$363 Million

Is that too much to spend on a PeopleSoft based personnel system? The New York Times seems to think so.

In For Bloomberg, Waste Mars Another Digital Project (September 23, 2011) David M. Halbfinger looks back on the New York City Automated Personnel System (NYCAPS) project started a decade or more ago, adding up the costs incurred so far, describing the individual systems delivered to date, and assessing the benefits accrued from deployment. In March 2000, PeopleSoft had been selected as the platform upon which the new system would be built.

Nine years later, his administration has already spent $363 million — and the work is far from done.

The administration has pressed ahead despite repeated warnings that the project is deeply troubled, according to a review of thousands of pages of city records, as well as dozens of interviews with officials and private contractors.

The article mentions that reviews from internal monitors were not favorable. In May 19, 2005 the New York City Comptroller’s office completed a public audit with the long title of: Audit Report On The Development And Implementation Of The City Automated Personnel System By The Department Of Citywide Administrative Services. The first sentence in the “Audit Findings and Conclusions” section reads: ”Despite spending more than $50 million on its development and nearing its estimated completion date, NYCAPS is not complete.”