Restoring Control to a Stalled Enterprise Workflow Program
A major public safety organisation regained control of a failed enterprise workflow program through independent assurance, financial stabilisation and a clear architectural recovery blueprint.
Context
The organisation was midway through a high-profile enterprise workflow program intended to modernise critical operational processes. Built on a heavily customised legacy ServiceNow platform, the initiative had stalled completely.
The incumbent service provider had under-delivered against scope, resources were exhausted and the allocated budget had been consumed. Core enterprise workflows remained undefined, governance had eroded and confidence in the program was low. Without intervention, the project risked being abandoned entirely, with lasting operational and financial consequences.
Approach
This engagement focused on immediate stabilisation followed by the creation of a credible, executable path forward.
Define
The first priority was stopping the bleed.
An independent forensic assessment was conducted to establish what had actually been delivered versus what had been promised. Gaps in scope, quality and architectural integrity were documented clearly, providing leadership with an objective view of the situation.
At the same time, the underlying technical constraints of the highly customised ServiceNow platform were surfaced, clarifying why progress had stalled and what would be required to move forward safely.
Align
With clarity restored, the focus shifted to redefining the work.
Complex enterprise workflows were re-articulated and rationalised into a viable solution design aligned to the organisation’s operational needs. Non-value activity was halted, immediately reducing financial leakage and allowing effort to be redirected toward outcomes that mattered.
This reset enabled the client to re-engage the service provider under clearer expectations and a structured delivery approach.
Govern
Governance was rebuilt through architecture and accountability.
A comprehensive enterprise architecture and workflow blueprint was delivered to guide remediation of the legacy platform and to govern all future changes. This provided a long-term framework for reducing customisation, managing technical debt and holding service providers accountable moving forward.
Outcome
The project was salvaged and stabilised.
Leadership regained visibility over budget, scope and delivery status. Financial overruns were curtailed, vendor accountability was restored and the organisation received a clear, actionable roadmap for remediating its legacy platform.
Most importantly, the organisation emerged with the architectural and governance foundations required to manage future programs with confidence, significantly reducing the risk of repeat failure.