£2.2bn Universal Credit project: boss passes away after just a few months in post

Sources indicate that there are likely to be calls for a delay in the implementation of the new Universal Credit benefits scheme in the UK until 2014. A personal tragedy has ramifications for the delivery of the Universal Credit timetable.

Philip Langsdale, CIO at DWP and driving force behind the recent replanning of the £2.2bn Universal Credit project, passed away on December 22, 2012, aged 56

Philip Langsdale had a distinguished track record of turning around difficult IT projects. His appointment as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) was announced in May 2012, and he took up his post in August. By November Langsdale was acting Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the project as SRO Terry Moran took extended sick leave, and a wholesale change of management took place.

Just two months into a major replanning of the £2.2bn project the news was announced that Langsdale had passed away on 22nd December.

Sources indicate that there could be support for a sensible pause to re-establish leadership continuity and revisit the Universal Credit timetable and implementation plan, especially with regard to more stress on piloting and phasing to avoid a ‘big-bang’ implementation this October. Organisations such as the FBI have successfully recovered $100m+ projects using such incremental, agile approaches.

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© Brian Wernham 2013 CC BY-NC-ND

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