Service · Project in trouble

Project in trouble? We stabilise before the go-live tips over.

The date is set, but the business department keeps working in Excel, and the vendor and the internal team point at each other. We join quickly, talk to the real users and deliver an honest assessment with a stabilisation plan. Afterwards we take over as a UX team or accompany the implementation until it is accepted.

Book an initial call How it works

In short

Project in trouble is our rescue offer for implementations and product projects that are late, are getting too expensive or have failed with their users. An experienced UX Lead takes responsibility for the diagnosis: they observe how the business department really works today, find the places where the system does not carry the workflow, and prioritise by deadlines and risk. The result is a stabilisation plan that project management, vendor and business department can carry together, and a clear statement of what is still realistic before go-live and what is not.

After that it continues, as UX Team as a Service for the implementation or as implementation support with UX coaches who accompany the business department until the system is accepted. The diagnosis is not lost; it becomes the work plan.

Who it is for

Go-live at risk
The date is fixed by regulation or contract, but tests fail on usability and the tickets pile up. You need someone who separates the usability problems from the technical ones and says what to do first.
Users rejecting the system
The system is rolled out, but the business department does not use it, or only under protest. Training has not helped, because the problem is not knowledge but workflows the system does not reflect.
Business department back in Excel
Next to the new solution, the old spreadsheet is running again, because status, deadline or next step are not visible. Every parallel list is an audit risk and a sign that the system does not carry the real process.
Vendor and internal team pointing at each other
The vendor says the requirements were unclear. The project team says the software does not fit. Both are right, and nobody talks to the users. That is exactly what we do, and we bring facts into the room.

What is included

What you get, in this order.

A fast start with one accountable lead
An experienced UX Lead takes responsibility for the diagnosis from the first conversation. No handover to a junior team, no run-up through account management. Behind the lead stands the Beabstracto team for research and prototyping.
Diagnosis with real users
We observe the business department at work, run interviews and analyse tickets, parallel spreadsheets and workarounds. We separate what is down to usability, what is down to missing functionality and what is down to process or training.
An honest assessment
You receive a written evaluation that also names uncomfortable points: whether the date is realistic, which parts of the system hold up and which do not, what the vendor must deliver and what needs to be settled internally.
A stabilisation plan by deadline and risk
Prioritised measures, sorted by what most endangers the go-live or acceptance. With an owner per measure, so that vendor, project management and business department know who does what.
Immediate measures you can act on directly
Where it can be done quickly, we deliver solutions along with the plan: adjustments to flows, guidance texts and status displays, material for key users, suggestions for configuration. As a prototype or specification, ready for your vendor.
Continuation without a break
After stabilisation it continues as UX Team as a Service for the implementation or as implementation support with UX coaches. The same team, the same knowledge, no second onboarding.

How it works

1
Initial call, at short notice
You describe the situation, we ask the questions that matter: date, user groups, state of testing, contractual relationship with the vendor. Afterwards you know whether we can help. We also say so when we cannot.
2
Start with access to users and system
We need access to the business department, a test environment and the tickets. NDA and data processing agreement are settled upfront so nothing holds up the start.
3
Diagnosis at the workplace
Observation and interviews with the people who are supposed to operate the system every day. Plus analysis of the parallel spreadsheets, the most frequent tickets and the points where workflows break down.
4
Assessment and plan
We present findings and stabilisation plan, with project management, vendor and business department at the same table. Prioritised by deadline and risk, with clear ownership per measure.
5
Stabilise
We implement the most urgent measures together with you and the vendor: flows, status displays, key user material, configuration. What the vendor has to deliver, they receive as a prototype or specification.
6
Continue
Depending on the situation, it continues as a UX team for the implementation or as implementation support until the business department accepts the system. Or you take over with your team and the plan in hand.

What we commit to

One accountable lead from the first conversation to the plan, no change of contact person.
An honest assessment, even if it means the date has to move.
No blame game: we evaluate the system and the workflows, not the people, and bring vendor and internal team to one table.
Diagnosis with real users, not from documents and meetings.
Seamless continuation: the diagnosis becomes the work plan for the UX team or implementation support.

Extensions

After stabilisation, these services follow on, depending on what the project needs.

UX Team as a Service
Implementation support with UX coaches
UX retainer with quarterly tests
Hour package for further development

UX Team as a Service: A team with lead, research, design and engineering implements the stabilisation plan, with guaranteed cover.
Implementation support with UX coaches: UX designers acting as coaches train key users on real tasks and accompany the business department until the system is accepted.
UX retainer with quarterly tests: Regular tests with users after go-live, so the trouble does not come back.
Hour package for further development: A contingent for adjustments that come out of the business department's everyday work after go-live.

Frequently asked questions

When is a project in trouble?: When the date is approaching and tests fail on usability. When the business department rejects the system or keeps working in Excel alongside it. When vendor and internal team blame each other. If one of these applies, a conversation is worth it.
How quickly can you start?: At short notice. The initial call takes place promptly, and we begin as soon as access to the business department and a test environment is settled. Because we know specialist systems in banking and industry, we lose no time ramping up on the domain.
Is this an evaluation of the vendor?: No. We evaluate whether the system carries the real workflow, and what needs to happen so that it does. The vendor receives concrete, actionable requirements instead of accusations. In most cases that helps both sides.
What if the date cannot be held?: Then we say so, with reasons and with a proposal for what can run stably by the date and what comes after. For project management and leadership, an honest assessment is worth more than a plan that only holds on paper.
Do you need access to production data?: Usually not. We work with test environments, observation at the workplace and anonymised examples. NDA and data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR are standard before we begin.
What happens after stabilisation?: That is your decision. Many projects move into UX Team as a Service for the implementation or into implementation support with UX coaches. Others take over with the plan themselves. In every case, the diagnosis belongs to you.
Which systems is this suited to?: Specialist systems whose usability is deadline-critical: reporting and tax platforms in banking, fund and custody systems, control systems and HMIs in industry, enterprise software with complex configuration. Anywhere expert users work under time pressure.