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ROI Case Studies

QSM software intelligence turns tough challenges into measurable business value

Major Utility Company Saves $5M and Improves Budget Accuracy with SLIM‑Estimate®

Outcomes at a Glance

  • $5M in IT budget savings identified across the portfolio
  • $2.5M in probable overruns detected early and avoided
  • Improved estimation accuracy and credibility between IT and business stakeholders
  • Established a repeatable, data‑driven budgeting and estimation process
  • Built a historical productivity baseline that supports ongoing strategic planning

Context

The IT department of a large electric utility had a long history of producing unreliable cost and schedule estimates. Business leaders lost confidence, and budgeting cycles were filled with contention and rework. The organization needed a predictable, defensible estimation method to support annual IT budgeting and evaluate both internal and vendor‑led projects.

Barriers

  • Chronic underestimation created distrust between business and IT
  • No standardized estimation practices or lifecycle‑aligned templates
  • Historical project data was inconsistent or unused
  • No way to benchmark productivity or identify high‑risk initiatives early
  • Vendor estimates lacked objective validation

What QSM Delivered

QSM conducted a three‑phase estimation pilot to modernize the organization’s planning process:

Phase 1 — Estimation Process Assessment & Template Development

  • Evaluated current estimation and data collection practices
  • Designed SLIM‑Estimate® templates tailored to the company’s lifecycle
  • Provided sizing best practices to standardize early estimates

Phase 2 — Historical Data Calibration & Productivity Analysis

  • Validated a set of completed projects
  • Produced a Five Star Report benchmarking performance against peer organizations
  • Identified key productivity drivers (complexity, skills, customer involvement, methods)

Phase 3 — IT Budget Estimation & Portfolio Risk Assessment

  • Built independent parametric estimates for the upcoming project portfolio
  • Modeled multiple alternatives for cost, schedule, scope, and constraints
  • Provided detailed estimates for high‑visibility initiatives
  • Flagged high‑risk plans and helped leadership prioritize funding decisions

These efforts revealed $2.5M of expected overruns from unrealistic plans and enabled leadership to realign funding — resulting in $5M of portfolio‑level savings and a stronger, more predictable budgeting process.