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Why CIS modernization programs drift.

CIS replacement touches billing accuracy, compliance, customer experience, and revenue itself — under regulatory observation, across years and vendors. These programs rarely fail suddenly. They drift. This paper shows where, why, and how to catch it while options are still open.

James Truesdale, MS · Managing Partner · August 2026 · Free on request

OnTarget Consulting Services, LLC · White Paper

Why CIS Modernization Programs Drift

The Four Patterns That Undermine Customer Information System Replacements — and How to Catch Them Early

James Truesdale, MS · PMP® CSPO® CSM® ITIL®
Carnegie Mellon University · Heinz College
▲ ▲ THE PROGRAMS THAT SUCCEED ARE NOT THE ONES WITHOUT DRIFT PRESSURE. THEY SEE IT EARLY.

What's Inside

The argument, section by section.

  1. Why CIS Programs Are Built to Drift

    Long horizons, dense vendor structures, unforgiving data, and public consequence — every drift accelerant concentrated in one program.

  2. The Four Drift Patterns in CIS Programs

    Governance visibility gaps, stakeholder misalignment, vendor coordination failure, and optimistic reporting culture — each mapped to CIS anatomy, from conversion defect trends to go-live criteria erosion.

  3. The Cost Curve of Delayed Clarity

    Governance intervention vs. rebaseline vs. post-go-live remediation: the economics of catching drift at each stage.

  4. The Signals: A Leadership Checklist

    Six conditions any steering committee can check — including the one question the program must answer with evidence: will we bill accurately on day one?

  5. The Intervention Model

    How the Program Clarity Method™'s three tiers — diagnostic, stabilization, oversight — address CIS drift across the delivery horizon.

Who It's For

Written for the leaders who own the outcome.

Executive

Utility CIOs & Sponsors

An evidence framework for the program question that matters: will billing be right on day one?

Governance

Boards & Steering Committees

The warning signals and the vocabulary to challenge green dashboards constructively.

Delivery

Program & PMO Leaders

The drift patterns to instrument against — before the rebaseline conversation arrives.

Request the Paper

Free, by request.

Complete the form and the paper will be sent to your business email. Requests are read personally by the Managing Partner — expect the paper, not a sales sequence.

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