Independent project assurance reviews
Conducted candid assurance reviews across all five projects, isolating the two or three issues genuinely driving underperformance in each.
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Recovering Five Failing Projects for a Big 4 Bank
A Big 4 bank had five critical IT projects, valued at over $6M, running behind schedule and over budget. Leadership lacked a clear view of where the projects actually stood or what it would take to recover them.
- Client
- Big 4 Bank
- Industry
- Banking / Financial Services
- Engagement
- Project Recovery & Delivery Assurance
Executive summary
A Big 4 bank had five critical IT projects, with a combined value of over $6M, that were running behind schedule and over budget. Executive leadership lacked a clear, consolidated view of where each project actually stood, what was genuinely driving underperformance, and what actions would be required to bring them back on track.
MethodWerx conducted independent, candid project assurance reviews across all five projects, isolating the two or three issues genuinely driving underperformance in each. We reviewed each project against scope, schedule, budget, benefits and risk to establish a true baseline, then implemented targeted recovery strategies with clear owners and escalation paths.
Within four weeks, all five projects were back on track. The engagement protected over $6M in project investment, reset reporting so executives had accurate visibility, and embedded governance improvements that were sustained beyond the recovery period.
The challenge
- Five critical IT projects, valued at over $6M, running behind schedule and over budget
- Leadership lacked a clear view of where each project actually stood
- No consolidated understanding of what it would take to recover the projects
- Multiple competing issues made it difficult to identify the genuine drivers of underperformance
- Reporting did not give executives the accurate visibility needed to unblock issues fast
Leadership needed a clear, candid view of where each project actually stood and what it would take to recover them.
The approach
True baseline assessment
Reviewed each project against IT scope, schedule, budget, benefits and risk to establish a credible, evidence-based baseline.
Targeted recovery strategies
Designed and implemented targeted recovery strategies with clear owners, escalation paths and decision points.
Reset reporting & governance
Reset reporting so executives had accurate visibility and could unblock issues quickly, with governance improvements sustained beyond the recovery period.
The offering
Project assurance & baseline
- Independent assurance reviews across all five projects
- Scope, schedule, budget, benefits and risk baseline for each project
- Clear identification of the two or three genuine drivers of underperformance per project
Recovery planning
- Targeted recovery strategies tailored to each project's critical issues
- Clear owners, escalation paths and recovery milestones
- Governance gaps, resourcing and vendor issues addressed
Executive visibility
- Reset reporting providing accurate, decision-ready visibility
- Faster executive unblocking of issues and risks
- Sustained governance improvements beyond the recovery period
Value protected
- Over $6M in project investment protected
- All five projects returned to a credible delivery path within four weeks
- Repeatable assurance and recovery disciplines for future use
Outcomes
5 of 5
Projects returned to a credible delivery path
4 weeks
Time to recover all five projects
>$6M
Project investment protected
Reset
Executive visibility and issue unblocking
Sustained
Governance improvements
Repeatable
Independent assurance approach
Business impact
Executive leadership
- Clear, evidence-based view of project health across the portfolio
- Accurate reporting enabling faster, more confident decisions
- Confidence that over $6M in project investment was protected
Project delivery teams
- Clear priorities and recovery actions with defined ownership
- Reduced noise through focus on genuine drivers of underperformance
- Escalation paths that unblocked resourcing and vendor issues
The bank
- Portfolio-wide recovery discipline that can be reused
- Governance improvements sustained beyond the initial recovery
- Stronger assurance capability for future critical programmes
Why MethodWerx
MethodWerx provides independent project recovery and delivery assurance that cuts through complexity to find the real issues and fix them fast:
- Independent project and programme assurance
- Rapid recovery of failing or at-risk projects
- Evidence-based baseline and root-cause analysis
- Clear ownership, escalation and decision support
- Executive reporting and governance reset
- Sustainable delivery disciplines beyond recovery
The engagement gave the bank's leadership a clear line of sight into five critical projects, protected over $6M in investment, and established recovery and governance practices that outlasted the immediate crisis.
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