Programme Recovery

IT programmes fail. Industry data consistently shows that more than half of all large technology programmes will exceed their budget, miss their timeline, or fail to deliver expected benefits. When a programme stalls or starts to spiral, the organisation faces a choice: continue with the same approach and hope for different results, or bring in independent programme leadership that can diagnose the problem and deliver a structured recovery.

Elisabeth Butler specialises in stepping into programmes that have gone wrong and getting them back on track. She has recovered programmes across heritage, retail, financial services, public sector, and enterprise technology, turning around situations where vendor relationships have broken down, governance has collapsed, stakeholders have lost confidence, and budgets have spiralled.

How Programme Recovery Works

Every recovery starts with an honest assessment. Elisabeth conducts a rapid programme health review that examines governance structures, vendor performance, stakeholder alignment, scope management, risk exposure, and financial status. This review typically takes two to three weeks and produces a clear picture of what went wrong, what can be salvaged, and what needs to change.

From that assessment, she builds a recovery plan with defined milestones, realistic timelines, and clear accountability. She then takes ownership of programme governance and delivery, implementing the changes needed to restore momentum and rebuild confidence.

Common Recovery Scenarios

• Vendor breakdown: When the supplier relationship has deteriorated to the point where delivery has stopped. Elisabeth separates contractual disputes from delivery work and rebuilds productive working relationships.
• Governance failure: When scope has drifted, decisions are not being made, and nobody has clear accountability. Elisabeth implements structured governance with decision making authority and change control.
• Stakeholder misalignment: When different parts of the organisation are pulling in different directions. Elisabeth realigns stakeholders under unified programme objectives.
• Budget overrun: When costs have exceeded forecasts and the board has lost visibility of where the money is going. Elisabeth conducts financial audit and implements transparent budget management.

Why Independent Recovery Works

Internal programme managers often cannot lead recovery because they are too close to the existing dynamics. The vendor sees them as part of the problem. Stakeholders have already lost confidence in their reporting. The programme manager themselves may be reluctant to deliver the honest assessment that recovery requires.

An independent programme manager brings objectivity, authority, and fresh perspective. Elisabeth has no allegiance to any vendor, no political position to protect, and no reason to tell the board anything other than the truth. This independence is what makes recovery possible.

Related case studies:

• National Heritage Programme Recovery
• Enterprise ERP Programme Rescue