IT project between Bern, Basel and Zurich causes headaches
Published: Tuesday, Jun 25th 2024, 17:40
Volver a Live Feed
The city of Bern is struggling with the pitfalls of new case management software in the social services sector that it has developed together with the cities of Basel and Zurich. This is the result of an investigation report published on Tuesday.
The software called Citysoftnet has only been put into operation in Bern so far. After the software went live in June 2023, a number of problems arose that PWC investigated at the request of the city of Bern's government.
In the report, the city now has to put up with harsh criticism. There was a lack of internal expertise and resources when the software was introduced. Existing resources were inadequately planned and there was a lack of process descriptions.
Employees had been insufficiently sensitized and trained, and the scope and implementation in the test phase had been underestimated. This was particularly the case for the software development company Emineo. The city government promised on Tuesday that it would implement the findings of the report.
Several parties recalled the city's previous IT debacles. At Citysoftnet, the bumpy start also had far-reaching human consequences. Recipients of social welfare suffered from at times severely delayed payments. There were also layoffs and sick leave in the affected offices.
In Bern, the project has cost around CHF 20 million so far. It has not yet been introduced in Zurich and Basel. The Zurich Department of Social Affairs told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper this week that they have learned a lot from the experience in Bern and are confident that Citysofnet can be successfully put into operation.
©Keystone/SDA
Spanish 
English 
German 
French 
Arabic