Earlier this year, I wrote about the horror that is the PeopleSoft web application. It’s overly complex, confusing to use, and generally makes you want to scream every time you use it.
So, today I was interested to see an article on the Computerworld website about the PeopleSoft implementation disaster occurring in North Dakota. The migration to the enterprise software suite is $14 million over budget and is months, if not years, behind schedule. One state official says the major mistake “… was not to have a full-time project manager”, but I doubt that would have changed the outcome, except for having a single person to blame.
A software implementation as big and ambitious as the North Dakota PeopleSoft rollout was destined to have budget overruns and time delays. ERP systems like PeopleSoft are inherently complex, without adding on the wants and needs of various state and higher education organizations across North Dakota. So while there is still time to fix the problems and get things back on track, the trust and patience of North Dakota’s higher ed staff and faculty is running thin. They need to finish these changes soon, before it’s too late.