Implementation recovery
When a system rollout or major initiative is behind schedule, over budget, or stalled between vendors and internal teams, we find what is actually blocking it, reset ownership and the plan, and get delivery moving again.
When this is the work
Signs an implementation needs recovery.
Troubled implementations rarely fail on technology alone. They stall on unclear ownership, shifting scope, and decisions no one is making. If several of these apply, a structured recovery is usually faster and cheaper than pushing on.
- Go-live has moved more than once.Each new date arrives with confidence and passes without a clear explanation.
- Status reports say green while the work says otherwise.Leadership learns about problems late, usually from the people affected.
- The vendor and the internal team blame each other.Responsibilities were never written down, so every gap becomes a dispute.
- Scope keeps growing without a decision.Requests are added informally, and their cost and schedule impact is never assessed.
- The budget is spent faster than progress is made.Change orders and extra hours accumulate without a matching gain in delivery.
- People are working around the new system.Spreadsheets and email carry the work the system was bought to handle.
What it includes
What the work can include.
Every engagement is scoped and priced in writing, one phase at a time. We are vendor-neutral: we do not resell software or accept referral fees, so our recommendations answer to you, not to a product. Where engineering or security work is required, we coordinate it with your vendors and qualified technical partners.
Recovery assessment
Interviews, documents, and delivery data reviewed to separate the real blockers from the symptoms, with findings leadership can act on.
Ownership and decision reset
One accountable owner for each workstream and deliverable, decision rights agreed, and open decisions closed or scheduled.
Scope and change control
Requirements reconciled against what was contracted and what the business needs, with a simple process for assessing every change before it is accepted.
Vendor accountability
Responsibilities between vendors and internal teams written down, deliverables tied to acceptance criteria, and performance reviewed against them.
Recovery plan and reporting
A realistic plan with milestones, dependencies, and budget, and status reporting that shows leadership where the work truly stands.
Adoption and handover
Training, workflows, and ownership put in place so the system is used as intended and stays that way after we step back.
- Measured by
- Milestones met against the reset plan
- Open decisions closed
- Use of the system by the people it was built for
- You keep
- A recovery plan with owners
- A decision log
- Status reporting leadership can trust
First conversation
What helps us see where the implementation stands.
Bring what you have. The first conversation is about the situation, not a sales pitch, and these documents shorten it.
- The current plan, and the original one if it has changed.
- The latest status report leadership received.
- The contract or statement of work with the vendor.
- The open issues, risks, and change requests.
- Who owns what today, even if it is unclear.
How it runs
Stages and outputs.
Stabilize
Confirm the decisions, owners, and work that matter most right now, so the drift stops.
OutputImmediate priorities and an interim status view
Diagnose
Find the root causes across scope, ownership, vendors, data, and adoption.
OutputRecovery findings, with options and their cost and schedule impact
Reset
Agree on scope, responsibilities, the plan, and how progress will be reported.
OutputAn approved recovery plan with owners
Deliver and hand over
Run the plan with your team and vendors, or hand it to your team to run, with reporting in place.
OutputMilestones met and ownership transferred
Questions
Implementation recovery questions.
How is implementation recovery different from the Operating Diagnostic?
The Operating Diagnostic looks across an operation to decide what to fix first. Implementation recovery starts with one initiative that is already in trouble and focuses on getting it delivered.
Will you replace our vendor?
Not by default. We are vendor-neutral and do not resell software or accept referral fees. Often the fastest path is making the current arrangement work, with clear responsibilities, acceptance criteria, and decisions. If the evidence points to a different path, we set out the options and their cost so you can decide.
Can our team run the recovery plan without you?
Yes. The plan is written so your team can run it. If you would rather have us lead the recovery through delivery, we do that too. The choice is yours.
How is the work priced?
Each phase is scoped and priced in writing before it begins, so you can stop after the assessment or continue through delivery.
Does this apply to federal programs and prime contractors?
Yes. For federal work, we document changes and their impact for the program office and leave contract decisions to the contracting officer.
Not sure this is the right starting point?
The Operating Diagnostic is a three-week, fixed-fee look at how the work actually runs. It tells you whether the fix is a process, a decision, a system, or all three, and gives you an action plan either way.