Plan and critical path
Whether the dates are achievable, with particular attention to data migration timings, which are usually longer than estimated.
Red team and independent assurance reviews
A red team review puts someone from outside the delivery team on your programme to challenge the plan, the business case or go-live readiness before you commit. I offer these reviews for NHS and independent-sector digital programmes.
This is a review of a programme. It isn't penetration testing or cyber security red teaming.
Timing
When to commission a review
- Before the business case goes to the board, to test whether the benefits and costs hold up.
- Before contract award, to check that the supplier's plan and your own capacity actually match.
- Before the go/no-go decision, to confirm that data, training, support and clinical safety are ready alongside the technology.
- When confidence is falling but reports are still green.
Scope
What I review
Each review is scoped to the question the SRO needs answered. These are the areas I most often look at.
Business case and benefits
Whether each benefit has an owner, a baseline and a measure, and whether anyone will still be measuring it a year after go-live.
Supplier readiness
What the contract commits the supplier to, and where your own team is carrying dependencies the plan doesn't show.
Clinical safety and IG
DCB0160 safety case, hazard log, DPIA and data sharing agreements, and whether they reflect the system as it will actually be used.
Operational readiness
Training completion, business change, floor-walking and the support model for the first fortnight.
Governance and reporting
Whether the board is seeing an accurate picture early enough to act on it.
What you get
A short written report with a rating for each area reviewed, a prioritised list of recommendations, and a debrief with the SRO. Most reviews take one to three weeks, depending on scope.
Why a delivery manager as reviewer
I've delivered PACS, LIMS, GP IT and shared care record programmes, and I've recovered programmes that slipped. That tells me where plans are usually optimistic and which questions a supplier would rather you didn't ask. I can carry out a review alone or join a wider review panel.
Want an outside view before you commit?
Tell me the decision coming up and I'll suggest a scope.