BU receives report on failed $5M project

Brandon University has received a consultants’ review of its failed $5-million Enterprise Resource Planning project, a document that points to flawed software selection, poor vendor assessment and weak governance as the root causes of the collapse.

The ERP project, launched in 2020 under the “Renew BU” initiative, was intended to modernize the university’s academic and administrative record systems by replacing its outdated 1978 homegrown software. After four years and millions spent on development, the project was officially halted in early 2024, leaving BU without a functional system.

Earlier this year, the university hired BDO Canada to provide the institution with an independent analysis of the project’s evolution and the final decision to terminate it.

While the university shared only an executive summary of BDO’s findings, the Sun obtained a copy of the full report — with sections blacked out — revealing key details omitted from the summary.

BDO’s full report identifies serious problems from the beginning of the process.

“The root cause of the implementation’s failure lies in BU’s decision to procure a solution that was fundamentally misaligned with its needs, a decision rooted in inadequate due diligence in assessing the ERP vendor’s capabilities,” the report stated.

“This initial oversight set the stage for a series of cascading challenges. Without a thorough assessment of whether the vendor could deliver a solution tailored to BU’s specific requirements, the project was disadvantaged from the start.”

The report added that the issue was then compounded by significant control gaps for identifying, managing and resolving these challenges as the project proceeded, including the absence of a comprehensive project “gating framework,” which allowed problems to persist without timely resolution.

“As a result, the project advanced without sufficient scrutiny, leading to escalating costs and prolonged timelines that far exceeded initial expectations.”

BDO noted in the report that the university did incorporate some positive practices into the project, such as engaging stakeholders in the early stages to conduct need and gap assessments.

However, “these efforts were insufficient to counterbalance the fundamental misalignment and control deficiencies,” it said.

“Governance structures and leaders … were in place, but they did not effectively mitigate the risks associated with the vendor’s inability to deliver a suitable solution. Regular progress meetings were held, yet they did not translate into actionable insights or adjustments that could have redirected the project towards success.”

The executive summary acknowledged that “significant shortcomings in project management ultimately made it impossible for the project to meet its objectives,” and outlines 10 key lessons for BU to adopt in future technology projects, ranging from improved governance and clearer leadership roles to stronger financial oversight and formal risk management.

Board of governors chair Kevan Sumner said the board’s intent in commissioning the review was not to assign blame but to gain a neutral analysis of why the project failed and how to prevent similar missteps.

“The report gave us what we needed … so that we could better understand why it wasn’t successful, and to help ensure that future projects aren’t affected by the same circumstances,” he told the Sun.

The difference between the executive summary and full report stems from the terms of BU’s agreement with BDO, he said.

“I am not going to comments on the full report … One of the terms of our contract with BDO was to produce a document for internal use only,” Sumner said. “Nobody at the university was authorized to distribute the report beyond the university community.”

The executive summary was very brief, while the full report was accessible only on campus and not printable, faculty association president Gautam Srivastava said on the weekend.

“We were happy that the investigation and the report came out eventually,” he said. “But it does show some serious problems that started from the beginning of the project, and very weak oversight throughout.”

From the outset, Srivastava said, there was not much in place to manage the project’s expectations, adding that essential elements such as checkpoints and accountability measures were not implemented.

“I don’t think the people that were put in charge of the project … were equipped to be able to handle such a project,” he said.

“Ultimately, the board of governors and senate are in charge of the university. They should be the decision makers for projects like this, not singular people in administration.”

He added that the failed project highlighted broader governance issues at BU.

“Yes, the ERP project failed, and yes, a lot of money was lost. But the bigger issue is how the university itself needs to change the way it governs major projects.”

Students also saw gaps between the two documents.

The university could not share the full report because it signed a non-disclosure agreement with BDO Canada, students’ union president Charles Adamu told the Sun.

“What I did like about the report was that it was really tailored in a way for the university to move in the right direction,” Adamu said.

For him, the main lesson was about communication and consultation.

“When you’re going to do such a big project and there isn’t fulsome communication or consultation involved, you run into lapses like we saw with the ERP,” he said. “The people who are going to use it most are faculty and students, so you have to hear from them.”

Adamu acknowledged that the ERP project did yield some positives, such as the scholarship web page, which he said has worked well for students. But overall, he stressed the need for more meaningful engagement with those affected by university-wide initiatives.

Sumner said lessons from the report would guide both the administration and the board in future initiatives.

“It gives us assurance to know that our executives understand why that project wasn’t successful,” he said.

He also acknowledged the frustration among stakeholders but urged confidence in BU’s future.

“Nobody’s happy with how the ERP implementation worked out … but the board is committed to making sure that as we move forward, we have the benefit of better understanding where these errors were made.”

Srivastava, meanwhile, expressed optimism about incoming president Christine Cnossen and a renewed start for BU.

“With new leadership comes new ideas and a new way of doing things. We hope that things will improve and that governance will be more transparent and accountable.”

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