Unaware of SAAQ's identity, employees at SAAQclic in India remain in the dark
The Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) has been embroiled in a significant controversy with the launch of its new digital platform, SAAQclic. The project, initially awarded to a consortium formed by LGS (IBM) and SAP in 2017, was intended to revolutionise the SAAQ's operations, encompassing driver's licenses, road control, and vehicle registration.
At the helm of the SAAQ's development efforts was Christian Langlois, the development architect. However, his initial foray into the project was fraught with challenges due to his lack of knowledge about the new system.
Marie-Claude Lemire, the project planner and controller at the SAAQ, joined the team in 2019. She recalled that there was no clear plan for how SAAQclic would function when she first joined the project. Despite conducting enough tests, Lemire described the project as "immense" in both product and scope, and she found the established milestones to be "unrealistic."
The SAP software was chosen for the digital transformation of the SAAQ. To support the programmers, the consortium hired personnel and formed an alliance specifically to implement the CASA program's phases, including the SAAQclic platform as the second delivery. The employees working on SAAQclic operated with "the urgency of life" when the decision was made to launch the platform.
However, the decision to launch SAAQclic in February 2023, despite Lemire's recommendation to postpone, has led to a series of issues. The platform is currently being worked on by programmers in India, and Langlois encountered significant difficulties in communicating with contractors based in India.
The Gallant commission is now investigating the SAAQclic fiasco, seeking to understand the root causes of the problems and to provide recommendations for future projects. Marie-Claude Lemire believes that the SAAQ had been overly ambitious in its estimation of the work necessary for SAAQclic.
The Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) was not known to the recruited programmers, leading to further complications in the project's execution. As the investigation continues, the SAAQclic project serves as a cautionary tale for the importance of clear planning, effective communication, and realistic expectations in large-scale digital transformations.
