MADISON, Wis. -- A new University of Wisconsin System computer project is supposed to streamline operations by improving use and cutting costs, but a News 3 investigation finds that after years of work -- a massive computer upgrade is bogged down, offline and off budget, reports News 3's Linda Eggert in this I-Team report.

The "Lawson Project" aims to replace old mainframe technology with new comprehensive payroll software.

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Lawson Project Investigation

A News 3 investigation finds after years of work, and tens of millions of dollars, system officials still can't say when it will be powered up or how much it will cost.

"We have spent more money at this point than the people who initially envisioned the project thought we would have spent five years out, and we're not as far along as they thought we would be," said Don Mash, chairman of the steering committee for the APBS/Lawson project, which is an unprecedented endeavor that will impact every UW System campus and its 42,000 workers statewide.

The Appointment Payroll and Benefits System project is supposed to consolidate all system human resource functions -- everything from record keeping and hiring to cutting checks will be under one roof, inside user-friendly software called "Lawson."

The aim is to be more efficient and save money -- how much money isn't clear.

"We can't know that," Mash said. "We expect to save a considerable amount of money. We're going to be able to downsize a number of staffing and we're going to have a much more efficient and much more serviceable system."

After five years of work and roughly $26 million, a News 3 investigation finds only rising costs, major technical glitches and other problems -- and no launch date in sight.

"There's no 'go live' date," said Mash, who also insists the project is not off track. When News 3's Linda Eggert asked him if the project is on hold, he said, "Well, it is, and it isn't."

Eggert's investigation found that the project's start or "go live date" has been delayed twice -- in January and again in April.

That happened after readiness reports revealed some serious problems -- including how to interface with UW-Madison.

Mash said the problems are being addressed -- and are common in such complex projects.

"Everyone who's implemented a APBS system has had major challenges," Mash said.

Still, News 3 finds continuing concern over the project's past and future. In February, private consultant Diane Haubner was hired to identify the remaining "risks" to launching the payroll project. She found 124 of them.

"It's a lot for the stage of the project," Haubner said.

The report's six highest risks include staff burnout, maintaining APBS after it starts, and testing. But one problem area stood out: "The project planning and management," Haubner said.

UW-Madison Vice Chancellor Darrell Bazzell told Eggert when he was Steering Committee chair last fall that he brought in Haubner to do her report.

When Eggert asked Bazzell if the report identified project management issues, he said, "Sure." When Eggert asked if they were big issues, he nodded and said, "Mm-hm."

The report said, "The lack of professional project manager ... created the risk and cost overruns that exist today ... the most significant risk on the project as a whole" was the "lack of an integrated project plan."

Haubner said they were using a "task list" instead of a plan, which she said is not appropriate "according to the standard that we used to do the risk assessment."

The report includes budget estimates that put the total project cost between $55 million and $62 million in three to four years with an estimated budget shortfall between $21 million and $28 million.

Mash said it's impossible to estimate costs now due to all the unknown, which News 3 finds includes exploring a switch to another software company -- Peoplesoft -- just in case Lawson doesn't work out.

"Is there a chance that we might say, you know, maybe we do need to look at another vendor?" Mash said. "I guess that's a possibility."

But Mash and others don't believe a switch is likely, Eggert found.

System officials this fall will decide the future of the project.

Meantime, the troubleshooting continues to deal with the decisions of the past.

"It's never been clear to me what the initial decision-making process really was," Bazzell said. "Why they decided to manage things in a certain way, develop timelines and budgets, who was calling the shots ... "

When Eggert asked who was calling the shots, Bazzell said, "That's my question."

Despite UW-Madison's technical expertise, Bazzell said system administration wanted to lead the project. The system official who oversaw the project the longest denies any mismanagement.

System human resources Associate Vice President George Brooks said, "I think we've done a very good job of managing this."

Brooks also attacks Haubner's report as biased and... "loaded with opinion."

"She's a professional project manager where everything has to be in a nice tiny little box," he said.

Haubner said she used international standards that are scientific.