Project Triage & Turnaround Background
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Project Triage & Turnaround

Projects that are failing don't need more status reports. They need an honest diagnosis and decisive action. We assess, stabilise, and recover — or recommend killing what can't be saved...

The Problem

Failing projects have a gravity all their own.

Once a project starts to fail, it develops its own self-preserving momentum. Scope gets added to "recover value." Timelines get extended to "give the team more time." Budgets get increased because "we've already invested too much to stop." The sunk-cost trap is real, and it's expensive.

What failing projects actually need is the opposite of what they usually get. They need someone external who has no investment in the original plan, no loyalty to the vendor, and no political incentive to make things look better than they are. They need honesty, triage, and a recovery plan built from reality — not the original business case.

Our Approach

Assess honestly. Act decisively. Recover fast.

  • Rapid assessment in 5–10 days: interview the team, review the artifacts, test the claims against the evidence
  • Classify: recoverable, partially recoverable, or not recoverable — with clear reasoning for each
  • For recoverable projects: restructure scope, team, timeline, and approach to deliver a viable outcome
  • For partially recoverable: define the minimum viable outcome and redirect resources toward it
  • For unrecoverable: build the case for termination with evidence, and capture whatever value can be salvaged
  • Identify root causes — not just project-level, but organisational — to prevent recurrence
Key Outcomes

What changes when we're done

Honest status

A clear, evidence-based assessment of where the project actually stands — not the RAG status the PMO wants to see.

Recovery plan or exit plan

Either a credible path to delivery with reduced scope and realistic timelines, or a structured shutdown that preserves value.

Stakeholder alignment

Executive sponsors and business owners aligned on the new plan — including the uncomfortable parts.

Team reset

The delivery team restructured around what needs to happen, not what was originally planned. Morale addressed, not ignored.

Vendor accountability

If vendors are part of the problem, we document it objectively and create leverage for remediation or exit.

Prevention playbook

Root-cause analysis that leads to changes in governance, resourcing, or oversight — so the next project doesn't fail the same way.

Signals

When to engage

  • The project RAG status says amber but everyone involved knows it is red - and nobody wants to be the one to say it
  • The response to missed milestones is always more time, more money, or more scope - never a fundamental question about whether the approach is sound
  • The business case has been rewritten three times to match what the project is actually going to deliver, rather than the other way around
  • The project has had multiple project managers, multiple sponsors, or multiple "resets" - and it is still not delivering
  • The vendor says everything is on track, the internal team says it is not, and you do not have the technical depth to arbitrate
  • Stopping the project is unthinkable because of what has already been spent - which is the clearest possible sign the sunk-cost trap has you
  • Key people have left or are about to, and the only person who understands the full picture is the one you are least sure you can trust
  • Other projects are being starved of resources to feed this one, and the organisation is starting to feel the collateral damage
Related Services

Often engaged alongside

Interim Technology Leadership

Leadership when you need it

Governance Design

Decision-making that works

Resource Planning & Management

Right people, right time
Project Triage

If something's drifting,
let's find out why.

You don't need to have a solution in mind. Describe what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether a triage intervention is the right move — and what the first week would look like.

UTC+8 · Perth · Australia · Asia Pacific
Untangle — Technology Advisory & Execution