Summary
Objective and Scope
We performed a project early warning assessment of the project implementation controls used by the college to manage the risk of not achieving its project objectives. This includes examining the design of controls for:
- project management implementation planning
- business change management readiness planning
- project oversight
The design of these controls is an early indicator of management’s ability to mitigate the risk of a failed implementation.
Conclusion
The college’s implementation plan has significant weaknesses in the design of its project management, business change management and senior management project oversight controls for the ERP project. College management cannot assure the board of governors of a successful system implementation without the weaknesses being rectified.
The board is unable to provide effective oversight of the project, as it is not regularly receiving complete information on project risks, mitigation plans and whether appropriate actions are being taken. The board’s decision to approve the system going live is significantly impacted by the lack of complete information on implementation readiness.