Software project rescue
Recover a stalled or failing software delivery.
Establish what is really happening, protect the valuable work already completed and create a credible route back to controlled delivery.
Warning signs
Activity is continuing, but confidence is falling
Failing deliveries rarely have one cause. Architecture, scope, ownership, suppliers, environments and decision-making can all reinforce one another. Adding more people or rewriting the plan without diagnosis often increases the cost.
An independent senior review creates a shared technical picture and identifies the smallest actions that can restore control.
Recovery assessment
A decision-ready view of the programme
The review is proportionate to the urgency, available access and decisions required.
- Current delivery and architecture assessment
- Evidence-based view of material blockers
- Immediate stabilisation recommendations
- Dependencies, ownership and decision gaps
- Work worth preserving, revising or stopping
- A prioritised 30/60/90-day recovery route
- Options for hands-on recovery leadership
Recovery process
Understand. Stabilise. Re-plan. Deliver.
- 01
Understand
Review objectives, evidence, architecture, delivery state and stakeholder concerns.
- 02
Stabilise
Protect production, data and the work that is still creating value.
- 03
Re-plan
Build a bounded recovery sequence with visible decisions and accountabilities.
- 04
Deliver
Lead or support the recovery until the organisation has dependable control.
A good fit
When the organisation needs an honest technical view
- A business-critical programme is stalled or over budget
- An application or supplier relationship has been inherited
- Decision-makers cannot reconcile conflicting progress reports
- A senior technical lead is needed temporarily
- There is enough access to examine the evidence
Practical guide
Taking responsibility for inherited software
Start by establishing operational risk, dependencies and ownership before making confident promises.
Restore control