PROGRAMME REVIEW & RECOVERY
Restore drifting programmes to a defensible state
Independent review, logic recovery and rebaseline support for NEC, JCT and FIDIC construction projects
Dates shifting without clear drivers. Critical path changing every cycle. Progress meetings that start with twenty minutes of debating the numbers instead of making decisions. These are symptoms of a programme that has lost integrity. This service diagnoses what went wrong, stabilises the logic and produces a recovery position the team can actually use.
NEC ACCREDITED
APMG QUALIFIED
P6 / MS PROJECT / ASTA
NEC / JCT / FIDIC
DO YOU RECOGNISE THIS?
Five signs your programme needs an independent review
If two or more of these apply, the programme has lost integrity. The longer it runs without correction, the harder recovery becomes and the weaker your commercial position gets.
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SIGN 1
Dates shift every cycle without clear drivers
Key dates move between updates but nobody can explain why. Logic behaviour is unstable and float values change unpredictably.
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SIGN 2
The critical path changes every time you update
Different activities appear as critical each cycle. The programme is responding to noise rather than tracking real project drivers.
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SIGN 3
Progress meetings start with arguing the numbers
Stakeholders do not trust the reported position. The first twenty minutes of every meeting are spent debating what the programme actually shows.
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SIGN 4
Change is impossible to evidence from the programme
​When a CE or extension of time needs to be demonstrated, the programme history is too inconsistent to support the claim. Baseline status is unclear.
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SIGN 5
The team has stopped using the programme for decisions
Coordination runs on email, WhatsApp and memory. The programme is updated for reporting purposes but nobody uses it to plan work.
WHAT RECOVERY MEANS
Recovery is not compressing durations. It is restoring a plan the team can use.
​Shortening activity durations to make a programme show green is not recovery. It is concealment. Real recovery restores logic integrity, clarifies key drivers and re-establishes update discipline so the programme can be trusted again.
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Diagnose before prescribing
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The integrity review identifies exactly what is wrong: logic gaps, constraint behaviour, calendar errors, baseline drift, progress rule inconsistency, or a combination. Corrections are targeted, not wholesale. The programme is fixed, not rebuilt from scratch unless a controlled reset is agreed.
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Recovery actions linked to what is actually driving the dates
A recovery plan that lists fifty actions is not a recovery plan. It is a wish list. The recovery position identifies the three to five things that are genuinely driving key dates, the constraints and interfaces that must be resolved, and the priority actions for the next two reporting cycles.
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Embed the rules so it does not drift again
The review is wasted if the programme drifts back within two cycles. Update rules, cut-off discipline, progress capture and reporting format are confirmed and documented so the team can maintain the recovered position through delivery.
Programme discipline maintained from baseline to practical completion. On a £50M+ NEC3 gas infrastructure package, programme integrity was maintained through monthly reporting cycles across the full delivery phase, with consistent update discipline, traceable change records and audit-ready reporting packs. View case study ›
WHAT WE PRODUCE
Outputs that restore programme integrity and re-establish trust with stakeholders.
Each output is structured to address what is actually driving drift, not surface symptoms.
DIAGNOSIS OUTPUT
Programme integrity review findings
A concise findings note covering logic integrity, constraints, calendars, baseline status, progress rules, data date discipline and critical path behaviour. Each issue is prioritised by its impact on key dates and reporting credibility.
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Logic, constraint and calendar integrity assessment
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Baseline status and accepted programme position
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Progress rule consistency check
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Critical path stability and float behaviour
CORRECTION OUTPUT
Integrity corrections and stabilisation
Targeted corrections to restore logic integrity and stabilise programme behaviour. Link logic repair, constraint clean-up, milestone behaviour, calendar alignment and progress rule consistency applied before any recovery actions are layered on top.
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Logic repair and constraint clean-up
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Calendar alignment to actual working patterns
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Float and time risk allowances made visible
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Reviewed by an NEC Accredited Project Manager before submission
RECOVERY OUTPUT
Recovery plan and priority actions
A practical recovery position identifying the real drivers of key dates, the constraints and interfaces that must be resolved, and the priority actions for the next two reporting cycles. Not a fifty-item wish list. Three to five actions that will move the dates.
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Key date drivers identified and explained
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Near-term constraints and interface resolution required
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Priority actions for next 2 reporting cycles
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Recovery trajectory and milestone targets
RESET OUTPUT
Controlled reset and rebaseline (where agreed)
Where a clean control position is required, support to structure a controlled reset: new baseline, agreed rules, cut-off discipline and reporting pack alignment. The reset preserves the programme history needed for commercial governance while establishing a credible forward position.
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Rebaseline with documented rationale
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Cut-off and progress rules confirmed
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Reporting pack aligned to new baseline
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Programme history preserved for CE and change reference
WHO IT'S FOR
Projects where the programme has lost credibility with stakeholders, the team, or both
Particularly valuable before major submissions, replans, phase transitions, high-stakes client reviews, or when a CE position depends on programme evidence that currently does not exist in a credible form.
WORKS FOR
NOT IN CRISIS? READ THIS
An independent review before the programme starts drifting
Not every engagement starts with a crisis. Tier 1 contractors often commission an independent review of a subcontractor's programme before accepting it. Commercial directors ask for a second opinion before a major payment application. Project managers want a pre-submission check before a critical Clause 32 revision goes in. The same diagnostic lens applied earlier prevents the cost and disruption of a full recovery later.
Pre-award subcontractor review.
Independent assessment of a subcontractor's tender programme before acceptance under NEC3/NEC4.
Pre-submission revision check.
Review a Clause 32 revision before it is submitted to the PM to reduce the risk of rejection.
Commercial governance review.
Third-party integrity check commissioned by senior commercial or delivery leadership before a major milestone or payment event.
HOW IT WORKS
Diagnose, stabilise, recover and embed
Scope confirmed in writing before any chargeable work begins. Can run as a one-off review or as retained recovery support through to a stable position.
STAGE 01
Diagnose
Confirm the contract form, programme status, reporting history and what triggered the need for an independent review. Assess logic integrity, baseline position, critical path behaviour and update discipline. Produce the findings note with prioritised issues.
Written scope before billing
STAGE 02
Stabilise and correct
Apply targeted corrections to restore logic integrity and programme behaviour. Confirm key drivers and interfaces. Stabilise the critical path so recovery actions can be built on a sound foundation, not on a programme that is still moving unpredictably.
Reviewed before issue
STAGE 03
Recover and embed
Issue the recovery position with priority actions linked to key date drivers. Confirm update rules, cut-off discipline and reporting format so the recovered position is maintained through subsequent cycles. Where agreed, support a controlled reset and rebaseline.
Recovery pack issued
PRICING
One-off review or retained recovery support
Pricing reflects programme complexity, the volume of corrections required and whether this runs as a one-off review or retained support through recovery cycles.
ENGAGEMENT STRUCTURE
FIXED-FEE OPTIONS
Fixed fee where scope allows, otherwise a defined upper limit. Confirmed before any chargeable work begins.
SCOPE CONFIRMED IN WRITING
Outputs, fee and timeline confirmed before chargeable work begins.
INITIAL SCOPING AT NO CHARGE
A short call to confirm fit, scope and next step.
MINIMUMS AGREED UPFRONT
Any monthly cycle or minimum period is confirmed before work starts.
NEW £
Independent review
From £1,250
Diagnosis + findings
Programme integrity assessment with prioritised findings note. Diagnostic-led, senior engagement.
Review + correction
From £2,500
Fix and stabilise
Diagnosis plus targeted corrections, recovery position with priority actions, ready to share with PM.
NEW £
Retained recovery
Scoped
Through to stable position
Retained support through to stable position. Rebaseline included where agreed.
LIVE
Retainer pricing confirmed after project review. See full pricing
Need to get your programme back on track?
Send your current programme for an initial review of logic integrity at no charge, baseline status and critical path behaviour. We will identify the issues and confirm the scope to fix them, in writing, before any chargeable work begins.
Or tell us the contract type, programme status and submission deadline. We will confirm the right approach.
Initial programme review at no charge, with no obligation to proceed.