Management of the TRELIS Project
Report No 1 -
April 2006
Background
The Department for Planning and Infrastructure’s (DPI) Transport
Executive and Licensing Information System (TRELIS) is a critical government
computer system that:
- is a client-centric system with a database that
contains personal information on the 1.3 million licensed drivers and
1.9 million registered vehicles in Western Australia. This information
supports DPI’s licensing function
- calculates applicable fees, records
payments, and issues licenses and registration documents
- collects
fees for the Insurance Commission of Western Australia, the Commissioner
of Main Roads and the Police
- creates records of financial transactions
which are used to update DPI’s financial accounts.
The system was
the result of the TRELIS Development Project, (the Project), which
was initiated by the Department of Transport (DOT) in December 1999.
Development was undertaken by a large national contractor following
a tender process. In July 2001, DOT and the Ministry of Planning were
amalgamated to form DPI. Responsibility for TRELIS was transferred
to DPI in July 2002 when DOT was abolished.
TRELIS Version 3.1 went ‘live’ on
6 July 2004. A combination of user errors, data validation errors,
system processing errors, poor control over data input by DPI’s collecting
agents and software compatibility problems with car dealers hampered
the performance of TRELIS when it fi rst went ‘live’. However, by the
end of the fi nancial year close to 6.5 million transactions had been
processed through TRELIS and more than a billion dollars in fees collected.
What the examination found...
- Testing
indicates that TRELIS can be relied on for accurate fi nancial reporting
and raising of fees and charges.
- Poor specification of business
requirements and software development problems resulted in TRELIS
being two years behind schedule when it went ‘live’ on 6 July 2004.
Software development to enhance functionality continues to be undertaken.
- An approved business case for TRELIS could not be located. Draft
business cases were found though these lacked estimates for the ongoing
maintenance and support of TRELIS. Approved funding for maintenance
and support of TRELIS from July 2004 to June 2009 totals $37.4 million.
- The capital cost of TRELIS when it went ‘live’ was
$32.6 million. DPI spent a further $2.8 million in the year after
it went ‘live’ in correcting software weaknesses. The cost of TRELIS
was estimated at $24.5 million in 1999 but was revised to $29.7 million
in 2001.
- Funding for TRELIS was provided on an incremental basis
rather than total funding to match the requirements of the project
and the level of project management, oversight and quality control
were inadequate for a project of this size.
- Satisfactory procedures
were followed in respect of contracting activities including tendering,
vendor selection, probity audits, due diligence and contract formation.
Other aspects of the project were also adequate including long term
strategic planning, project planning including identifi cation of
project tasks and expected completion dates. Independent reviews
of technical aspects of software architecture and high-level project
management were arranged where appropriate.
- Sections
of TRELIS software were rewritten at a cost to DPI of $2.8 million.
The causes of this were inadequate project management and specifi
cation of business requirements by DOT/DPI and inconsistent compliance
with accepted software design and programming standards by the prime
contractor. DPI determined that these costs could not be recovered
under the agreed warranty plan though this assessment is not adequately
documented.
- DPI
has yet to fully test TRELIS’ business continuity procedures and
disaster recovery arrangements. Such testing is essential to confirm
business continuity in the event of an emergency.
What the examination
recommended...
The Office of E-Government (a division of the Department
of Premier and Cabinet) has recently developed a checklist for the
Management and Implementation of Complex or Across Agency ICT Projects.
DPI (or any other government agency) when undertaking any new large
project should ensure that they address these check points, key elements
of which include:
- build
a strong business case, provide full disclosure of all funding
required and ensure all funding requirements will be met
- adopt a proven
approach to project and contract management
- undertake regular
project reviews to monitor and manage how the project is progressing
against its objectives.
DPI should also:
- test the TRELIS business
continuity procedures and disaster recovery arrangements
- promptly
address identifi ed security weaknesses.
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