Assurance articles
Why Transition to Sustainment is where Program Integrity is truly tested
The point at which a program hands over to operations is not the end of the governance challenge. It is the point at which the consequences of every governance decision made during acquisition finally become visible and attributable. For the program owner, transition is where the record of how the program was governed is read […]
What Real Assurance Looks Like in a Distressed Program
One of the biggest misconceptions in complex Defence programs is that assurance is primarily about compliance. It isn’t. Real assurance is the organisation’s ability to maintain technical integrity under pressure. Over the last decade, working across multiple Defence acquisition and sustainment programs involving integrated tactical networks, mission systems, safety-critical capability, and complex transition environments, I’ve […]
Everything looks on track until it isn’t
In large Defence programs, the most persistent risk is not failure – it is the confidence that everything is under control when key signals are starting to drift. Most programs don’t collapse suddenly. They degrade gradually while still reporting against plan. Typically, three shifts occur under delivery pressure: Over time, this creates a growing gap […]