Critical project failure
The flagship programme that runs late, over budget or unusable — caught by stage gates, scope control and honest go-live criteria.
5 threats 11 barriers 3 consequences safety-critical barriers marked
Use this template free. Copy “Critical project failure” into your own workspace and adapt every barrier — no credit card.
Start free with this template →Threats & preventive barriers
Each threat is a credible pathway to the top event; its barriers interrupt that pathway before control is lost.
Unclear or creeping scope
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Scope baseline with change control ★ critical
Socio-technical · 80% effective · Owner: PMO Lead
Executive pet features bypass change control
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Business case re-validated at each phase
Socio-technical · 70% effective · Owner: Project Sponsor
Vendor underperformance
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Milestone contracts with acceptance criteria
Socio-technical · 75% effective · Owner: Procurement Lead
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Joint steering with escalation paths
Socio-technical · 65% effective · Owner: Project Sponsor
Key resource gaps mid-project
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Ring-fenced team with backfill budget
Socio-technical · 70% effective · Owner: PMO Lead
Technical integration surprises
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Architecture review & early integration spikes
Socio-technical · 75% effective · Owner: Chief Architect
📅 Architecture review · quarterly keep-alive task
Systematically optimistic planning
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Independent estimate review
Socio-technical · 65% effective · Owner: PMO Lead
Consequences & recovery barriers
Once the top event happens, recovery barriers limit each consequence.
Sunk cost and write-off
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Stage gates with explicit kill criteria ★ critical
Socio-technical · 80% effective · Owner: Project Sponsor
📅 Stage-gate review · quarterly keep-alive task
Business disruption at go-live
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Parallel running & tested rollback plan ★ critical
Socio-technical · 80% effective · Owner: Operations Director
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Go-live readiness checklist with sign-off
Socio-technical · 75% effective · Owner: PMO Lead
Team burnout and attrition
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Realistic cutover schedule with recovery time
Behavioural (human) · 60% effective · Owner: PMO Lead
Copying this template gives you a fully editable bowtie: barrier owners arrive as role suggestions, escalation factors sit on their barriers, and keep-alive activities are scheduled from the moment you copy. New to the notation? Read what the bowtie method is or browse the practical guides.
Use this template free. Copy “Critical project failure” into your own workspace and adapt every barrier — no credit card.
Start free with this template →