University of Wisconsin – Why Do Projects Fail?

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” – a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.

University of Wisconsin
Project type : Payroll and benefits system
Date : May 2006 Cost :$28M USD

Synopsis :
Payroll and benefits system project is abandoned after 5 years of effort. Board of governors (regents) had not received a single report on the project in its 5 years and was unaware that the University was facing a large scale project failure.

Contributing factors as reported in the press :
Lack of management oversight. Poor leadership. Lack of planning. Bureaucratic infighting.

Reference links :

$26 Million software scrapped by uw system officials regret the loss but believe a different vendor will prove better in the long run