Lawmakers, SAP in blame game over failed project

nestor e. arellano

11 years ago

California lawmakers and enterprise software maker SAP AG are pointing fingers at each other over the failure of a major payroll project involving the vendor which has cost more than $200 million.

Called MyCalPays, the system was supposed to modernize the state’s payroll for 240,000 workers across 160 departments. A pilot was rolled out last year covering 1,300 but it was plagued with errors that the State Controller decided to halt the project in February.

A report released this week by California’s Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes, said there were also serious project management issued involved

The system being deployed by SAP “suffered from a failure to resolve core issues raised early and often, chronic leadership turnover and lapse in due diligence,” were among the complaints raised by the report released.

The report also said that State Controller John Chiang’s office, which sponsored the project, was “not always candid” about the project’s difficulties and delivered only upbeat reports which “only hinted at the turmoil churning within the project.”

Now SAP and Chiang’s office are blaming each for the collapse of the project, according to the report.

The state wants to recover $135 million while SAP believes it is owed $55 million.

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