The Process and Technology Harmonisation (PaTH) Program is a great example of cross-government collaboration and teamwork in the digital transformation space. The program was first established to consolidate government Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and SAP systems to increase productivity, reduce duplicated processes, and allow for better consistency across data and reporting processes.
One of its first initiatives was the rolling out of a SAP system called myWorkZone across many NSW Government departments and agencies.
myWorkZone covers multiple business processes such as onboarding, payroll, vendor payments and financial reporting. The program, which sits within the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) Corporate Service division, has already delivered myWorkZone to over 60,000 NSW Government employees.
We spoke to Catherine D’Elia, who was the project sponsor, and Harinder Saluja, Executive Director, Process and Technology Harmonisation at Department of Communities and Justice to hear about what has made this program so successful. We also chatted with Mark Howard, Executive Director of Digital NSW, to hear more about Digital NSW’s role in this program.
Lessons learned on the PaTH to success
With a program the size of PaTH that involves many systems across different agencies, there have naturally been challenges. The program needed to be reset in order to get back on track. To achieve this, the team was restructured, governance was improved, and deliverables were broken down into manageable tranches (phased deliveries). “The team has turned this program around because they leaned in and had dedication and determination to get it done,” says Catherine.
“When you deliver a larger chunk into smaller agile deliverables, it’s a lot easier for stakeholders to absorb the change as well,” says Harinder.
“NSW is the first government in Australia to be able to make a successful ERP work at this scale. We’ve got a lot of momentum now behind the success we’ve had to date.”
- – Catherine D’Elia, Project Sponsor of PaTH
An example of successful cross-government collaboration
Cross-government collaboration has had a vital role in the success of the program, with various departments working together to solve common issues. The program’s success is partly due to the merging of strong technical leadership with political and executive buy-in.
Catherine notes that the governance was key to the program’s success, because it gave transparency and allowed people to know what they were responsible for.
Digital NSW provides central services within government, including independent assurance of the PaTH program. “We go in periodically through the lifecycle of the program and insert independent experts to do short, sharp assessments on the current state of the program and provide advice and recommendations on how they might course correct or if there’s any blind spots,” says Mark.
Mark has sat on the steering committee for the program in an independent assurance capacity. “When Catherine took over the role of Sponsor, I asked her what we could bring to the program. We pulled an independent expert reviewer from our panel with the right skills and experience and put them next to her to provide one-on-one advice,” he says.
The importance of having the right team in place
The PaTH program has highlighted that the success of any program lies in its people. “You do have to have the right team in place. But you also need to have the right authorising environment and governance, and there’s value to independent voices or alternate voices. Those fresh perspectives can help make sure you’ve got the right product,” says Catherine.
“The two elements of putting technology together with getting the buy in from executives and driving the change has led to the program’s success,” adds Harinder.
Mark noted that Digital NSW’s role was in helping the team ‘steer the ship’ so they have the best chance of success. “It’s an incredible story, really, because the project team has done an amazing job to take on a program under really challenging circumstances and reset the whole thing,” says Mark.
“It’s a true transformation that will leave a legacy for NSW Government and avoid significant future costs. It has the potential for improved services and experience for employees, as well as better data for government.”
- – Mark Howard, Executive Director, Digital NSW
Catherine expressed her pride in the team who has delivered the program. “They all took the perspective of ‘how can we make this happen’ instead of why it’s not going to work,” she says.
The PaTH Program has put extensive change support and planning in place to embed these new ways of working, including a learning hub for myWorkZone. The future of the PaTH Program and myWorkZone is bright.
For more information, please visit: PaTH Program.