The NSW Department of Customer Service (DCS) had a problem that many large government agencies will recognise: too many systems, not enough coherence. When the Department was established in 2019, it brought together functions from the former Department of Finance, Services and Innovation and several other NSW agencies. With that came a patchwork of project management approaches, disconnected tools, and siloed ways of working that made it genuinely difficult to get a clear picture of what was happening across the portfolio.
The Problem with Fragmented Systems
Before Atlus, DCS relied on a mix of Broadcom’s Clarity, Planview’s Clarizen, spreadsheets, and manual processes. Each agency within the Department had its own approach, its own rhythm, and its own reporting. The result was a lack of cross-departmental visibility and a significant amount of effort spent reconciling information that should have been available at a glance. The Department needed a platform that could bring all of this together without forcing a disruptive overhaul of the tools its people already used.
Designing and Delivering the Atlus Solution
As the project lead for the implementation, I worked closely with the DCS team to design a solution that would genuinely fit the way the organisation operated. Atlus, built on the Microsoft Power Platform, was the right choice — not just because of its capability, but because it integrated with the Department’s existing Microsoft environment, which meant teams could adopt it without having to learn an entirely new ecosystem.
Development sprints ran over several months and culminated in the successful launch of Atlus in July 2022. The platform brought cross-departmental visibility and knowledge sharing tools that had not previously existed, integrated seamlessly with SAP and other core systems to create a centralised data hub, and used Power BI to surface visual reports that made data-driven decision-making practical rather than aspirational. This kind of structured transition — turning complexity into something workable — is the same challenge explored in the piece on using PPM transitions as a reset moment.
What Changed After Go-Live
Adoption was strong. Teams responded well to the platform’s intuitive interface and the fact that it connected naturally to tools like Power BI and SharePoint that were already part of their working lives. Over time, the impact became clear: leaders had access to reliable, real-time data for project prioritisation and impact analysis; standardised processes reduced the silos that had previously made collaboration difficult; and the platform’s flexible architecture created a foundation for future enhancements, including AI-driven capabilities as they continue to develop.
The project was later recognised with the AIPM National Project Management Achievement Award for Transformation Projects — a reflection of the effort put in by both the DCS and Sensei teams. That story is covered in more detail in the AIPM Award announcement.
A Model for Public Sector PPM
What the DCS experience demonstrates is that technology alone does not transform an organisation. The Atlus implementation worked because it was designed around the Department’s actual challenges, delivered with genuine partnership between the project team and the client, and supported by a clear-eyed view of what success needed to look like. For anyone working through similar challenges in government — particularly those navigating machinery of government changes or trying to consolidate fragmented delivery environments — it is a useful example of what a well-executed implementation can achieve.
For more on the project, read the original coverage on ARNnet or explore the highlights in the Featured Media section.