ERP Go-Live Under Election Deadline
The Provincial Council is implementing an integrated ERP for finance, procurement and human resources. The contract is fixed-price at LKR 240 million over 18 months, and 30 percent has been paid. The vendor has missed three milestones and is now pressing for acceptance so that go-live can occur before the provincial election in six weeks. Fourteen high-severity defects remain open. Payroll has completed only one parallel run, disaster recovery has never been tested, and data migration shows a 2 percent mismatch in supplier balances. There is no independent test report. Twenty-seven change requests are unresolved, and business owners disagree about whether the old system should remain available. The council secretary must advise the chief secretary on whether to authorize go-live, make payment, or take contract action. A payroll failure during the election period would be politically damaging and would delay salaries for 3,200 staff.
1. Advise the council secretary on whether to authorize full go-live in six weeks. Set out the minimum conditions for any partial go-live.
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I would not authorize full go-live in six weeks. Fourteen high-severity defects, one payroll parallel run, untested disaster recovery and a 2 percent supplier-balance mismatch mean the council cannot yet demonstrate operational readiness. An election deadline is a political constraint, not an acceptance criterion.
A partial go-live could be considered only if all of the following are met: severity 1 and 2 defects closed or formally accepted with workarounds; at least two further clean payroll parallel runs; successful disaster-recovery test; reconciled migration with an agreed tolerance; independent test report; trained users; and the old system available for payroll fallback. I would sequence finance and procurement first only if they do not endanger payroll, and keep payroll on the old system until the conditions are met. The decision gate should be a formal go/no-go review, not a vendor request.
2. What contractual and procurement actions should be taken now, and what evidence must be documented?
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Issue a formal written notice of delay and require a recoverable plan with dated milestones, owners and acceptance evidence. Withhold further payment until milestone evidence is independently verified, and check the contract for acceptance, liquidated damages and termination rights. Establish an independent test and assurance function. Do not sign acceptance based on a demonstration.
Document the defect log, test results, migration reconciliation, change-request decisions and all correspondence. Resolve the 27 change requests through a change board so that scope, cost and time are controlled. I would not terminate immediately unless the contract and recovery plan justify it; termination carries continuity risk, especially for payroll.
3. Draft a recovery plan with governance, sequencing and a decision point. Include how you would communicate with staff and the election commission.
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Set up a recovery board chaired by the chief secretary with the vendor, business owners, finance, HR and independent assurance. Sequence the work: defect triage and fixes, data cleanse and reconciliation, disaster-recovery test, two payroll parallel runs, user training, then a formal go/no-go gate at least two weeks before any launch. Keep a payroll contingency and old-system access.
Communicate separately with 3,200 staff about salary continuity and with the election commission about which services will be live. Publish a simple status update weekly. The decision point should be evidence-based and minuted, so that any political pressure is recorded but does not override readiness.