Sidebar: Denver Mends Broken ERP System

By Marc L. Songini

November 22, 2004 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Municipal ERP rollouts are especially challenging and ripe for problems caused by a lack of applications expertise, the silo-like organization of city departments and intense public scrutiny, said Mike Locatis, CIO for the City of Denver.
Locatis himself has coped with turning around a troubled PeopleSoft ERP implementation. Hired last March, his first task was to get the stalled rollout moving and help Denver get the most from its IT assets.
The troubles included a payroll system that was issuing inaccurate checks -- something that became a "well-publicized" problem, even though no one ever missed being paid, Locatis said. Denver solved it by installing a service pack and undertaking staff training efforts.
The problems arose in part because of a lack of accountability: The Denver project was being overseen by a steering committee rather than by a CIO, Locatis said. That governance setup exists in most municipalities, which are made up of independent agencies. Rolling out ERP software in such an environment is like installing a system in 30 companies at once, Locatis said. "It's really important to have appropriately strong management," he added.

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