for almost ten years Datacom provided the current system. Staying with Datacom holds another advantage as the transfer of knowledge / data would be very minimal compared to transferring all the data to Talent2 (a new vendor).
ReplyDeleteMultiple challenges arise with this business case such as milestones were skipped over in order to meet the go live date which meant specific requirements / functionality of the system were rushed or ignored. This was a result of poor project management and not enough top management support which meant the system suffered significantly hence bringing down thousands of people such as many teachers not being paid accurately or on a timely manner. To prevent such a large problem occurring the system should have been tested on a smaller scale (i.e. a sample) to ensure any bugs or problems could have been assessed, evaluated and mitigated earlier before implementing the system nationwide. It would have also meant Novapay would not have been impacted so badly saving them on time, money and their reputation.
Approving the the business case is the best recommendation, also as stated by others above. The system that was provided buy Datacom was a good system for its time and did as needed but as the times change and so do the organisations the system became inefficient and inflexible to use now for the ministry. I believe that the Ministry should have stuck with Datacom to build the new system rather than move to a new vendor. A couple of reasons, to build a good business interrelationship and because Datacom had done the first one they have the experience with the Ministry they have their foot in the door for understanding how the new system could work.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few challenges that arose in the case some of the notable ones were the milestone being skipped in some stages to rush the project along which resulted in key features and functionality's being missed. Project management skills was another area that caused issues for the change and resulted in a poor business relationship between the ministry and Talent2. Some of the crucial members were lost and new members joined at a critical point where it was important to have the best of the best involved in the development of the new system.
I would approve the business case for NovaPay, the current system has issues that need to be addresses and remedied, the business case provided solution that would help payroll and other functions of school educators be more efficient and effective. The way I would go about deciding whether to approve the case, is by determining the risks and benefits of the case, and the long term impact of the project.
ReplyDeleteThe challenge the business case presents is the notion of choosing the best supplier to supply and maintain services for a good NovaPay system.I believe that looking at the a system development life cycle and using the waterfall approach you want to make sure that all the first stages of the systems life system are complete and that means choosing the right vendor. Choosing an incorrect vendor means the flow of problems will only increase further down the project and cause issues such as the failure of the implementation and the waterfall method means it is difficult to go back and redo it.
As aligned with the majority of the class, I to would approve implementing the new system. This is because it is it is not flexible and is outdated, which will only cause more problems in the future if not addressed now. Transferring to a new vendor is a risky job, but personally I would stay with Datacom. Having past relationships and experiences with a vendor will give you more of a platform to move forward as you know about previous work content as well as how the vendor operates.
ReplyDeleteThe challenges faced in this case include the poor vendor choice/management as well as time management. By attempting to stick to their dead line, multiple functions and requirements were then compromised. This meant the functionality and operations of the new system suffered and ultimately won’t deliver what it should. One very obvious consequence was the inability of the system to put through the payments of teachers. This meant paid workers had their income delayed. Another challenge faced was the vendor selection. Did they measure the vendors appropriately to determine who to work with? I don’t think the selection process was adequate. I do not believe the ministry did enough background research on the vendor to ensure they knew about them enough. Additional financial checks should have been carried out. If someone wants you to choose them as their pick they will overinflate their abilities, and it is up to you to ensure they are being legitimate and as honest as possible.
As with many of the previous post, I agree and would also approve the business case. Although the previous payroll system was working fine, it was outdated and didn’t support many of functions that were required in a modern payroll system. The objectives in the case were also sufficient. I also agree that the key challenges that were presented in the case were the selection of the vendor and the management of the project, from both the Ministry’s and vendor. I also agree with Alisha and Cecilia that a SWOT analysis would be a great tool to analyse the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats. There are two challenges from the case. Firstly, the selection of the vendor and the management of the project. It seemed that the vendor was in a financial difficulty state during its outsourcing agreement, and the ministry didn’t check to see if the vendor was able to deliver on its promises, that being on time and cost. Secondly the management of the project was not well managed and therefore led to many flaws in the system. Because many fundamental elements of the project were bypassed in order to meet the deadline date, it resulted in many functionality issues and the cost of the project was very high. These factors led to the overall failure of the system.
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