23 One reason why risks to delivery were not properly assessed was the limited scope of the demonstrations mounted by the shortlisted suppliers to show the viability of their proposed solutions. In the case of Pathway this was a demonstrator system based on one already operating in the Republic of Ireland but meeting a requirement much simpler than the Benefits Payment Card. The other two bidders constructed mock-ups of new systems. Though the purchasers had at one point considered a fully-fledged pilot stage, this was not done for reasons of cost and time. There are limits to how much further work bidders will do in such circumstances without funding from the purchaser.
24 This project initially proceeded on the basis of proposals from bidders that it would involve mainly the integration of existing software packages. In the event, the greater than expected complexity of the service requirement obliged Pathway to develop much more new software than they had planned. The Department's view is that Pathway knew what was required but had intended to fit the requirement to match a system they had already implemented in Eire. The extent of new software development had major implications for the degree of difficulty of the project, since this is a high-risk activity with high failure rates, especially in large organisations.