Full On Consulting's Project Health Check is a structured pre-project assessment and project readiness review designed for CIOs and IT leaders who want to validate their project is set up to succeed before the clock starts. Our IT project assessment practice reviews the project charter, staffing model, vendor contracts, budget assumptions, delivery timeline, governance structure, and risk profile — identifying the gaps that cause project failure so they can be addressed before they become problems.
30+
Years delivering and assessing complex IT projects across industries
$40M+
In documented client savings from projects led with Full On Consulting governance
2 Weeks
From kickoff to findings report — fast enough to catch gaps before they cost you
Prevention
Fixing a project before it starts costs a fraction of recovering one mid-failure
Most Projects Are Set Up to Fail Before They Start
The conventional wisdom is that IT projects fail during execution — that poor project management, scope creep, or vendor problems are to blame. The reality is different. Most project failures are set in motion long before the first sprint, the first status report, or the first escalation. They are the result of decisions made — or not made — during the planning and initiation phase: a project charter that was never properly defined, a staffing model built on availability rather than capability, a budget based on optimistic assumptions rather than detailed analysis, a governance structure that has no real authority to make decisions.
By the time these problems surface in execution, the damage is already done. Timelines have been committed, contracts have been signed, budgets have been allocated, and executive expectations have been set. Recovering a project mid-stream is expensive, disruptive, and often only partially successful. Preventing the problem before kickoff is always faster, cheaper, and more effective.
An Outside View Catches What the Inside Team Cannot
Internal teams — however capable — have blind spots. They are inside the politics, the optimism, the timelines already communicated to leadership, and the vendor relationships already established. They have often already committed to a plan they know has problems but feel unable to revisit. A Full On Consulting Project Health Check brings an independent, experienced perspective — former CIOs and project delivery executives who have run projects like yours and know what failure looks like at the planning stage. We ask the questions the internal team is not asking and surface the risks that are being rationalized away.
The result is a project readiness assessment that gives IT leadership and the CIO an objective view of where the project stands — what is solid, what is at risk, and what needs to be fixed before the first dollar is spent. Not a theoretical checklist — a findings report from people who have delivered at scale.
Let's Get Started
About to kick off a significant IT project? Before you start the clock, let Full On Consulting validate that your project is ready. Two weeks of structured review can prevent months of recovery.
Our Project Health Check gives you and your leadership team the independent confidence — or the specific gap list — you need to proceed with eyes open.
Why Projects Fail Before They Even Start
Project failure is rarely a surprise to people who know what to look for. These are the planning and initiation failures we find most consistently — and every one of them is preventable.
Project Charter Never Properly Defined
Scope, objectives, success criteria, and constraints are vague or undefined. The project team and stakeholders have different mental models of what the project will deliver — and no one has forced alignment before work begins. Scope disputes and rework begin on Day 1.
Staffing Built on Availability, Not Capability
The project team is assembled from whoever is available rather than whoever has the skills the project requires. Critical roles — project manager, architect, business analyst, change lead — are filled with people who are not qualified to fill them. The skill gaps surface in execution when there is no time to fix them.
Vendor Contracts Not Reviewed Before Signing
Implementation contracts are executed without careful review of scope, deliverables, payment terms, SLAs, and exit provisions. The vendor's scope of work does not match the client's expectations. Disputes over what was and was not included begin before the first milestone is reached.
Budget Built on Assumptions, Not Analysis
Budget estimates are based on vendor quotes and high-level analogies rather than detailed scope analysis. Hidden costs — data migration, integration development, testing, training, change management, hypercare — are not budgeted. The project is underfunded before it starts, and the overrun is a mathematical certainty.
No Governance or Decision-Making Structure
There is no defined steering committee, no escalation path, and no decision authority matrix. When critical decisions need to be made under time pressure, there is no structure to make them — decisions are delayed, avoided, or made by people without the authority to make them, creating rework and confusion downstream.
Timeline Built Without Accounting for Dependencies
The project schedule is built in a vacuum — ignoring resource constraints, predecessor dependencies, vendor lead times, organizational change management needs, and parallel initiatives competing for the same people. The timeline is technically impossible before the first task is assigned.
Our Proven Project Health Check Approach
We follow a structured five-dimension assessment that reviews every critical element of project readiness — delivering a findings report with specific remediation recommendations in two weeks.
Charter & Scope Review
Review the project charter, scope definition, objectives, success criteria, and stakeholder alignment. Identify scope ambiguities, missing requirements, unstated assumptions, and stakeholder misalignments that will create conflict in execution.
Staffing & Skills Assessment
Assess the proposed project team against the skills and capacity the project actually requires. Identify capability gaps, over-allocation risks, and key person dependencies. Evaluate vendor team qualifications against contract requirements.
Budget & Timeline Validation
Validate budget completeness against full project scope — including integration, data migration, testing, training, and change management costs frequently omitted from initial estimates. Review schedule feasibility against dependencies, constraints, and resource availability.
Vendor & Contract Review
Review vendor contracts, statements of work, and SLAs for scope gaps, ambiguous deliverables, unfavorable payment terms, and missing exit provisions. Identify where vendor accountability is unclear and where the organization is carrying risk it doesn't realize it owns.
Governance & Risk Report
Assess the proposed governance model — steering committee structure, decision authority, escalation paths, and change control process. Compile all findings into a prioritized health check report with specific remediation recommendations before project kickoff.
Project Delivery Case Studies
SAP HCM Program Recovery — 90+ Facilities, $16B Merger
Full On Consulting was brought in to recover a failing SAP HCM program spanning 90+ facilities during a $16B post-merger integration. The root causes of failure — unclear scope, misaligned governance, and understaffed workstreams — were exactly the issues a Project Health Check would have identified before the program launched.
Read the Case Study →IT Transformation Program — $40M in Documented Savings
Full On Consulting led a multi-year IT transformation program that delivered over $40M in documented savings. The program was built on a foundation of disciplined project governance, validated staffing models, and rigorous budget management — the same elements the Project Health Check validates before kickoff.
Read the Case Study →What Our Project Health Check Reviews
PROJECT CHARTER & SCOPE
We review the project charter for completeness and clarity — objectives, scope boundaries, success criteria, assumptions, constraints, and stakeholder sign-off. Ambiguous scope is the single most common source of project failure and the easiest to fix before kickoff.
STAFFING & RESOURCE PLAN
We assess the proposed project team against the project's actual skill and capacity requirements. We identify gaps in critical roles, over-allocation risks, and vendor resource qualifications — ensuring the human side of the project matches the plan on paper.
BUDGET & TIMELINE REVIEW
We validate budget completeness — including costs that are commonly omitted from initial estimates — and assess schedule feasibility against dependencies, resource constraints, and organizational capacity. We tell you whether the plan is achievable before you commit to it.
VENDOR & CONTRACT REVIEW
We review vendor statements of work, contracts, and SLAs for scope gaps, ambiguous deliverables, unfavorable terms, and missing accountability provisions. Most organizations sign implementation contracts without fully understanding what they have and have not purchased.
GOVERNANCE & RISK FRAMEWORK
We assess the proposed governance model — steering committee structure, decision authority, escalation procedures, change control process, and risk management approach. Projects without clear governance structures make slow decisions, avoid hard conversations, and absorb scope changes they should reject.
HEALTH CHECK REPORT & REMEDIATION
Every Project Health Check concludes with a written findings report — a clear, prioritized list of gaps and risks with specific remediation recommendations. Each finding includes the potential impact if not addressed and the effort required to fix it, so leadership can make informed decisions before kickoff.
WHY FULL ON CONSULTING
Senior Consultants Only
Every engagement is led and delivered by senior consultants — former CIOs, CTOs, and enterprise IT executives. You get the people you were sold, not a bait-and-switch to junior staff after the contract is signed.
$40M+ in Documented Savings
Our track record includes $40M+ in verified client savings, a $130M M&A integration across 90+ global facilities, and an end-user computing transformation for 18,000 employees. We deliver measurable outcomes — not just recommendations.
20+ Years of Enterprise Experience
Our consultants average 20+ years of enterprise IT experience across Fortune 500 and mid-market companies. We have run the same programs we are being asked to lead — across SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and large-scale transformations.
Strategy Through Execution
We do not hand you a strategy deck and walk away. Our teams stay engaged from initial assessment through go-live — accountable for outcomes, not just deliverables. If we recommend it, we are prepared to execute it.
Boutique Agility
As a boutique firm, we move faster, adapt to your priorities, and work with your team rather than around it. No bureaucracy, no layers of overhead — just focused, senior-led execution from day one.
A Partner, Not a Vendor
We build long-term relationships grounded in trust and integrity. Many of our clients have engaged us across multiple initiatives and refer us to peers — because we do what we say we will do, every time.
