Phoenix
The full story of Canada’s pay system catastrophe.
- “An important book. An incredible tragedy!”
- “Every manager needs to read this now.”
- “Easy to read in an afternoon.”
- “My MBA students need to understand this catastrophe.”
What is the Phoenix?
An IT system called Phoenix was meant to replace old payroll systems in Canada’s federal government. They estimated it would cost $5.7 million. Then $300 million. A decade later, $4.2 billion has been spent and the system still doesn’t work.
While politicians continue to throw money into the fire, Canada’s federal employees have been underpaid, overpaid, or not paid at all. Some have lost their life savings, their home, their marriage, their dignity. It’s a catastrophe with no end in sight.
Why buy this book?
The catastrophe of Canada’s Phoenix project has been told by journalists, auditors, consultants, and bureaucrats.
Until now, the perspective of an independent digital systems development expert has been missing.
How could this happen? Who is to blame? Was it preventable? Get answers to all these questions.
About the author
Whether consulting in the c-suite, embedded with product development managers, or teaching developers new agile engineering practices, I consult, train, and lead teams that produce high-quality, large-scale software. I work with startups who produce medical robotic devices, cloud platforms, and AI, as well as enterprises in the areas of retail, energy management, IoT, and finance.
I grew up in the Canadian prairies and have lived and worked in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Arizona, Florida, the Bahamas, and Alberta. I’m a management consultant, technology executive, author, technical coach, and software engineer. I teach Scrum and Kanban, and I’m a frequent presenter at conferences. I’m Executive Director of Ontario Scrum Community, a TEDx alumnus, a former professional musician, a husband, and a dad.