FunctionalTestingIntegrationQualityAssuranceQualityEngineeringTestAutomation
Watercare is New Zealand’s largest water utility, supplying 1.7 million Aucklanders with safe drinking water and reliable wastewater services. Owned by Auckland Council, Watercare operates under stringent public health, environmental, and economic regulations to deliver essential services while safeguarding the environment.
To modernise HR operations and strengthen identity governance, Watercare embarked on a multi-phase Human Resources Information System (HRIS) transformation. Partnering closely with Planit, the two teams worked side by side to deliver the programme successfully, ensuring every milestone met Watercare’s quality, security, and operational standards.
1400+ Workday functional test cases
450+ IGA and NERM scenarios covering provisioning, lifecycle processes, and access governance
2 parallel payroll test runs completed and signed off
0 P1/P2 defects during hypercare
Watercare’s HRIS programme set out to replace fragmented and outdated systems with a unified, digital-first platform that would improve efficiency, compliance, and enhance employee experience.
Two key projects were launched as part of the HRIS programme:
Several challenges complicated the successful rollout of this programme. Watercare was managing a broad, multi-system environment with multiple disconnected applications that were not fully aligned. This lack of synchronicity presented a real risk of inefficiencies, inconsistent employee data, and a heavy manual workload across departments.
If data migration failed, the impact would have been significant, ranging from missing payroll information to incorrect contract generation for new employees, and potential union or compliance issues. A delay in delivery would have further forced costly extensions to existing licences and the continued use of outdated systems, creating even greater operational strain.
Planit partnered with Watercare as the quality and assurance lead for the HRIS programme, providing end-to-end quality engineering across both the HCM and IGA streams. Our services included unit, functional, system integration and exploratory testing, production verification testing (PVT), data migration validation, test automation, and comprehensive test management, from programme-level governance to project-level execution. Our hybrid delivery model, with local experts supported by offshore automation specialists, ensured continuous progress, flexibility, and rapid responsiveness throughout the engagement.
The rollout was delivered through three key go-lives:
What made this project particularly challenging was not just the number of integration points, but also the wide spectrum of stakeholders involved. Many of the project contributors came from different parts of the organisation with varying levels of familiarity with platforms like Workday and SailPoint. That meant we needed to bridge communication gaps, build shared understanding and a deep partnership, and ensure nothing was lost in translation across the various streams.
Our team embedded deeply within the programme, working closely with Watercare stakeholders at every level. Together, we established a strong governance rhythm, bridged communication between steering committee and delivery teams, and ensured shared understanding across streams. We raised risks early, supported business decision-making, and kept everyone aligned on scope and timelines. We built up our own knowledge by engaging with both the SailPoint Academy and Workday community, and we even upskilled in local compliance (such as the NZ Holidays Act).
As the programme evolved, so did the demands. In collaboration with Watercare’s internal leadership, we introduced a Programme Test Manager to oversee both streams and maintain alignment across parallel delivery tracks. A dedicated HCM Test Lead focused on SME testing coordination, scripting, and defect management, while an additional Integration Tester was onboarded seven weeks prior to go-live to strengthen cross-system test coverage.
Together with Watercare, we adapted triage meetings, reporting rhythms, and steering committee updates to align with delivery needs, ensuring clear communication and quick turnaround of insights and actions. When platform limitations surfaced, such as customisation constraints within Workday, we collaborated with stakeholders to validate workarounds and protect the integrity of core workflows.
This ability to scale, pivot, and integrate seamlessly into Watercare’s delivery structure was key to keeping the programme on track and delivering to scope.
“What stood out throughout this engagement was the strong sense of shared ownership. Planit partnered with us to solve problems, anticipate risks, and bring structure and clarity across the programme. It always felt like a team effort, with open dialogue and a mutual commitment to getting it right. That collaborative spirit is what made the difference.”
Jamaine Naicker,Head of Digital Applications
By the end of the engagement, Watercare successfully implemented a secure and stable digital environment with Workday and SailPoint at its core. All three phases of the programme were delivered on time and under budget, with a smooth transition into business-as-usual operations.
The Workday platform went live for more than 1,300 employees and contingent workers and the SailPoint NERM (Non-Employee Risk Management) enabled the managing of risks associated with the onboarding of circa 5000 sub-contractor non employees. We completed multiple rounds of testing across separate environments, including two full parallel payroll runs which were formally signed off. Our test team was involved in the test execution of almost 1950 test cases (more than 1400 of which were for Workday and almost 450 for the IGA stream). Both Planit and Watercare teams validated joiner, mover, leaver workflows, embedded compliance and access control testing, and ensured dataaccuracy and integrity across multiple integrated environments.
During the hypercare period, no critical (P1 or P2) defects were raised. Any remaining medium and low-priority tickets were triaged and resolved collaboratively by a cross-functional team spanning Project, Business, Digital Applications, and the Digital Service Desk, with only a handful of items transitioned to the now-active BAU Jira stream.
Independent internal audits were conducted across both the HCM and IGA programmes during final end-to-end testing. Reports submitted to the CEO and Board highlighted the joint success of the programme, particularly in areas of procurement, invoicing, and financial control. Watercare praised the consistent, consolidated reporting, especially the clarity of our weekly test status updates and structured presentations across steeringcommittee and project forums.
This engagement was more than a delivery programme. Instead, it was a true partnership. By aligning goals, sharing accountability, and fostering open collaboration, Planit and Watercare jointly delivered a secure, scalable HR and identity solution that now underpins the organisation’s workforce operations.
Building on the strong foundation established during the HRIS transformation, Planit and Watercare continue to explore opportunities to strengthen quality assurance practices across future digital initiatives.
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