Discovery, advisory and assessments
Confidence you're solving the right problem, before you commit to solving it.
What this service is
When most technology projects fail, it's often not because of the technology itself. It's because the problem wasn't properly understood before anyone started building it.
Wrong problem. Wrong sequence. Wrong solution. These decisions are made early and they're expensive to reverse.
We help organisations get clear before they commit, whether:
- You're about to invest in a major programme
- You're mid-delivery and something doesn't feel right
- A supplier has told you everything is fine but you suspect it isn't
We give an honest view of your situation, and which specific course of action to take. That could be:
- An independent programme assessment
- A structured discovery
- A senior advisory voice working alongside your team
What we do
Structured discovery
Problem framing, user research, options development, and service blueprinting - structured to give you the confidence and material to commit to the right next step.
Programme assessment and rescue
An honest independent view of a programme in difficulty. We've rescued failing government digital services - auditing against the Government Service Standard, developing structured recovery plans, and supporting delivery through to successful assessment.
Strategic technology and platform advisory
Senior advisory on significant technology decisions such as platform selection, architecture options, build versus buy, technical debt prioritisation and cloud strategy. Technology-agnostic by design: we follow the evidence to the right recommendation.
Requirements and process analysis
BA-led analysis of what a service or system actually needs to do, with the operational process mapped alongside functional requirements. Particularly valuable before a case management or process automation programme, where the gap between what a system was designed to do and what people actually do is often significant.
Delivery operating model review
Assessment of how a client's delivery team is set up, how it works, and how well it's performing. Covers team structure, roles, ways of working, governance, and quality practices. Produces a clear gap analysis and improvement plan.
Advisory retainer
A senior CDS voice available on an ongoing basis to act as a sounding board, technical authority, delivery coach or board representation. Part-time and tailored to what the client needs.
Accelerators in this area
Not every engagement starts with a big brief. Sometimes you just need a defined starting point with something scoped, fast and useful in its own right. These are our accelerators: fixed-scope pieces of work that give you something concrete to act on.
Delivery Capability Assessment
An honest view of how your delivery is performing and what to do about it.
Idea-to-Roadmap
Take a problem or idea and leave with options, recommendations and a plan.
See our proof
We work with clients across central government, emergency services, health, financial services and national-scale consumer digital. The common thread is that the services they run can't afford to fail.
The central government property register - delivered in five months
Failing government digital services rescued. All audited against the 14 points of the Government Service Standard, given a structured recovery plan, and returned to successful delivery.
Yorkshire Water: Digital transformation that flows
Service design discovery leading to website redesign and a 20% reduction in bills-related call volumes. Started from problem definition, not a pre-formed brief.
Speak to our experts
Get in touch with our team today to see how we can help your organisation.
