Understanding the Expert Witness Process in Failed Projects

We have assisted the Oregonian in their drive for fair and accurate reporting by supplying objective input on the Cover Oregon failure:

May 28, 2014: State Invites 10 Firms To Shift Cover Oregon To The Federal Health Insurance Exchange by Nick Budnick

April 9, 2014: Decision To Scrap Or Salvage Cover Oregon Health Insurance Exchange Poses Risks Either Way by Nick Budnick

April 4, 2014: Cover Oregon Consultant: Fix For Health Insurance Exchange Could Take $40 Million, 21 Months by Nick Budnick

The subpoena shows up at the front desk and the call comes to you to pick it up. That nauseating feeling in your gut is the prelude to a long day… no… a long year. The lawyers want every contract and statement of work, each change order, log, email, document, physical mail, specification, test document, picture, drawing, scratch note, etc. that ever existed on your project. You reflect back on the project and wonder how many times you cut corners in order to get the project done. Well as "done" as it is. After all, the customer never did really accept the final product. Maybe you should have had the project health check performed.

In May 2007, the Massachusetts Division of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) signed a contract with Bearing Point, Inc. to modernize the State’s unemployment processing system. The project was called the DUA Quality Unemployment System Transformation (QUEST) Project. Bearing Point filed for bankruptcy in February 2009 and Deloitte announced they would buy Bearing Point for $350MM in March of the same year.

Irreconcilable differences. When all else fails, some troubled proejct end up in litigation. When legal means are the only course to recover your damages for a failed project. Be it by court trial or arbitration, you want the best on your side. Using the same techniques as in our Project Audit and Recovery services, we quickly pore over your contracts, statements of work, change orders, emails, deliverables, and other discoverable items to assess your liability, assist you and your council on strategy and exposure, develop an expert report, and testify on those findings. Our successful track record speaks for itself. We objectively determine why your project failed and use that data to help build your case..

For more information please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Todd Williams or call us at 1.360.834.7361

In order to comply with the Affordable Care Act, the State of Oregon made the decision to build its own Health Insurance Exchange (ORHIX). An online portal to allow applicants was supposed to go live October 1, 2013. As of March 30, 2014 the site was not functional and all ORHIX applications must be processed from paper applications.

The subpoena shows up at the front desk and you get the call to come and pick it up. You get that nauseating feeling that it is going to be a long day… no… a very long year. The subpoena asks for every contract, statement of work, change order, log, email, document, physical mail, specification, test document, picture, drawing, scratch note, etc. that ever existed on your project. You reflect back on the project and wonder how many corners you cut for the sake of getting the project done and meeting the customer's incessant requests for more or different features and functions.

You wonder if along with bringing in the lawyers you should also bring in an expert to help you build your defense.  This keynote helps you understand what experts witnesses look for and how they prepare their case. 

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Todd Williams is a keynoter, educator, and coach using decades of experience to help people and organizations improve their organizations and their project.

A strong comprehensive strategic foundation coupled with operational excellence allows companies to build the capabilities to thrive. Todd Williams’ goal is to improve how companies implement their strategic plans—from definition to ensuring the proper people are in place. His passion is removing corporate roadblocks and bridging the gaps from vision to profitability. Experience in business and technology uniquely qualify him to help define and implement the best operational structures based on the company’s goals. Utilizing thirty years of experience he helps companies ranging from start-ups to multi-billion dollar corporations achieve their goals. Qualifications in executive consulting, project rescue, failure prevention, and engaging people in the solution, allow him to help you bring strategy to life.

By understanding the reasons for failure, organizations can become resistant to it. His mantra is “Strategy, People, Process, and then Technology” and he specializes in rescuing projects and helping organizations drive business value from their strategy.

As an expert witness, Mr. Williams has used his skills to assist companies that have fallen prey to unqualified third-party integrators that were not focused on the correct methodology or delivering an end result that provided a useable solution.

He has published two books: 

Filling Execution Gaps: How Executives And Project Managers Turn Corporate Strategy Into Successful Projects (De|G Press, 2017) on filling the six gaps that are at the root of organization and project failure. 

Rescue the Problem Project: A Complete Guide to Identifying, Preventing, and Recovering from Project Failure (HarperCollins, 2011), defines a project audit and recovery process for rescuing red projects that focuses on root cause correction and prevention.

He is a professional member of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), Project Management Institute, and the Society for Information Management (SIM). He has been chosen to speak to numerous companies and professional organizations, including NASA, BEA Systems, Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt, Portland General Electric, and Bonneville Power Administration.