
RTÉ had 'big bang approach' to partly failed IT project
The review, by business consulting firm EY and commissioned by RTÉ, found the broadcaster also adopted a "big bang approach" to the project.
The IT project set out to replace and integrate a number of outdated finance and HR systems and it was funded from the proceeds of a land sale in 2017.
The EY review from 22 March 2023, which was released in response to a Freedom of Information request from RTÉ's This Week programme, relates to the write-down as revealed by The Currency at the end of April.
The broadcaster said that details of impairments related to the project were included in RTÉ's annual accounts 2020 and 2021 and "were €1,869,750 and €1,188,534 respectively".
The ERP ultimately delivered an upgrade to the finance system but failed to deliver on the HR overhaul plan.
The EY report is called a "Lessons learnt review" and details a wide range of issues with the ERP across ten principal categories, called "lessons identified".
It includes recommendations in response to each category.
The review was ultimately presented to the RTÉ Board's Audit and Risk Committee on 20 April 2023 and minutes from the meeting reference EY noting that there was "a theme of over promising and under delivering" with the project.
Some of the issues examined in the review relate to the original business case, asking if it was "grounded in reality and tightly managed".
In the review, EY found that the original business case document "did not provide the rationale" for a strong preference for an integrated solution to combine HR and finance systems as opposed to standalone solutions.
Questions raised in relation to management of projects - EY
Other questions raised were in relation to the management of the projects, including questions such as was there "sufficient project governance in place" and querying "effective management" of all the contractors involved.
The review questioned a number of aspects of the project management, stating that there were three project sponsors identified, but no single primary owner and that the project's steering committee "did not appear to consistently exercise its authority" over initiation and design decisions when delays were being reported.
RTÉ's adoption of a "big bang" approach for both HR and Finance systems roll out led to a recommendation that "greater consideration" should have been given to the complexity and risk profile of this programme, and more in-depth discussions should have been had with the steering committee before a final decision was made.
Key roles with the "appropriate skills and capacity" were not made available in sufficient numbers, it also said.
Pre-agreed milestones were continuously missed by the vendors "without recovery or repercussions" during the design phase.
There were also questions raised over the diligence during the vendor selection process, as it appears to have been "inadequate" as subsequent investigations by RTÉ indicated that vendors "had limited experience in HR systems".
It also stated that there was "no evidence provided" to suggest that a performance management framework was in place.
In terms of budget management, the review found that the steering committee made little reference to budgetary matters and that a "decision log does not appear to have been created", so there was no clear record provided of decisions made along the way.
EY also found issues with the business requirements capability for the HR system in particular, as "complex requirements such as headcount reporting" were flagged by HR as "critical" but the vendor continued to postpone delivery of this, and testing went ahead in spite of this non-delivery.
The FOI details submitted by This Week also sought minutes from the meeting when the final EY review was presented to the RTÉ Board's Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) on 20 April 2023 and minutes from the subsequent RTÉ Board at its meeting on 27 April 2023.
At the ARC meeting, EY noted that this was "a complex project", with a "complicated project management team".
EY told ARC that "quality was not managed carefully nor reported correctly" and that the "reporting of difficulties to the Steering group was 'substandard'".
The minutes from the RTÉ Board on 27 April 2023 include a reference to RTÉ's former chief financial officer Richard Collins and updating the committee on the "implementation and transition" of the finance system to the new ERP system.
The minutes show that the ARC chair Anne O'Leary noted the presentation of the EY review and that "there were issues around the selection of the vendor", and their ability to deliver and a skills gap.
The ARC asked that lessons from the project be discussed at the executive board.
In a response to the FOI, RTÉ told This Week, that the corporate governance reforms introduced over the past 18 months are "designed to mitigate against" the risk of the recurrence of a range of issues relating to the ERP project.
The broadcaster also said that the review "does not analyse the financial details" of the project but, rather, "the reasons for the delay and non-delivery of parts of it" and that it was primarily a report "to help RTÉ learn from the project management".

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