The Challenge
A Crown Dependency revenue department was operating a 25-year-old mainframe system that couldn't support modern tax policy requirements. Previous attempts to replace it had failed, costing £3M with nothing to show.
The department had no internal programme management capability, limited technology expertise, and a history of troubled IT projects. Leadership was understandably skeptical of consultants.
Key constraints:
- Small internal IT team (6 people)
- Limited budget (£8M over 3 years)
- Political pressure for visible progress
- Data sovereignty requirements preventing standard cloud solutions
- Procurement thresholds requiring competitive process
Our Approach
We started with a 6-week assessment to understand whether the programme was viable:
Phase 1: Strategic Foundation (Weeks 1-6)
- Technology options analysis (cloud, hybrid, on-premise)
- Benefits case validation (did the numbers actually stack up?)
- Procurement strategy development
- Internal capability assessment
- Risk analysis and mitigation planning
Honest finding: The original business case was optimistic. We helped reframe it with realistic timescales and costs.
Phase 2: Procurement Excellence (Months 2-6)
- Developed clear, testable requirements
- Ran competitive procurement process
- Negotiated contract terms preventing vendor lock-in
- Saved £2.1M through commercial strategy
- Built internal commercial capability
Key intervention: Challenged vendor pricing assumptions and contractual terms that would have created long-term dependency.
Phase 3: Embedded PMO with Capability Transfer (Months 7-18)
- Established programme governance and controls
- Worked alongside internal team, not for them
- Documented all processes and decisions
- Trained 4 internal staff in programme management
- Gradual handover as internal capability grew
The Lumina difference: We started with 4 consultants, scaled to 2, then to 1, then to zero. Each reduction marked capability transferred, not cost-cutting.
The Outcomes
Programme Delivery
- ✅ Cloud platform delivered on time (Month 18)
- ✅ On budget (£7.9M vs £8M approved)
- ✅ All critical requirements met
- ✅ Data sovereignty maintained
- ✅ Zero post-launch critical defects
Capability Transfer
- ✅ Internal PMO now managing Phase 2 independently
- ✅ 4 staff trained to programme management practitioner level
- ✅ Documented PMO processes in use across department
- ✅ Internal team leading vendor management
- ✅ Department requested zero Lumina involvement in Phase 2
Benefits Realization
- ✅ 90% of benefits case realized within 12 months
- ✅ Tax policy changes implemented that were previously impossible
- ✅ Processing time reduced from 6 weeks to 2 days
- ✅ Staff productivity gains of 40%
Client Perspective
"Previous consultants left us with documents we couldn't use and decisions we didn't understand. Lumina left us with a team that can run programmes ourselves. The difference was night and day."
— Programme Director
What Made It Work
- Honest assessment upfront - We challenged the original business case rather than taking the money
- Commercial expertise - Saved £2.1M through smart procurement
- Capability transfer from day one - Not a handover activity, a continuous process
- Scaled down as capability grew - From 4 consultants to zero over 18 months
- Measured our success by their independence - They don't need us for Phase 2
Services Delivered
Lessons Learned
What we'd do again:
- Honest upfront assessment saved time and money
- Paired delivery (consultant + internal staff) accelerated capability transfer
- Documented everything in plain language
What we'd do differently:
- Start capability transfer even earlier
- Push harder on benefits measurement framework from day one
