A critical application running 2 years late, and causes that run far deeper than a technical problem
Before
behind schedule on the overhaul of a business-critical application
After
safeguarded by going live ahead of the regulatory deadline
safeguarded by going live ahead of the regulatory deadline
critical incidents over the period
to rebuild trust and deliver the critical scope
The producer responsibility organization (PRO) calls on Nobori Partners for an audit: the overhaul of its critical application is running 2 years late. The audit uncovers deep causes: a highly volatile and unpredictable legal framework that changed the requirements along the way, and above all a lack of documentation and delivery method that made the project ungovernable: no formal specifications, no framework to absorb changes, no traceability of decisions. The relationship with the development agency has become adversarial: with no shared documentation, each party disputes the commitments of the other. At the same time, the organization is on the verge of a sharp acceleration in growth and headcount, which makes the situation even more urgent.
SITUATION BEFORE
- Operational baseline
- Critical application 2 years behind schedule on its overhaul. A changing legal framework, no documentation and no delivery method, and a broken relationship with the development agency.
- Teams affected
- The entire organization: business teams dependent on an obsolete application, leadership facing imminent accelerated growth with IT that cannot keep up.
- Hidden costs
- Several million euros at stake if the critical application is not delivered on time. The organization's reputation with its stakeholders under threat.
- Why it was not solved earlier.
- The lack of documentation and delivery method made the project ungovernable. Without formal specifications or traceability of decisions, every legal change turned into a dispute. The relationship with the development agency deteriorated until it became adversarial.
THE STORY
OUR APPROACH
4 steps to get there
Audit: why the project was 2 years late
The PRO asks Nobori Partners to understand why the overhaul of its critical application has stalled. The audit identifies deep, cumulative causes: a highly volatile and unpredictable legal framework that changed the business requirements along the way, and above all a lack of documentation and delivery method: no formal specifications, no framework to absorb changes, no traceability of the decisions made. The relationship with the development agency has become adversarial: with no shared documentation, each party disputes the commitments of the other, and trust is broken.
Broader assessment: a context that makes everything worse
Beyond the delayed overhaul, the audit shows that other critical applications are also weakened by technical debt and cybersecurity issues. Above all, the organization is on the verge of a sharp acceleration (growth and headcount), which makes every additional month of delay even more costly.
6 months to rebuild and deliver
Rebuilding trust with the development agency: without that trust, no delivery is possible. Working with the business teams to stabilize requirements despite a shifting legal framework and to prioritize the truly critical scope. Settling structural technical choices that were blocking progress. Scoping a complex data migration, an essential prerequisite for go-live.
Delivered ahead of the January 1 deadline, zero incidents
The overhauled application is made available ahead of the January 1 deadline for the critical, priority scope. No critical incidents over the period. The organization's reputation is preserved and several million euros are safeguarded thanks to meeting the deadlines.
RESULTS
The measurable impact
Critical application overhauled and made available ahead of the January 1 regulatory deadline for the scope deemed a priority. Zero critical incidents over the period. The organization's reputation saved. Several million euros safeguarded thanks to on-time delivery.
A critical overhaul running late, trust to rebuild? Let's talk before the delay costs more than the overhaul itself
Book a discovery callSIMILAR CASE STUDIES
end users represented
A 600-person mid-market company representing more than 3 million users faces the opening of its market to competition. Nobori Partners deploys its AI audit accelerator to deliver a rapid assessment in 2 weeks instead of 6 to 8, dig into the root causes and co-design the target IT vision with the leadership team.
Read the case studysaved per person per week
Helping a mid-market company model its business processes, identify KPIs and the decisions they drive, then build management dashboards that are actually used. The result: half a day saved per person per week across 25 employees.
Read the case study