Some IT projects are so successful that their benefit to society can fill eternal. This would be the results of clear strategic portfolio management and tactical goals being executed by team members on all levels. However, this may not be the same for all, because it is a well-known fact that numerous factors can result or add to the failure of a project. This was the case of the state of California and SAP Public Services who failed to implement a major IT payroll project that would modernize their current legacy system of 295,000 employees.
As early as 1999, the State Controller’s Office (SCO) had been planning a project that would replace the current computer system. This system had been around since the early 1970’s with an outdated computer language that only a few dwindling computer technicians could understand. Through the services of SAP, “a global leader in providing payroll and human resources software” (Sweeney & Korber, 2013, p. 7), an off-the-self software would be customized to meet and maintain California’s complicated payroll for “roughly 300,000 employees in 160 departments with 21 different labor or bargaining units” (Sweeney & Korber, 2013, p. 7). On Oct. 4, 2005, Los Angeles Unified School District signed a whopping $95 million contract with SAP to use its software for payroll, financial management and procurement. This software would be modified and integrated into state departments and school.
This daunting task would require its fair share of risked that even the none computer savvy could see coming. Just two days after the state bought its own SAP license, the SCO saw its first red flag. A private health provider, the Irish Health Service, turned in the towel on two SAP payroll system for 120,000 workers, just half the size of the state’s workforce payroll. This system was expected to take three years with only $10.7 million to