An Executive Cost framework for CFOs and sponsors who want fewer surprises

Why Dynamics 365 projects blow out

They blow out because early decisions were made without cost guardrails, and those decisions quietly compound over the life of the system.

In our experience, cost overruns are driven far more by approach and governance than by technology or licence prices.

Three patterns appear again and again.

1.  Vague scope disguised as “agile”

A note on agile and waterfall

Agile and waterfall are not opposing choices.  They sit on a spectrum, and most successful Dynamics 365 projects use a disciplined hybrid approach to ensure each release delivers real user value.

See Appendix A on page 11 for a short explanation.

Agile delivery does not remove the need for clarity.

It removes the illusion that clarity will magically appear later.

When outcomes, priorities, and acceptance criteria are too loosely defined, every sprint (if sprints are used) becomes a negotiation.  Scope expands, rework balloons, and cost becomes increasingly elastic.

Agile without discipline is not flexible.  It is expensive.