Project Background
A Department of Defence program delivery office, responsible for a global mission-critical capability, embarked on an ambitious multi-year journey to replace an outdated legacy system with a modern, web-based application. Six months before the production go-live date—a critical juncture in the project lifecycle—Evolutioned was engaged to provide expertise in stakeholder engagement, business analysis, requirements verification, and technical implementation.
Initial Assessment: Beneath the Surface
When our team arrived, we quickly discovered that the project faced challenges far deeper than they initially appeared. While surface-level disagreements were evident, our assessment revealed that the core difficulties stemmed from a complex interplay of several factors:
- A complex organisational history creating institutional friction
- Competing priorities across different programs within Defence
- Significant pressures to cut costs affecting resource allocation
- Varying technical preferences among key stakeholders
Most concerning was the disconnect between the project’s reported status and its actual health. Status reports painted an artificially optimistic picture, with critical issues deliberately omitted from steering committee briefings. There was a noticeable reluctance to provide honest and comprehensive information, evident in phrases such as “we can’t tell the steering committee that” and “that’s too much detail for them.”
The Journey: Critical Challenges & Solutions
Challenge 1: Communication Breakdown
The Problem:
Communication between the program office and business area had deteriorated significantly. This manifested as strained interactions, a lack of face-to-face engagement, and a troubling “throw work over the fence” mentality. Status reports were deliberately sanitised, while inconsistent, often inaccurate briefings originated from individuals outside the formal reporting structure. As a result, both the project team and business representatives found themselves ill-prepared to address concerns during meetings, with the underlying tensions between groups only exacerbating this situation.
Our Solution:
Evolutioned recognised that rebuilding trust was essential before any technical challenges could be addressed. We implemented several key approaches to transform communication:
- Prioritising accessibility and initiating regular face-to-face meetings
- Building rapport through active listening and demonstrating genuine empathy
- Delivering consistently on commitments to establish reliability
- Ensuring all documentation was accurate and comprehensive
Recognising the tendency to downplay critical issues, we engaged directly with capability team leadership to foster greater transparency, facilitating more accurate briefings for steering committee meetings.
Perhaps most importantly, we instigated an “all hands eyes-on” review of the defects list, creating a platform for open dialogue and collaborative problem-solving. This initiative proved particularly effective in shifting the project culture towards greater honesty and more informed decision-making.
Challenge 2: Unverified Assumptions
The Problem:
Technical documentation contained numerous unverified assumptions, while requirements remained ambiguous. User Acceptance Testing (UAT) brought these issues sharply into focus, revealing significant user dissatisfaction. The capability team felt frustrated because they believed the solution technically met the documented requirements, while business users found it inadequate for their actual operational needs.
Our Solution:
Evolutioned played a crucial role in bridging this critical gap. We invested considerable time in developing a deep understanding of the underlying business needs that weren’t adequately captured in documentation. This knowledge allowed us to educate the capability team, effectively reframing their perspective on the delivered solution.
We implemented an iterative approach with gradual updates rather than attempting large-scale changes. This allowed business users to test and provide timely feedback, while simultaneously enabling thorough regression testing. Through this collaborative process, the solution progressively aligned more closely with actual user requirements rather than just the documented specifications.
Challenge 3: Governance Challenges
The Problem:
Project governance lacked clarity and accountability, with critical issues remaining unaddressed due to avoidance or inadequate task allocation. The steering committee received inconsistent information, hampering effective decision-making and creating a cycle of distrust and missed expectations.
Our Solution:
Evolutioned adopted a proactive stance in shaping the project’s governance. We worked closely with capability team leadership in the crucial lead-up to steering committee meetings, ensuring all briefings provided an accurate and comprehensive picture of the project’s status and trajectory.
To enhance transparency and accountability, we established the “all hands eyes-on” review process for the defects list. This provided a valuable platform for all stakeholders to collectively review and openly discuss identified issues. The approach proved particularly effective in clearly allocating responsibility for tasks that had previously been either avoided or inadequately addressed.
Challenge 4: Testing and MVP Definition
The Problem:
The legacy system’s inadequate documentation and limited requirements capture process created significant gaps in understanding. Without a mechanism to revisit requirements as Defence’s operational needs evolved, critical discrepancies remained undetected until final UAT stages. Initially, all identified issues were treated as critical, threatening to delay deployment indefinitely.
Our Solution:
Evolutioned implemented a pragmatic approach focused on delivering core functionality. We prioritised high-value transactions and ensured they robustly met immediate operational needs. Our MVP strategy included:
- Working closely with business stakeholders to redefine priorities based on actual operational impact
- Applying a straightforward assessment methodology: “Does the transaction fulfil its fundamental purpose?”
- Categorising non-critical issues as enhancements for post-deployment phases
- Placing high priority on aligning the new system with established workflows from the legacy system
This practical approach ensured the MVP delivered essential functionality while establishing an achievable path for future improvements. The deliberate alignment with familiar workflows proved crucial in facilitating a smoother transition for end-users, minimising disruption and maximising adoption in the Defence operating environment.
Results & Transformation
Despite significant challenges, the project achieved its critical goal: successful deployment of a viable Minimum Viable Product that is now actively used within the Department. This success can be attributed to Evolutioned’s strategic direction of resources toward high-value components and careful alignment with established workflows.
Perhaps most importantly, Evolutioned served as trusted intermediaries between diverse stakeholder groups, becoming a reliable channel for crucial communication and information gathering. This unique position allowed our team to bridge gaps and foster greater understanding across the project. Our effectiveness stemmed from a combination of extensive experience, balanced perspective, prudent approach, and consistently calm project management in a high-pressure environment.
Legacy of Learning
This project yielded valuable lessons that continue to inform the Department’s approach to complex technology initiatives:
Stakeholder Alignment: The project underscored the critical importance of genuine stakeholder alignment from the outset. Despite initially diverse perspectives, the realisation that everyone shared the common goal of capability success became a powerful unifying force.
Enhanced Collaboration: New ways of working emerged that actively promoted collaboration and transparency:
- Adoption of shared project task boards accessible to all stakeholders
- Implementation of centralised issue lists replacing siloed “versions of truth”
- Regular cross-functional working sessions to solve problems collaboratively
- Transparent documentation of decisions and their rationales
Agile Implementation: The experience highlighted inherent risks in combining agile development with fixed, incompletely defined project scope. This insight directly informs future project planning, promoting more realistic expectations and adaptable management processes.
Knowledge Transfer: Recognising the importance of long-term sustainability, the project incorporated comprehensive knowledge transfer initiatives, empowering the Department to independently manage, maintain, and build upon the project’s achievements well after our engagement concluded.
