Outcomes
Curzon preserved up to £3 million in Precision Pricing EBITDA benefits that were at risk due to the programme’s deteriorating trajectory. The Data team was rebuilt — both in capability and in credibility — through targeted hiring aligned to the target operating model, and a methodology reset that cleared the backlog and eliminated accumulated technical debt. By the end of the engagement, the Data function stood as an independent, trusted partner to the business: respected by senior leadership, capable of delivering innovative solutions at pace, and recognised by the CEO and Board as a genuine organisational asset.
Background
The Data transformation programme had been designed around an Agile delivery methodology — in principle the right approach for this kind of work, but in practice one that requires specific roles, capabilities, and organisational disciplines to function effectively. The business had none of these fully in place. The result was a rapidly growing backlog of unfinished work, mounting technical debt, and a team that was consistently failing to deliver on its commitments to the rest of the business.
The consequences extended well beyond the technical. Senior leaders had lost confidence in the Data team entirely — trust had eroded to the point where the team’s credibility within the organisation was genuinely at risk. With Precision Pricing benefits dependent on the Data programme delivering, the financial stakes were significant and growing.
Curzon Approach
Curzon’s first task was to accurately diagnose what had gone wrong — and to resist the temptation to simply accelerate a methodology that wasn’t working. Our assessment concluded that Agile, while theoretically appropriate, was not suited to the organisation’s current capabilities and ways of working. We recommended a deliberate shift to a traditional Waterfall approach — a pragmatic call that prioritised delivery over methodology orthodoxy, and one that immediately created the structure needed to start clearing the backlog.
With the delivery approach reset, Curzon turned to the backlog itself — analysing it systematically to identify quick wins that could be delivered rapidly and visibly, and defining which items needed to be prioritised to get the programme back on track. Alongside this, we worked to rebuild the team’s capability through targeted, structured hiring aligned to the Data Strategy target operating model.
Equally important was the reputational dimension. Curzon ensured that the Data team’s progress and achievements were made directly visible to senior leaders — giving the C-suite genuine line-of-sight into the recovery effort and rapidly rebuilding the trust and credibility that had been lost. By making the team accountable to leadership in a transparent and structured way, we turned visibility from a risk into an asset.
