Across multiple sectors and geographies, we see the same value-leakage pattern in major capital programs: an attractive business case at sanction, eroded over execution by a combination of scope drift, optimistic scheduling and weak interface management.
The contributing factors are well understood. What is less well understood is the speed at which they compound. By the time the symptoms are visible in the monthly report, the underlying decisions that caused them are three months stale and several change orders deep.
The PMOs that protect value during execution share three traits. First, they distinguish ruthlessly between leading and lagging indicators. Second, they treat interface and integration risk as a top-board concern, not a delivery-team problem. Third, they have a clear, calm escalation culture that surfaces issues early.