The ICT projects are executed in the Three Phase manner which are planning,

Procurement and execution or implementation the following image clearly explains

the same

Source: Victorian Auditor-Generals Office, adapted from Investing Smarter in Public Sector ICT (2008).

Under the planning stage ICT identifies and explores various options to invest into
on the basis of time and effort required, the risk in the project with respect to the
capital investment, the capacity for the change in the agency and the payback
period in which the investment is realized.
After the options are refined and feasibility analysis is done the company procures
the necessary business requirements and establishes a dedicated team to see after
the smooth flow of procurement.
In the last stage the activities planned are executed by the team with the clear and
defined rules and responsibilities of each team member which includes effective
governance and managing the relationship with the contractor the main aim of this
is to outweigh cost with the benefits.
The catch here is despite the proper flow of activities and processes in place VAGO
audits have found out that ICT projects have a very high failure rate because of
complex and difficult planning and implementation activities most of the projects
are either postponed, cancelled are over budget which poses a major problem for
companies whether public or private in or out Australia.
Lessons learned in all the six projects in three different phrases.

ERP planning was the major hurdle despite having an excellent highly skilled

professionals because of late procurement of the system integrator

The pricing received from the vendor was very difficult to receive and the

vendor was reluctant to change.

The ERP system which everybody in the industry follows should be followed

as it is tried and tested and the support is easily available.

The system integrator is very valuable in providing the advice and thus
should be contracted in stages from design stage to build the system around

the estimate and then implement it.

Proper analysis of the situation should be done at the time of the
implementation and improve upon the process by doing some activities

differently. This would enable to extract the maximum value from investment.
The senior sponsor should have had the complete autonomy to take on the

tasks as this would have led to better accountability on the execution.

The person having the relevant experience in the project management should

have been appointed.

Tried and tested ICT solutions should have been procured using market

feedbacks and market responses.

Proper contracts should have been signed with the Supplier and sub suppliers

to ensure they abide by the terms.

Feasibility analysis should have included the cost and benefits analysis and
not just the price of procurement.

Since the project was very long term hence more costs should have been allocated

towards the contingency.

Pros and cons of each roll out situations should have been communicated to

stakeholders to engage them in the process.

The changes required throughout the process should be reported through proper
governance which may include change in scope, change in functionality, impact on
the project dependencies and cost, and new requirements for the delivering the

project.
The post implementation in case of yarra valley water was of great benefit as the
staff fulfilled 50% of the roles and efficient communication between the leaders
enabled a greater deal of knowledge transfer and smoother change transition which
reduced costs.

From the above learned lessons in the six projects the major challenges in
implementing them can be

When handling change the inadequate information about the processes of implementing the
projects lead to poor buy in from clients and result in the low acceptance by the user.
Out of so many vendors it becomes very difficult to estimate the credibility and
dependability of the vendor, proper vendor due diligence is difficult as it requires a lot of
time which cannot be done on all basis every time.
In reaching and breaking deadlines software systems testing is sometimes compromised and
led to various discrepancies in the system and after the software is released the manual
turnarounds are performed to compensate for the deficiencies in the software system.
Establishing the cost estimates for IT management is very difficult to estimate as some of
the project are of long term and require a continuous investment in it over the period of time
the cost incurred in the same keeps on fluctuating, also the technology keeps on updating
and using the new technologies in the system automatically increases the cost in long run.
Establishing the contracts with the vendors may not prove very fruitful for the organization
as well because if there is rift between organization requirement and the vendor supplies it
becomes difficult to solve it without the legal procedure which in turn creates lot of
inconvenience and incurs cost in settling the dispute.
Recommendations
The total project cost in case of water valley arrow project from the starting which is
inception till the total completion should be considered rather than the per year costs. More
focus on the realization of benefits must be given
The reporting of the project must be regular and reliable to facilitate the decision making
progress throughout the completion of the project and reduce the cost of completion.
The project feasibility analysis should be done by the well reputed and established
organizations which does excels in the same, since only the projects which can be well
executed should be taken as out of the 6 projects only 3 of the have been completed
effectively.
The VAGO guide to smart investing must be used to check list the various requirements
which have to be procured through the procurement process it also helps in better
understanding the risks associated with the project and clearly estimate the cost and the
correct fit with the current systems.

Early warning systems must be put in place in order to safeguard from the future losses, the
technical considerations and schedule planning. Regular interviews must be done during the
investment life cycle.