Few public sector ERP programmes carry the level of visibility and risk than that of the Scottish Government’s rollout. 21,000 users across 32 public bodies and agencies, with nowhere to hide if things went wrong. For Civil Service leaders, the lessons here are not just about technology, but about protecting credibility under scrutiny.
In our recent AssureERP webinar, Brian Reid, Director of Corporate Transformation at the Scottish Government, shared what it really took to deliver such a programme and the lessons others can take forward.
Designing for scale
The first challenge was design. With so many organisations involved, there were two choices: design collaboratively with input from everybody or design and roll out from the centre. Brian’s team chose the latter, starting with a set of best-practice government processes and then refining them through workshops and model office testing.
This saved time in the early stages and gave the programme a clear direction. As Brian explained: “You either face the problem of a very challenging design phase with many different voices, or the problem of missing requirements and dealing with them after go-live. We chose the latter.”
Every design choice is a trade-off and some gaps will only emerge once the system is live.
Hypercare realities
Even with extensive preparation, challenges emerged. Hypercare, the period of intensive support after go-live, had been planned for three months. In reality, the scale of the programme meant more support was needed. “Three months of hypercare wasn’t enough… It’s unrealistic to think you’ll get everything right in the first iterations before go-live,” Brian admitted. Extending hypercare proved to be a wise decision, ensuring stability across thousands of processes and users.
Testing - a hard lesson learned
Testing at this scale proved to be one of the biggest challenges. Thousands of test scripts had to be developed across HR, payroll, finance and procurement. In hindsight, Brian’s advice was clear: “We would have benefited from having a larger capability on the park much earlier. Building that testing capability upfront would have been advantageous.”
Starting small and scaling later proved costly and time-consuming. In a political context, this oversight can leave leaders exposed when auditors ask why risks weren’t caught earlier.
Supporting 21,000 users
Brian also stressed how significant user adoption was. “When was the last time any organisation put 20,000 users on a learning path for anything?” Training, ongoing support and ticket management required careful planning to meet the breadth of user needs, from payroll professionals to recruiters. Onboarding this many users was a remarkable achievement - one that very few organisations worldwide could match.
Lessons for leaders
- For public sector leaders facing their own ERP journeys, the Scottish Government’s experience underlines key points:
- Design choices are trade-offs - centralised design is faster but some issues will only surface post go-live.
- Plan more hypercare than you think you need, especially at scale.
- Invest in testing early. Don’t try to build capability mid-programme.
- Adoption is a programme in itself. Preparing thousands of users for new processes is as critical as the technology.
ERP success is more than design and delivery. It’s about making defensible choices that protect you when 21,000 users, ministers or watchdogs are depending on you.
Watch the full webinar to hear more from Brian and the other panellists about their ERP journey.