ACUTE PMC

Continue, Stabilize, Restructure, Stop, or Rebuild: A Decision Table for Troubled Technology Projects




COMMERCIAL DECISION THIS ENABLES: A sponsor can force a gates-first continue / stabilize / restructure / stop / rebuild call without treating a score or the incumbent SI as the decision authority.


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TL;DR


When a technology initiative is uncertain or failing, leadership needs a recommendation rule—not another status deck. This page defines five decision postures and the evidence criteria that support each call.


  • Hard gates are PASS/FAIL prerequisites. They are evaluated and displayed before scores. A failed gate stays visible and may eliminate postures even if later scores look strong.

  • - Scores are educational decision-support. They refine judgment among postures still allowed after gates.

  • - Scores do not qualify a buyer or select Project Clarity, Critical Project Rescue, or Critical Project Recovery.

  • - An arithmetic total cannot override a failed gate.

Why this decision is hard


Common failure modes:


  • Sunk-cost bias — We’ve spent too much to stop.”

- Watermelon status — green reporting / red reality.


- Vendor conflict of interest — the implementer authors “continue.”


- Conflating severity with ownership — redness alone does not decide who must lead execution.


Stop vs salvage vs rebuild is a sponsor decision, not an implementer sales path. Independent recovery leadership is not the same as an SI takeover.





Five outcomes — definitions (not service SKUs)





| Outcome | Meaning (educational) | Typical next ownership posture |


|—-|—-|—-|


| Continue under control | Business case still valid; delivery-evidence confidence high; decision latency acceptable | Client executes with existing leadership |


| Stabilize | Control/governance inadequate; capable receiving leadership exists | Bounded operating-system reset; client retains execution |


| Restructure | Scope/governance/vendor model wrong; path exists after redesign | Client-led redesign; may need specialist referral |


| Stop | Remaining value < cost-to-complete; or authority/evidence gap makes recovery unsafe | Controlled closure; preserve evidence/obligations |


| Rebuild or refer specialist | Technical foundation or regulated domain requires rebuild / specialist SI / legal-clinical authority Acute does not claim | Referral or separately scoped rebuild |

These postures describe **decisions**. Mapping any posture to an Acute intervention still requires human qualification: authority, sponsor, evidence, access, receiving leadership, capacity, and execution-ownership fit.


Hard decision gates (prerequisites — not scored)


Binary PASS/FAIL. Evaluated **before** any arithmetic. Display as a checklist **above** any scores. Never hide a FAIL behind a green composite. Gates never auto-route to Clarity / Rescue / Recovery.


| Gate ID | Prerequisite (educational) | If FAIL — constrained postures (examples) |

|—-|—-|—-|

| G1 | Named decision authority exists (sponsor/deputy who can bind) | Stop / pause for authority; Continue-under-control and Stabilize typically unavailable |

| G2 | Minimum decision-grade evidence accessible (or refusal is explicit) | Stop / pause; no honest Continue; Stabilize only after access path |

| G3 | **Economic/obligation basis is understood:** remaining value vs remaining cost is decision-grade; if remaining value is clearly below remaining cost **and** no overriding legal, safety, contractual, transition, or strategic obligation requires continuation, Continue/Rebuild optimism is constrained | **Stop / controlled wind-down must be explicitly evaluated**; Continue and Rebuild-optimism postures constrained when value≪cost with no overriding obligation |

| G4 | Legal/regulatory/safety showstopper absent (or owned by competent authority) | Stop / refer specialist; Acute does not claim regulated rebuild authority |

| G5 | A receiving owner for any next posture can be named (even if “sponsor for stop”) | Block Stabilize / Lead-Recovery-style postures that need a receiver |


**Display rule:** Show gate results as PASS/FAIL above any scores. A failed gate stays visible and may rule out Continue or Stabilize even if other scores are high.


Scored evidence dimensions (1–5, educational — subordinate to gates)


Score only **after** gates are recorded. Dimensions support judgment among **still-allowed** postures. They do **not** override a failed gate.


| Dim | Scored dimension | Role |

|—-|—-|—-|

| D1 | Business-case residual confidence | Fine-grained value vs cost (beyond G3 binary) |

| D2 | Decision latency / governance responsiveness | Speed and quality of decisions once authority exists |

| D3 | Delivery-evidence confidence | Status vs reality; forecast traceability |

| D4 | Scope coherence | Objectives, workstreams, immutable obligations |

| D5 | Vendor / control risk | Binding power; conflict of interest |

| D6 | Political / escalation failure modes | Silence acceptance; escalation routes |

| D7 | Receiving leadership capacity | Funded hours / skill of named receiver |

| D8 | Technical foundation (optional) | Never substitutes for G1–G5 or D1–D7 |


**Suggested 1–5 anchors (educational):** 1 = decision-hostile / unknown-as-green; 3 = mixed / partial evidence; 5 = decision-grade confidence for that dimension. Unknown stays low—do not invent confidence.


How gates + scores combine (no arithmetic override)


  1. Record G1–G5 → display PASS/FAIL.

  2. 2. If any critical gate FAILs, list **allowed postures** (often Stop / pause / refer) and **disallowed postures** explicitly.

  3. 3. Only then score D1–D8 for education / nuance among still-allowed postures.

  4. 4. Composite totals are optional teaching aids; a high total **cannot** unlock a posture blocked by a failed gate.

  5. 5. Human qualification still requires authority, sponsor, evidence, access, receiving leadership, capacity, and execution-ownership fit before any Acute engagement.

Hard disclaimer


Gates and scores are decision-support for sponsors. They do **not** qualify a buyer or select an Acute intervention. “Your score = Rescue” language is forbidden.


What evidence changes the call


| Change | Re-run first | Effect |

|—-|—-|—-|

| Authority restored (G1 flips to PASS) | Gates, then dimensions | Continue / Stabilize may become eligible again |

| Evidence unlocked (G2) | Gates, then dimensions | Honest Continue becomes possible; Stabilize access path clears |

| Value≪cost confirmed with no overriding obligation (G3 FAIL) | Gates | Stop / wind-down must be on the table; Continue/Rebuild optimism constrained |

| Showstopper owned by competent authority (G4) | Gates | Refer / Stop vs constrained Continue |

| Receiver named (G5) | Gates | Stabilize / Lead Recovery postures may reopen for ownership discussion |

| Score movement only (D1–D8) | Dimensions among allowed postures | Nuance—not a gate override |


If the receiver is missing, re-run **gates** firstdo not “average up” with high D1–D4 scores.


Independent assessment framing


The incumbent implementer should not be the sole author of continue vs stop. Aligns to **Project Clarity — Diagnose**: diagnose and recommend; client retains execution. If ownership must change later, that is a separate human-qualified Stabilize or Lead Recovery discussion—not a score route.


Worked educational example (labeled EXAMPLE — not a client case)


> **EXAMPLE (fictional composite for teaching). Not a real client. Not a case study. Not a result claim.**


**Situation:** A mid-market ERP post-go-live program reports “green” status. Payroll exceptions are rising. The SI recommends more change orders. Finance cannot produce remaining-value vs remaining-cost that survives scrutiny. The CIO can bind decisions. Evidence access is partial but improving. A delivery director exists on paper but has no funded hours.


**Gates (display first):**


| Gate | Result | Note |

|—-|—-|—-|

| G1 Authority | PASS | CIO + deputy named |

| G2 Evidence access | PASS (fragile) | Exports available; interview access agreed |

| G3 Economic/obligation | **FAIL** | Remaining value clearly below remaining cost; no overriding legal/safety/contractual obligation documented |

| G4 Showstopper | PASS | No unowned legal/safety showstopper |

| G5 Receiver | **FAIL** for Stabilize | “Delivery director” lacks funded capacity |


**Scores (after gates — illustrative only):** Suppose D1–D8 average looks “high” on delivery storytelling (e.g., a teaching total in the upper band). **That total does not matter for unlocking Continue.** G3 FAIL requires Stop / controlled wind-down to be explicitly evaluated; Continue and Rebuild-optimism are constrained. G5 FAIL blocks honest Stabilize until a funded receiver exists.


**Allowed postures in this EXAMPLE:** Stop / controlled wind-down evaluation; pause pending economic truth; specialist referral if regulated rebuild is claimed.

**Disallowed despite “high scores”:** Continue-under-control optimism; Stabilize-as-if-ready.


**Teaching point:** High score + failed gate → constrained posture. Totals never override gates.


FAQ


**Can a score pick Rescue?**

No. Scores do not select Clarity, Rescue, or Recovery.


**Can a high total override a failed gate?**

No.


**Is stop a failed engagement?**

No. A stop recommendation can be a successful independent diagnosis.


**Is this Acute’s service menu?**

No. These are decision postures. Interventions are separate and human-qualified: [Project Clarity — Diagnose](/project-clarity), [Critical Project Rescue — Stabilize](/project-rescue), [Critical Project Recovery — Lead Recovery](/project-recovery).


**Does Acute guarantee recovery if you Continue?**

No. Layer-3 business outcomes are never guaranteed.


Cite / use without buying


Print or copy the gates-first table. Run G1–G5 before any scoring. List unknowns explicitly. Use the EXAMPLE only as a teaching composite—never as Acute performance evidence.


Related pages


  • [/resources/troubled-technology-project-assessment](https://www.acutepmc.com/resources/troubled-technology-project-assessment)

  • - [/resources/first-control-window-72-hours](https://www.acutepmc.com/resources/first-control-window-72-hours)

  • - [/project-clarity](https://www.acutepmc.com/project-clarity) · [/project-rescue](https://www.acutepmc.com/project-rescue) · [/project-recovery](https://www.acutepmc.com/project-recovery)

  • - [/for-ai-agents](https://www.acutepmc.com/for-ai-agents)

**Contact:** Andrew.Davenport@acutepmc.com

Acute Project Management Consulting LLC (Arizona) ≠ Mumbai lookalike.