Project Management Happy Hour

103 - Lessons not Learned: State of Maine HR System Project Debacle


Listen Later

Think your project’s on fire? 🔥

Come hear how Maine tried to swap a 30‑year‑old COBOL HR/payroll system for something cloud‑friendly … and wound up with six years, two vendors, and ± $35 M spent—with no live system to show for it.

(Psst—Love this kind of real‑world PM talk? Join our member community for templates, monthly problem‑solving Happy Hours with us, and coaching: PMHappyHour.com/membership.)

 

đź‘‹ Your Hosts

Kim Essendrup – PM coach, speaker, project‑failure super‑fan

Kate Anderson – coffee‑powered realist & co‑host of Project Management Happy Hour

 

What We Cover

Why Maine’s 2016 “$15 M, 2‑year” vision looked reasonable on paper

Vendor #1: Infor hired for $13.5 M … then fired after two years with nothing working

Vendor #2: Workday lands a $15 M deal—hope (briefly) restored

2019–2020 red flags: missing staff, test cycles where 50 % of paychecks were wrong, “rosy” status decks

Feb 2021: Maine’s 30‑day ultimatum & $22.16 M demand letter to Workday (spoiler: lawyers ensue)

Project culture bombs: 400 % team turnover, a toxic manager, and a “rescue PM” married to the sponsor

Independent audit slide‑deck gold: zero items “ready for go‑live,” chaotic configs, no data owner

Accenture steps in (another $10.9 M) while employees still depend on the 1980s mainframe

 

5 Brutal Lessons You Can Use Tomorrow

1) Write it down or write a check – fuzzy requirements = infinite rework.

2) Freeze configs, then test – moving targets make every cycle worthless.

3) Own the data – bad source data means bad payroll, period.

4) Toxic leadership kills progress – harassment & turnover wipe out continuity.

5) Audit early, not post‑mortem – an external sanity check at first failure could have saved millions.

 

You Might Be in Trouble If …

Your payroll test run is half wrong but the go‑live date stays.

A core requirement (e.g., labor‑cost distribution) is “coming later”—after all testing.

Status decks stay green while teammates are crying in their cars.

The new “fix‑it” PM just happens to be married to the exec in charge.

Nobody can explain entrance‑/exit‑criteria, yet QA keeps restarting.

Ad‑hoc reports only work if you strip every security role.

Steering committee = five‑minute victory lap + fifty‑five minutes of blame ping‑pong.

Backup plan is still “keep the COBOL mainframe running indefinitely.”

 

If any of those hit home, open your RAID log—now—before your $15 M idea turns into headline fuel.

 

Why listen?

Rolling out HRIS, ERP, or Workday? Spot the landmines first.

Tired of sanitized “success stories”? We tell it like it is—with a dash of salt.

Exec or sponsor? See how weak governance detonates budgets—and morale.

 

👉 Subscribe for more Lessons Not Learned, salty PM rants, and practical tips.

💡 Grab our free RAID Log template & on‑demand training at https://PMHappyHour.com

 

Sources & References

Maine Legislature. Government Oversight Committee Report on Workday Implementation (2021).

Maine Legislature. IJA Strategies Independent Assessment (2020).

Portland Press Herald. “System failure: Inside Maine’s $35 M HR software meltdown” (Jun 20 2021).

Sun Journal. “Maine hires new contractor to complete long‑delayed software upgrade” (Jun 7 2022).

The Register. “Maine threatens to terminate Workday contract over delays” (Mar 31 2021).

The Register. “No accountability for Workday’s HR system failure, officials claim” (Apr 14 2021).

Views are the hosts’ own. Brand names belong to their respective owners.

#ProjectManagement #LessonsNotLearned #Workday #ProjectFailure #PMHappyHour

 

JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR!

Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Project Management Happy HourBy Kim Essendrup and Kate Anderson

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

276 ratings


More shows like Project Management Happy Hour

View all
HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

HBR IdeaCast

177 Listeners

The Art of Charm by The Art of Charm

The Art of Charm

10,512 Listeners

Coaching for Leaders by Dave Stachowiak

Coaching for Leaders

1,462 Listeners

Optimal Living Daily - Personal Development and Self-Improvement by Justin Malik

Optimal Living Daily - Personal Development and Self-Improvement

3,067 Listeners

Negotiate Anything by Kwame Christian Esq., M.A.

Negotiate Anything

676 Listeners

Masters of Scale by WaitWhat

Masters of Scale

4,000 Listeners

Projectified by Project Management Institute

Projectified

215 Listeners

Speak Up: Develop Your Executive Presence & Leadership Communication Style by Laura Camacho

Speak Up: Develop Your Executive Presence & Leadership Communication Style

81 Listeners

The Modern Manager by Mamie Kanfer Stewart

The Modern Manager

185 Listeners

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques by Matt Abrahams, Think Fast Talk Smart

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

799 Listeners

Coaching Real Leaders by Harvard Business Review / Muriel Wilkins

Coaching Real Leaders

652 Listeners

ReThinking by TED

ReThinking

612 Listeners

Fixable by TED

Fixable

215 Listeners

HBR On Strategy by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Strategy

84 Listeners

HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Leadership

152 Listeners