Study Data · Part 1 · Indicator Deep-Dive Analysis

What is the contract term of this engagement, in months?

Indicator C045 · By Phil Hatch · Akholi · October 9, 2026

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Indicator Specification Summary of Findings Distribution of Responses Descriptive Statistics by Segment Tests of Difference Between Segments Association with Cancellation Rate Association with Customer Satisfaction Association with the Engagement Indicator Mean Association with Intent to Leave Comparison of Associations Across the Four Measures Clustering and Effective Sample Size Equivalence Tests of Null Results Robustness Checks Measure Independence and Part-Whole Correction Comparison with the Study Norm Interpretation of the Data Limitations Definitions Sources and Provenance

Indicator Specification

Table 1. Indicator specificationTable

Field	Value
Indicator code	C045
Question as asked	What is the contract term of this engagement, in months?
Failure category	Not one of the 100 rated indicators
Place in the survey	Engagement Details > 2.4 Commercial Structure > Contract
Indicator class	Perceived fact
Indicator type	Typed number
Response scale	A number, as typed or recorded
Answering base	339 of 850 respondents, across 150 of 150 engagements
Non-answers	I do not know 258, I prefer to not answer 0, blank 253

Summary of Findings

Table 2. Key results: association of the indicator with the four study measuresTable

Measure	Form	n	r	95% CI	p
Cancellation rate	Descriptive contrast	150 engagements	−0.10	−0.26 to 0.06	0.223
Customer satisfaction	Clean estimate	94 engagements	0.03	−0.17 to 0.24	0.744
Engagement indicator mean	Full	150 engagements	0.08	−0.08 to 0.24	0.302
Intent to leave	Respondent level, clustered	327 respondents	−0.02	−0.19 to 0.14	0.781

Respondents reported multi-year contract terms at the median (mean 30.9, median 36.0, n = 339 respondents). The association with cancellation was equivalent to zero (TOST p 0.006). The association with customer satisfaction on active engagements was equivalent to zero (TOST p 0.004). The association with the engagement indicator mean was equivalent to zero (TOST p 0.003). The association with intent to leave was equivalent to zero (TOST p < 0.001). Contract term differed after Holm control by vendor type (Welch F 4.06, Holm p 0.029, omega squared 0.030).

Distribution of Responses

Table 3. Distribution of responses, respondent levelTable

Answer	Respondents	Share of answered (base 339)	Cumulative share	Engagements with at least one	Share of 150 engagements	Distressed
12.0 to 16.8	66	19.47%	19.47%	29	19.33%	Not applicable
16.8 to 21.6	0	0.00%	19.47%	0	0.00%	Not applicable
21.6 to 26.4	102	30.09%	49.56%	48	32.00%	Not applicable
26.4 to 31.2	0	0.00%	49.56%	0	0.00%	Not applicable
31.2 to 36.0	0	0.00%	49.56%	0	0.00%	Not applicable
36.0 to 40.8	105	30.97%	80.53%	48	32.00%	Not applicable
40.8 to 45.6	0	0.00%	80.53%	0	0.00%	Not applicable
45.6 to 50.4	42	12.39%	92.92%	13	8.67%	Not applicable
50.4 to 55.2	0	0.00%	92.92%	0	0.00%	Not applicable
55.2 to 60.0	24	7.08%	100.00%	12	8.00%	Not applicable
I do not know	258	Not in base	Not in base	127	84.67%	Not applicable
I prefer to not answer	0	Not in base	Not in base	0	0.00%	Not applicable
Answered, total	339	100.00%		150	100.00%

Table 4. Distribution of responses, engagement levelTable

Engagement level summary	Engagements	Mean of engagement means	SD	Min	Median	Max	Engagements with a distressed mean	Share of engagements distressed
Engagement means, as recorded	150	30.5	13.7	12.0	24.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable

The study set mean was 30.9 on 339 answering respondents, with a median of 36.0.

Descriptive Statistics by Segment

Table 5a. Descriptive statistics by segment, part 1 of 2Table

Segment	Base	Answered	Answer rate	Engagements	Mean	95% CI	SD
Study set	850	339	39.88% of 850	150	30.9	29.4 to 32.4	13.7
Outsourcing model
CXM	232	90	38.79% of 232	42	33.2	30.2 to 36.2	14.3
ITO	244	96	39.34% of 244	40	27.5	25.2 to 29.8	11.5
BPO	209	88	42.11% of 209	37	33.7	30.7 to 36.7	14.2
KPO	165	65	39.39% of 165	31	29.0	25.5 to 32.5	14.2
Institution type
Asset management	132	50	37.88% of 132	24	29.3	25.9 to 32.7	11.9
Wealth management and private banking	140	56	40.00% of 140	23	33.6	29.4 to 37.9	15.8
Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination)	105	39	37.14% of 105	19	30.2	26.5 to 33.8	11.3
Insurance (life, property and casualty, health)	78	29	37.18% of 78	14	34.3	†	14.2
Commercial and business banking	82	31	37.80% of 82	13	37.2	32.0 to 42.3	14.0
Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing)	71	33	46.48% of 71	13	32.4	26.4 to 38.3	16.8
Credit card and payments issuing	73	27	36.99% of 73	12	25.3	†	12.6
Retail and consumer banking	73	33	45.21% of 73	12	30.5	25.9 to 35.2	13.1
Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets)	57	22	38.60% of 57	11	25.1	†	9.7
Private equity and private capital	39	19	48.72% of 39	9	25.9	†	10.0
Process family
Corporate and back-office functions	248	105	42.34% of 248	47	29.4	26.5 to 32.2	14.8
Technology engineering and operations	204	82	40.20% of 204	35	28.8	26.0 to 31.6	12.8
Client servicing and communications	94	36	38.30% of 94	16	36.0	31.4 to 40.6	13.5
Trade, settlement and reconciliation	80	30	37.50% of 80	15	33.2	29.2 to 37.2	10.8
Payments, cards and disputes	73	32	43.84% of 73	12	29.6	24.2 to 35.0	14.9
Credit, underwriting and suitability	57	17	29.82% of 57	9	25.4	†	10.3
Regulatory, audit, tax and legal	51	19	37.25% of 51	9	34.7	†	13.8
Financial crime and client onboarding	43	18	41.86% of 43	7	38.7	†	12.0
Class of work
LOB Operational	451	173	38.36% of 451	76	31.1	29.1 to 33.0	12.9
Corporate Functional	399	166	41.60% of 399	74	30.7	28.5 to 33.0	14.6
Engagement status and lifecycle stage
Active, Build-Out	175	73	41.71% of 175	31	32.5	29.1 to 36.0	14.9
Active, Transition/Cut-Over	250	95	38.00% of 250	43	32.1	29.2 to 35.0	14.2
Active, Production	103	43	41.75% of 103	20	29.3	24.4 to 34.2	16.0
Canceled	322	128	39.75% of 322	56	29.6	27.6 to 31.7	11.8
Respondent role
Individual Contributor	667	156	23.39% of 667	110	31.4	29.2 to 33.5	13.7
Engagement Manager	150	150	100.00% of 150	150	30.5	28.3 to 32.7	13.7
Portfolio Director	31	31	100.00% of 31	31	30.6	25.3 to 35.9	14.5
Customer Management Executive	2	2	2 of 2	2	‡
Vendor type
IT services major	316	129	40.82% of 316	59	29.2	26.7 to 31.7	14.2
BPO specialist	198	88	44.44% of 198	37	32.3	29.3 to 35.3	14.1
Consulting firm	117	48	41.03% of 117	23	28.3	24.3 to 32.2	13.7
Boutique or specialist provider	87	39	44.83% of 87	17	37.5	33.6 to 41.4	12.1
Pure-play agentic AI firm	75	27	36.00% of 75	14	29.8	†	10.7
Not reported, recovered by engagement	57	8	14.04% of 57	8	‡

Note: † Base under 30. No interval is reported. ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported.

Table 5b. Descriptive statistics by segment, part 2 of 2Table

Segment	Min	Q1	Median	Q3	Max	Distressed n	Distressed %
Study set	12.0	24.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Outsourcing model
CXM	12.0	24.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
ITO	12.0	24.0	24.0	36.0	48.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
BPO	12.0	24.0	36.0	48.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
KPO	12.0	24.0	24.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Institution type
Asset management	12.0	24.0	24.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Wealth management and private banking	12.0	24.0	36.0	48.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination)	12.0	24.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Insurance (life, property and casualty, health)	12.0	24.0	24.0	48.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Commercial and business banking	12.0	24.0	36.0	48.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing)	12.0	12.0	24.0	48.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Credit card and payments issuing	12.0	12.0	24.0	36.0	48.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Retail and consumer banking	12.0	24.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets)	12.0	15.0	24.0	36.0	36.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Private equity and private capital	12.0	18.0	24.0	36.0	36.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Process family
Corporate and back-office functions	12.0	12.0	24.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Technology engineering and operations	12.0	24.0	24.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Client servicing and communications	12.0	24.0	36.0	39.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Trade, settlement and reconciliation	12.0	24.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Payments, cards and disputes	12.0	12.0	24.0	48.0	48.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Credit, underwriting and suitability	12.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Regulatory, audit, tax and legal	12.0	24.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Financial crime and client onboarding	24.0	27.0	36.0	48.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Class of work
LOB Operational	12.0	24.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Corporate Functional	12.0	24.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Engagement status and lifecycle stage
Active, Build-Out	12.0	24.0	36.0	48.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Active, Transition/Cut-Over	12.0	24.0	36.0	42.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Active, Production	12.0	12.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Canceled	12.0	24.0	24.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Respondent role
Individual Contributor	12.0	24.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Engagement Manager	12.0	24.0	24.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Portfolio Director	12.0	18.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Customer Management Executive	‡ n = 2
Vendor type
IT services major	12.0	12.0	24.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
BPO specialist	12.0	24.0	36.0	48.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Consulting firm	12.0	12.0	24.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Boutique or specialist provider	12.0	36.0	36.0	36.0	60.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Pure-play agentic AI firm	12.0	24.0	24.0	36.0	48.0	Not applicable	Not applicable
Not reported, recovered by engagement	‡ n = 8

Note: ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported.

Figures are respondent level. Means are on the scale as recorded. A level under 30 prints no interval and a level under 10 prints counts only.

Tests of Difference Between Segments

Table 6a. Tests of difference between segments, part 1 of 2Table

Segment family	Welch F	df	p	Holm p	Omega squared	90% CI
Outsourcing model	1.80	3, 77.3	0.154	0.925	0.012	0.000 to 0.075
Institution type	1.20	8, 49.4	0.316	1.000	0.000	0.000 to 0.074
Process family	0.73	4, 39.5	0.578	1.000	−0.008	0.000 to 0.053
Class of work	0.08	1, 145.1	0.780	1.000	−0.006	0.000 to 0.020
Engagement status and lifecycle stage	0.79	3, 57.9	0.503	1.000	−0.004	0.000 to 0.047
Respondent role	0.17	2, 83.6	0.840	1.000	−0.005	0.000 to 0.008
Vendor type	4.06	4, 107.8	0.004	0.029	0.030	0.007 to 0.072

Table 6b. Tests of difference between segments, part 2 of 2Table

Segment family	Kruskal-Wallis H	p	Distressed chi-square	p	Levels left out
Outsourcing model	4.63	0.201	Not applicable	Not applicable	None
Institution type	7.35	0.499	Not applicable	Not applicable	a
Process family	3.50	0.477	Not applicable	Not applicable	b
Class of work	0.21	0.643	Not applicable	Not applicable	None
Engagement status and lifecycle stage	1.98	0.576	Not applicable	Not applicable	None
Respondent role	0.44	0.803	Not applicable	Not applicable	c
Vendor type	14.72	0.005	Not applicable	Not applicable	d

Note: a Private equity and private capital, n = 9. b Credit, underwriting and suitability, n = 9, Regulatory, audit, tax and legal, n = 9, Financial crime and client onboarding, n = 7. c Customer Management Executive, n = 2. d Not reported, recovered by engagement, n = 8.

Engagement families were tested on engagement means, and respondent role and vendor type were tested on respondents. A distressed p marked exact is a Fisher exact test for a two by two table, and one marked simulated is a Monte Carlo test run until its p is stable to the third decimal, both used where an expected count is under 5. Vendor type differed after Holm control (Welch F 4.06, Holm p 0.029, tested on respondents). In Descriptive Statistics by Segment, Boutique or specialist provider had the highest mean, 37.5 (n = 39 respondents), and Consulting firm the lowest, 28.3 (n = 48 respondents). No difference held after Holm control for outsourcing model, institution type, process family, class of work, engagement status and lifecycle stage and respondent role.

Association with Cancellation Rate

The share of engagements canceled on the study date, measured at engagement level (base 150 engagements, 56 canceled). The association is a descriptive contrast, inflated because canceled engagements were rated after cancellation, and is not predictive.

Table 7a. Association with cancellation rate by segment, part 1 of 2Table

Segment	Engagements	Canceled	Cancellation rate	Point-biserial r	95% CI	p	Holm p
Study set	150	56	37.33% of 150	−0.10	−0.26 to 0.06	0.223	1.000
Outsourcing model
CXM	42	15	35.71% of 42	−0.09	−0.38 to 0.22	0.571	1.000
ITO	40	15	37.50% of 40	−0.06	−0.37 to 0.25	0.699	1.000
BPO	37	14	37.84% of 37	−0.29	−0.56 to 0.04	0.087	1.000
KPO	31	12	38.71% of 31	0.05	−0.31 to 0.40	0.791	1.000
Institution type
Asset management	24	13	54.17% of 24	−0.29	†	0.174	1.000
Wealth management and private banking	23	8	34.78% of 23	−0.04	†	0.849	1.000
Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination)	19	9	47.37% of 19	−0.08	†	0.750	1.000
Insurance (life, property and casualty, health)	14	5	35.71% of 14	−0.42	†	0.138	1.000
Commercial and business banking	13	4	30.77% of 13	0.00	†	1.000	1.000
Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing)	13	3	23.08% of 13	0.06	†	0.846	1.000
Credit card and payments issuing	12	5	41.67% of 12	0.13	†	0.698	1.000
Retail and consumer banking	12	4	33.33% of 12	−0.21	†	0.510	1.000
Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets)	11	3	27.27% of 11	0.07	†	0.837	1.000
Private equity and private capital	9	2	2 of 9	‡
Process family
Corporate and back-office functions	47	19	40.43% of 47	−0.03	−0.32 to 0.26	0.832	1.000
Technology engineering and operations	35	10	28.57% of 35	−0.14	−0.45 to 0.20	0.418	1.000
Client servicing and communications	16	9	56.25% of 16	−0.34	†	0.192	1.000
Trade, settlement and reconciliation	15	8	53.33% of 15	−0.18	†	0.530	1.000
Payments, cards and disputes	12	2	16.67% of 12	0.20	†	0.533	1.000
Credit, underwriting and suitability	9	1	1 of 9	‡
Regulatory, audit, tax and legal	9	4	4 of 9	‡
Financial crime and client onboarding	7	3	3 of 7	‡
Class of work
LOB Operational	76	30	39.47% of 76	−0.02	−0.25 to 0.20	0.833	1.000
Corporate Functional	74	26	35.14% of 74	−0.17	−0.39 to 0.06	0.139	1.000
Engagement status and lifecycle stage
Active, Build-Out	31	0	0.00% of 31	Not computable, no variation in cancellation
Active, Transition/Cut-Over	43	0	0.00% of 43	Not computable, no variation in cancellation
Active, Production	20	0	0.00% of 20	Not computable, no variation in cancellation
Canceled	56	56	100.00% of 56	Not computable, no variation in cancellation

Note: † Base under 30. No interval is reported. ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported.

Table 7b. Association with cancellation rate by segment, part 2 of 2Table

Segment	Odds ratio per point	95% CI	AUC	Rate, distressed engagements	Rate, other engagements	Fisher p	TOST p
Study set	0.98	0.96 to 1.01	0.55	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.006
Outsourcing model
CXM	0.99	0.94 to 1.03	0.60	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.085
ITO	0.99	0.93 to 1.05	0.53	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.067
BPO	0.95	0.90 to 1.01	0.66	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.463
KPO	1.01	0.96 to 1.05	0.60	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.085
Institution type
Asset management	0.95	† n = 24	0.63	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.473
Wealth management and private banking	0.99	† n = 23	0.53	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.116
Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination)	0.99	† n = 19	0.54	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.178
Insurance (life, property and casualty, health)	0.93	† n = 14	0.72	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.672
Commercial and business banking	1.00	† n = 13	0.51	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.164
Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing)	1.01	† n = 13	0.55	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.215
Credit card and payments issuing	1.02	† n = 12	0.57	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.291
Retail and consumer banking	0.96	† n = 12	0.63	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.388
Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets)	1.02	† n = 11	0.56	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.249
Private equity and private capital	‡ n = 9
Process family
Corporate and back-office functions	1.00	0.96 to 1.04	0.50	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.033
Technology engineering and operations	0.97	0.91 to 1.04	0.59	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.172
Client servicing and communications	0.94	† n = 16	0.72	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.570
Trade, settlement and reconciliation	0.97	† n = 15	0.59	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.324
Payments, cards and disputes	1.04	† n = 12	0.65	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.374
Credit, underwriting and suitability	‡ n = 9
Regulatory, audit, tax and legal	‡ n = 9
Financial crime and client onboarding	‡ n = 7
Class of work
LOB Operational	1.00	0.96 to 1.03	0.51	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.007
Corporate Functional	0.97	0.94 to 1.01	0.60	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	0.129
Engagement status and lifecycle stage
Active, Build-Out	Not computable, no variation in cancellation
Active, Transition/Cut-Over	Not computable, no variation in cancellation
Active, Production	Not computable, no variation in cancellation
Canceled	Not computable, no variation in cancellation

Note: † Base under 30. No interval is reported. ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported.

The study set r was −0.10 (95% CI −0.26 to 0.06, Holm p 1.000, n = 150 engagements). The association did not hold after Holm control. Equivalence Tests of Null Results found it equivalent to zero inside the bound. Of the 20 tested segment levels, 0 held after Holm control.

Association with Customer Satisfaction

The satisfaction score recorded against each engagement on a 100-point scale. The primary estimate uses the 94 active engagements. A descriptive contrast uses all 150 engagements.

Table 8a. Association with customer satisfaction by segment, part 1 of 2Table

Segment	Active engagements	Clean r	95% CI	p	Holm p	Spearman rho	p
Study set	94	0.03	−0.17 to 0.24	0.744	1.000	0.02	0.836
Outsourcing model
CXM	27	−0.23	†	0.255	1.000	−0.31	0.120
ITO	25	0.28	†	0.174	1.000	0.31	0.129
BPO	23	−0.08	†	0.724	1.000	−0.08	0.732
KPO	19	0.14	†	0.577	1.000	0.09	0.711
Institution type
Asset management	11	0.54	†	0.084	1.000	0.69	0.019
Wealth management and private banking	15	−0.27	†	0.332	1.000	−0.32	0.247
Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination)	10	0.25	†	0.480	1.000	0.26	0.466
Insurance (life, property and casualty, health)	9	‡
Commercial and business banking	9	‡
Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing)	10	−0.08	†	0.828	1.000	−0.20	0.582
Credit card and payments issuing	7	‡
Retail and consumer banking	8	‡
Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets)	8	‡
Private equity and private capital	7	‡
Process family
Corporate and back-office functions	28	0.07	†	0.708	1.000	0.04	0.822
Technology engineering and operations	25	0.24	†	0.250	1.000	0.24	0.250
Client servicing and communications	7	‡
Trade, settlement and reconciliation	7	‡
Payments, cards and disputes	10	−0.08	†	0.827	1.000	−0.04	0.917
Credit, underwriting and suitability	8	‡
Regulatory, audit, tax and legal	5	‡
Financial crime and client onboarding	4	‡
Class of work
LOB Operational	46	0.13	−0.17 to 0.41	0.389	1.000	0.12	0.409
Corporate Functional	48	−0.07	−0.35 to 0.22	0.621	1.000	−0.09	0.565
Engagement status and lifecycle stage
Active, Build-Out	31	0.00	−0.35 to 0.36	0.985	1.000	0.04	0.842
Active, Transition/Cut-Over	43	0.11	−0.20 to 0.40	0.480	1.000	0.10	0.509
Active, Production	20	−0.08	†	0.735	1.000	−0.11	0.633
Canceled	0	a

Note: † Base under 30. No interval is reported. ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported. a No clean estimate, canceled engagements fall outside the active population.

Table 8b. Association with customer satisfaction by segment, part 2 of 2Table

Segment	Slope, points per rating point	95% CI	R squared	TOST p	All engagements	Descriptive r	p
Study set	0.03	−0.13 to 0.19	0.00	0.004	150	0.10	0.219
Outsourcing model
CXM	−0.22	† n = 27	0.05	0.350	42	0.04	0.825
ITO	0.24	† n = 25	0.08	0.461	40	0.11	0.496
BPO	−0.05	† n = 23	0.01	0.150	37	0.25	0.143
KPO	0.09	† n = 19	0.02	0.246	31	0.00	0.994
Institution type
Asset management	0.33	† n = 11	0.30	0.802	24	0.39	0.060
Wealth management and private banking	−0.18	† n = 15	0.07	0.454	23	−0.02	0.922
Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination)	0.21	† n = 10	0.06	0.447	19	0.14	0.570
Insurance (life, property and casualty, health)	‡ n = 9
Commercial and business banking	‡ n = 9
Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing)	−0.06	† n = 10	0.01	0.271	13	−0.10	0.751
Credit card and payments issuing	‡ n = 7
Retail and consumer banking	‡ n = 8
Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets)	‡ n = 8
Private equity and private capital	‡ n = 7
Process family
Corporate and back-office functions	0.06	† n = 28	0.01	0.120	47	0.06	0.669
Technology engineering and operations	0.20	† n = 25	0.06	0.379	35	0.20	0.261
Client servicing and communications	‡ n = 7
Trade, settlement and reconciliation	‡ n = 7
Payments, cards and disputes	−0.06	† n = 10	0.01	0.272	12	−0.21	0.504
Credit, underwriting and suitability	‡ n = 8
Regulatory, audit, tax and legal	‡ n = 5
Financial crime and client onboarding	‡ n = 4
Class of work
LOB Operational	0.12	−0.15 to 0.39	0.02	0.121	76	0.06	0.637
Corporate Functional	−0.05	−0.24 to 0.15	0.01	0.057	74	0.15	0.210
Engagement status and lifecycle stage
Active, Build-Out	0.00	−0.24 to 0.24	0.00	0.053	31	0.00	0.985
Active, Transition/Cut-Over	0.10	−0.18 to 0.38	0.01	0.105	43	0.11	0.480
Active, Production	−0.06	†	0.01	0.173	20	−0.08	0.735
Canceled	no clean estimate, canceled engagements fall outside the active population

Note: † Base under 30. No interval is reported. ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported.

The study set r was 0.03 (95% CI −0.17 to 0.24, Holm p 1.000, n = 94 engagements). The association did not hold after Holm control. Equivalence Tests of Null Results found it equivalent to zero inside the bound. Of the 16 tested segment levels, 0 held after Holm control.

Association with the Engagement Indicator Mean

The mean of an engagement’s 100 indicator ratings, measured at engagement level (base 150 engagements). Where this indicator is one of the 100, the mean is recomputed without it.

Table 9a. Association with the engagement indicator mean by segment, part 1 of 2Table

Segment	Engagements	Leave-one-out r	95% CI	p	Holm p	Spearman rho	p
Study set	150	0.08	−0.08 to 0.24	0.302	1.000	0.07	0.376
Outsourcing model
CXM	42	0.05	−0.26 to 0.35	0.767	1.000	0.07	0.652
ITO	40	0.17	−0.15 to 0.46	0.299	1.000	0.16	0.316
BPO	37	0.14	−0.19 to 0.45	0.401	1.000	0.14	0.401
KPO	31	0.06	−0.30 to 0.41	0.748	1.000	−0.03	0.872
Institution type
Asset management	24	0.32	†	0.130	1.000	0.26	0.226
Wealth management and private banking	23	−0.09	†	0.692	1.000	−0.13	0.541
Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination)	19	0.18	†	0.464	1.000	0.14	0.559
Insurance (life, property and casualty, health)	14	0.18	†	0.543	1.000	0.13	0.661
Commercial and business banking	13	0.25	†	0.405	1.000	0.26	0.393
Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing)	13	−0.06	†	0.855	1.000	−0.20	0.521
Credit card and payments issuing	12	−0.07	†	0.824	1.000	−0.04	0.900
Retail and consumer banking	12	0.00	†	0.996	1.000	−0.04	0.911
Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets)	11	0.02	†	0.959	1.000	−0.14	0.682
Private equity and private capital	9	‡
Process family
Corporate and back-office functions	47	−0.02	−0.30 to 0.27	0.898	1.000	−0.02	0.901
Technology engineering and operations	35	0.31	−0.03 to 0.58	0.074	1.000	0.31	0.075
Client servicing and communications	16	0.14	†	0.608	1.000	0.10	0.726
Trade, settlement and reconciliation	15	−0.11	†	0.693	1.000	−0.06	0.840
Payments, cards and disputes	12	−0.06	†	0.851	1.000	0.15	0.639
Credit, underwriting and suitability	9	‡
Regulatory, audit, tax and legal	9	‡
Financial crime and client onboarding	7	‡
Class of work
LOB Operational	76	0.05	−0.17 to 0.28	0.646	1.000	0.04	0.719
Corporate Functional	74	0.12	−0.12 to 0.34	0.326	1.000	0.10	0.402
Engagement status and lifecycle stage
Active, Build-Out	31	0.01	−0.35 to 0.36	0.966	1.000	0.06	0.750
Active, Transition/Cut-Over	43	0.07	−0.24 to 0.36	0.664	1.000	0.02	0.885
Active, Production	20	0.03	†	0.902	1.000	0.03	0.884
Canceled	56	−0.06	−0.32 to 0.20	0.635	1.000	−0.17	0.210

Note: † Base under 30. No interval is reported. ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported.

Table 9b. Association with the engagement indicator mean by segment, part 2 of 2Table

Segment	r with indicator included	Slope	95% CI	R squared	TOST p	Equivalent
Study set	Not a component	0.01	−0.01 to 0.03	0.01	0.003	Yes
Outsourcing model
CXM	Not a component	0.01	−0.03 to 0.04	0.00	0.051	No
ITO	Not a component	0.02	−0.02 to 0.06	0.03	0.198	No
BPO	Not a component	0.01	−0.02 to 0.05	0.02	0.166	No
KPO	Not a component	0.01	−0.03 to 0.05	0.00	0.093	No
Institution type
Asset management	Not a component	0.04	† n = 24	0.10	0.536	No
Wealth management and private banking	Not a component	−0.01	† n = 23	0.01	0.160	No
Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination)	Not a component	0.02	† n = 19	0.03	0.303	No
Insurance (life, property and casualty, health)	Not a component	0.02	† n = 14	0.03	0.333	No
Commercial and business banking	Not a component	0.03	† n = 13	0.06	0.436	No
Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing)	Not a component	−0.01	† n = 13	0.00	0.212	No
Credit card and payments issuing	Not a component	−0.01	† n = 12	0.01	0.238	No
Retail and consumer banking	Not a component	0.00	† n = 12	0.00	0.178	No
Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets)	Not a component	0.00	† n = 11	0.00	0.204	No
Private equity and private capital	‡ n = 9
Process family
Corporate and back-office functions	Not a component	0.00	−0.04 to 0.03	0.00	0.027	Yes
Technology engineering and operations	Not a component	0.03	0.00 to 0.07	0.09	0.515	No
Client servicing and communications	Not a component	0.02	† n = 16	0.02	0.270	No
Trade, settlement and reconciliation	Not a component	−0.01	† n = 15	0.01	0.247	No
Payments, cards and disputes	Not a component	−0.01	† n = 12	0.00	0.228	No
Credit, underwriting and suitability	‡ n = 9
Regulatory, audit, tax and legal	‡ n = 9
Financial crime and client onboarding	‡ n = 7
Class of work
LOB Operational	Not a component	0.01	−0.02 to 0.03	0.00	0.014	Yes
Corporate Functional	Not a component	0.01	−0.01 to 0.04	0.01	0.052	No
Engagement status and lifecycle stage
Active, Build-Out	Not a component	0.00	−0.03 to 0.03	0.00	0.055	No
Active, Transition/Cut-Over	Not a component	0.01	−0.02 to 0.03	0.00	0.064	No
Active, Production	Not a component	0.00	† n = 20	0.00	0.124	No
Canceled	Not a component	0.00	−0.02 to 0.01	0.00	0.037	Yes

Note: † Base under 30. No interval is reported. ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported.

The study set r was 0.08 (95% CI −0.08 to 0.24, Holm p 1.000, n = 150 engagements). The association did not hold after Holm control. Equivalence Tests of Null Results found it equivalent to zero inside the bound. Of the 24 tested segment levels, 0 held after Holm control.

Association with Intent to Leave

The respondent’s stated likelihood of leaving the current job within 12 months, rated 1 to 10 (C019). Measured at respondent level on up to 798 respondents, with the engagement-level form reported alongside.

Table 10a. Association with intent to leave by segment, part 1 of 2Table

Segment	Respondents	r	95% CI	Cluster bootstrap 95% CI	p	Holm p
Study set	327	−0.02	−0.13 to 0.09	−0.19 to 0.14	0.677	1.000
Outsourcing model
CXM	86	0.19	−0.02 to 0.39	−0.17 to 0.47	0.072	1.000
ITO	94	−0.12	−0.32 to 0.08	−0.41 to 0.23	0.247	1.000
BPO	86	−0.07	−0.27 to 0.15	−0.36 to 0.24	0.549	1.000
KPO	61	−0.09	−0.34 to 0.16	−0.44 to 0.33	0.484	1.000
Institution type
Asset management	49	−0.34	−0.57 to −0.06	−0.64 to 0.15	0.018	0.639
Wealth management and private banking	55	0.01	−0.26 to 0.27	−0.41 to 0.41	0.942	1.000
Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination)	37	0.08	−0.25 to 0.39	−0.43 to 0.45	0.633	1.000
Insurance (life, property and casualty, health)	29	−0.20	†	†	0.299	1.000
Commercial and business banking	29	0.07	†	†	0.709	1.000
Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing)	32	0.23	−0.13 to 0.54	−0.54 to 0.70	0.205	1.000
Credit card and payments issuing	26	0.18	†	†	0.369	1.000
Retail and consumer banking	30	0.02	−0.35 to 0.37	−0.42 to 0.40	0.935	1.000
Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets)	22	−0.07	†	†	0.758	1.000
Private equity and private capital	18	−0.14	†	†	0.589	1.000
Process family
Corporate and back-office functions	98	−0.01	−0.20 to 0.19	−0.27 to 0.26	0.948	1.000
Technology engineering and operations	81	−0.25	−0.44 to −0.03	−0.52 to 0.09	0.026	0.923
Client servicing and communications	36	−0.15	−0.46 to 0.18	−0.66 to 0.26	0.368	1.000
Trade, settlement and reconciliation	29	0.09	†	†	0.630	1.000
Payments, cards and disputes	31	0.23	−0.14 to 0.54	−0.24 to 0.60	0.218	1.000
Credit, underwriting and suitability	17	−0.11	†	†	0.685	1.000
Regulatory, audit, tax and legal	17	−0.35	†	†	0.167	1.000
Financial crime and client onboarding	18	−0.09	†	†	0.731	1.000
Class of work
LOB Operational	167	0.08	−0.07 to 0.23	−0.17 to 0.30	0.300	1.000
Corporate Functional	160	−0.13	−0.28 to 0.03	−0.33 to 0.09	0.105	1.000
Engagement status and lifecycle stage
Active, Build-Out	72	0.06	−0.17 to 0.29	−0.24 to 0.34	0.607	1.000
Active, Transition/Cut-Over	92	−0.06	−0.26 to 0.15	−0.33 to 0.24	0.598	1.000
Active, Production	41	0.14	−0.18 to 0.43	−0.25 to 0.51	0.384	1.000
Canceled	122	0.07	−0.11 to 0.24	−0.08 to 0.20	0.469	1.000
Respondent role
Individual Contributor	145	0.03	−0.13 to 0.19	−0.17 to 0.22	0.725	1.000
Engagement Manager	150	−0.05	−0.21 to 0.11	−0.22 to 0.11	0.523	1.000
Portfolio Director	31	−0.09	−0.43 to 0.27	−0.36 to 0.23	0.630	1.000
Customer Management Executive	1	‡
Vendor type
IT services major	127	0.10	−0.08 to 0.27	−0.16 to 0.33	0.272	1.000
BPO specialist	85	0.03	−0.19 to 0.24	−0.34 to 0.33	0.811	1.000
Consulting firm	46	0.05	−0.24 to 0.33	−0.36 to 0.47	0.745	1.000
Boutique or specialist provider	36	−0.35	−0.61 to −0.02	−0.74 to 0.19	0.038	1.000
Pure-play agentic AI firm	26	−0.67	†	†	< 0.001	0.007
Not reported, recovered by engagement	7	‡

Note: † Base under 30. No interval is reported. ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported.

Table 10b. Association with intent to leave by segment, part 2 of 2Table

Segment	Spearman rho	p	Share at 7 or above, distressed	Share at 7 or above, other	Engagements	Engagement level r	95% CI	TOST p
Study set	−0.03	0.640	Not applicable	Not applicable	150	−0.05	−0.21 to 0.11	< 0.001
Outsourcing model
CXM	0.14	0.194	Not applicable	Not applicable	42	0.09	−0.22 to 0.39	0.089
ITO	−0.09	0.406	Not applicable	Not applicable	40	−0.09	−0.39 to 0.23	0.090
BPO	−0.07	0.516	Not applicable	Not applicable	37	−0.06	−0.38 to 0.27	0.073
KPO	0.05	0.698	Not applicable	Not applicable	31	−0.16	−0.48 to 0.21	0.209
Institution type
Asset management	−0.26	0.074	Not applicable	Not applicable	24	−0.27	†	0.447
Wealth management and private banking	−0.02	0.911	Not applicable	Not applicable	23	−0.02	†	0.100
Investment banking (advisory and capital-markets origination)	0.05	0.778	Not applicable	Not applicable	19	−0.08	†	0.175
Insurance (life, property and casualty, health)	−0.27	0.155	Not applicable	Not applicable	14	−0.06	†	0.206
Commercial and business banking	0.05	0.800	Not applicable	Not applicable	13	0.02	†	0.183
Payments and merchant acquiring (networks, acquiring, processing)	0.27	0.133	Not applicable	Not applicable	13	0.04	†	0.198
Credit card and payments issuing	0.22	0.291	Not applicable	Not applicable	12	0.23	†	0.410
Retail and consumer banking	−0.02	0.926	Not applicable	Not applicable	12	−0.05	†	0.215
Markets and trading (sales and trading, global markets)	−0.05	0.834	Not applicable	Not applicable	11	0.08	†	0.256
Private equity and private capital	−0.15	0.563	Not applicable	Not applicable	9	‡	‡
Process family
Corporate and back-office functions	0.01	0.933	Not applicable	Not applicable	47	0.04	−0.25 to 0.32	0.035
Technology engineering and operations	−0.25	0.026	Not applicable	Not applicable	35	−0.24	−0.53 to 0.10	0.350
Client servicing and communications	−0.25	0.134	Not applicable	Not applicable	16	−0.20	†	0.350
Trade, settlement and reconciliation	0.06	0.751	Not applicable	Not applicable	15	0.05	†	0.186
Payments, cards and disputes	0.33	0.069	Not applicable	Not applicable	12	0.24	†	0.428
Credit, underwriting and suitability	−0.06	0.831	Not applicable	Not applicable	9	‡	‡
Regulatory, audit, tax and legal	−0.28	0.269	Not applicable	Not applicable	9	‡	‡
Financial crime and client onboarding	−0.09	0.735	Not applicable	Not applicable	7	‡	‡
Class of work
LOB Operational	0.07	0.353	Not applicable	Not applicable	76	−0.01	−0.24 to 0.21	0.005
Corporate Functional	−0.14	0.083	Not applicable	Not applicable	74	−0.09	−0.31 to 0.14	0.032
Engagement status and lifecycle stage
Active, Build-Out	0.03	0.813	Not applicable	Not applicable	31	0.11	−0.26 to 0.44	0.142
Active, Transition/Cut-Over	−0.04	0.708	Not applicable	Not applicable	43	−0.07	−0.36 to 0.24	0.062
Active, Production	0.14	0.386	Not applicable	Not applicable	20	0.17	†	0.285
Canceled	0.06	0.527	Not applicable	Not applicable	56	0.10	−0.17 to 0.35	0.062
Respondent role
Individual Contributor	0.01	0.947	Not applicable	Not applicable	103	0.02	−0.18 to 0.21	0.002
Engagement Manager	−0.05	0.550	Not applicable	Not applicable	150	−0.05	−0.21 to 0.11	< 0.001
Portfolio Director	−0.09	0.613	Not applicable	Not applicable	31	−0.09	−0.43 to 0.27	0.123
Customer Management Executive	‡ n = 1
Vendor type
IT services major	0.13	0.136	Not applicable	Not applicable	59	0.03	−0.23 to 0.28	0.019
BPO specialist	−0.02	0.872	Not applicable	Not applicable	37	−0.02	−0.34 to 0.31	0.044
Consulting firm	0.11	0.463	Not applicable	Not applicable	23	−0.02	†	0.095
Boutique or specialist provider	−0.42	0.012	Not applicable	Not applicable	17	−0.29	†	0.487
Pure-play agentic AI firm	−0.65	< 0.001	Not applicable	Not applicable	14	−0.67	†	0.952
Not reported, recovered by engagement	‡ n = 7

Note: † Base under 30. No interval is reported. ‡ Base under 10. No statistic is reported.

The study set r was −0.02 (95% CI −0.13 to 0.09, Holm p 1.000, n = 327 respondents). The association did not hold after Holm control. Equivalence Tests of Null Results found it equivalent to zero inside the bound. Of the 36 tested segment levels, 1 held after Holm control.

Comparison of Associations Across the Four Measures

Table 11. Associations across the four measuresTable

Measure	Form	Unit	n	r	95% CI	p	Equivalent to zero	Rank among the four
Cancellation rate	Descriptive contrast	Engagement	150	−0.10	−0.26 to 0.06	0.223	Yes	1
Customer satisfaction	Clean estimate	Engagement	94	0.03	−0.17 to 0.24	0.744	Yes	3
Engagement indicator mean	Full	Engagement	150	0.08	−0.08 to 0.24	0.302	Yes	2
Intent to leave	Respondent level, clustered	Respondent	327	−0.02	−0.19 to 0.14	0.781	Yes	4

Table 12. Pairwise comparison of associationsTable

Pair compared	Difference in r	Steiger z	p	Holm p	Reading
Cancellation rate and customer satisfaction	0.00	−0.03	0.976	1.000	Do not differ
Cancellation rate and engagement indicator mean	0.02	0.25	0.804	1.000	Do not differ
Cancellation rate and intent to leave	0.03	0.63	0.526	1.000	Do not differ
Customer satisfaction and engagement indicator mean	0.02	0.36	0.717	1.000	Do not differ
Customer satisfaction and intent to leave	0.03	0.90	0.368	1.000	Do not differ
Engagement indicator mean and intent to leave	0.02	0.37	0.710	1.000	Do not differ

Pairs were compared on the engagement level form of every measure, each turned so that a higher value was the better outcome, on the 150 engagements where the indicator and all four measures existed. Of the 6 pairs, 0 differed after Holm control.

Clustering and Effective Sample Size

Table 13. Clustering and effective sample sizeTable

Statistic	Value	Reading
Clusters (engagements)	150	Engagements with at least one answer.
Mean respondents per engagement	2.3	Answers per engagement with at least one answer.
ICC(1)	1.00	Share of variance between engagements.
Design effect	2.26	1 plus (mean cluster size minus 1) times ICC.
Nominal respondent n	339	Respondents who answered.
Effective n	150	Nominal n divided by the design effect.
Cluster bootstrap applied	Yes	Applied to every respondent level CI where the ICC is 0.05 or above.

Clustering reduced the 339 respondent answers to about 150 independent answers. Respondent level intervals therefore used the cluster bootstrap, and respondent level tests on intent to leave used cluster-robust errors.

Equivalence Tests of Null Results

Table 14. Equivalence tests of null resultsTable

Measure	n	r	Equivalence bound	TOST p, lower	TOST p, upper	Equivalent to zero	Achieved power	MDE at power 0.80	Detection floor for this n
Cancellation rate	150	−0.10	\|r\| < 0.30	0.006	< 0.001	Yes	0.96	0.23	0.23
Customer satisfaction	94	0.03	\|r\| < 0.30	< 0.001	0.004	Yes	0.84	0.29	0.23
Engagement indicator mean	150	0.08	\|r\| < 0.30	< 0.001	0.003	Yes	0.96	0.23	0.23
Intent to leave	327, effective 144	−0.02	\|r\| < 0.30	< 0.001	< 0.001	Yes	0.96	0.23	0.23

Tested null, equivalent to zero: cancellation rate, customer satisfaction, engagement indicator mean and intent to leave. No result was inconclusive. The detection floor column is the study floor at 150 engagements. Intent to leave was tested on its effective n.

Robustness Checks

Table 15. Robustness checksTable

Check	Measure	Primary r	Check r	95% CI	Change	Conclusion holds
Rank correlation in place of Pearson	Cancellation rate	−0.10	−0.09	a	0.01	Yes
Rank correlation in place of Pearson	Customer satisfaction	0.03	0.02	a	−0.01	Yes
Rank correlation in place of Pearson	Engagement indicator mean	0.08	0.07	a	−0.01	Yes
Rank correlation in place of Pearson	Intent to leave	−0.02	−0.03	a	0.00	Yes
Non-answers excluded, then imputed at the engagement mean	Intent to leave	−0.02	−0.05	a	−0.03	Yes
Active engagements only	Engagement indicator mean	0.08	0.04	−0.17 to 0.24	−0.05	Yes
Active engagements only	Intent to leave	−0.02	0.03	−0.11 to 0.17	0.05	Yes
Most influential engagement removed (largest Cook’s distance)	Cancellation rate	−0.10	−0.12	−0.28 to 0.04	−0.02	Yes
Most influential engagement removed (largest Cook’s distance)	Customer satisfaction	0.03	0.00	−0.21 to 0.20	−0.04	Yes
Most influential engagement removed (largest Cook’s distance)	Engagement indicator mean	0.08	0.06	−0.11 to 0.22	−0.03	Yes
Most influential engagement removed (largest Cook’s distance)	Intent to leave	−0.02	−0.03	−0.14 to 0.08	−0.01	Yes
Engagements weighted by respondent count	Cancellation rate	−0.10	−0.09	a	0.01	Yes
Engagements weighted by respondent count	Customer satisfaction	0.03	0.03	a	0.00	Yes
Engagements weighted by respondent count	Engagement indicator mean	0.08	0.08	a	0.00	Yes
Bootstrap of engagements	Cancellation rate	−0.10	−0.10	−0.24 to 0.05	0.00	Yes
Bootstrap of engagements	Customer satisfaction	0.03	0.03	−0.17 to 0.23	0.00	Yes
Bootstrap of engagements	Engagement indicator mean	0.08	0.09	−0.07 to 0.24	0.00	Yes
Bootstrap of engagements	Intent to leave	−0.02	−0.02	−0.19 to 0.14	0.00	Yes
Thin-base segments removed	Cancellation rate	−0.10	−0.08	−0.29 to 0.14	0.02	Yes
Thin-base segments removed	Customer satisfaction	0.03	0.14	−0.14 to 0.40	0.11	Yes
Thin-base segments removed	Engagement indicator mean	0.08	0.10	−0.12 to 0.31	0.01	Yes
Thin-base segments removed	Intent to leave	−0.02	−0.10	−0.24 to 0.05	−0.07	Yes

Note: a No interval for this check.

Each change was computed before rounding, so it can differ by 0.01 from the difference of the two printed values.

Every check held. A check holds when its test lands on the same side of 0.05 as the primary test and, where the primary test is below 0.05, its r keeps the primary sign. Thin-base rule: engagements in any level under 30 engagements of outsourcing model or process family removed. Institution type is not used, because every one of its levels is under 30.

Measure Independence and Part-Whole Correction

Each of the four measures was computed from data this indicator does not contain, so each result is a finding rather than an arithmetic consequence.

Comparison with the Study Norm

Table 16. Comparison with the study normTable

Measure	This indicator, oriented r	Study median, oriented r	Deviation	Fisher z	p	Holm p
Cancellation rate	0.10	0.60	−0.50	−7.14	< 0.001	< 0.001
Customer satisfaction	0.10	0.72	−0.62	−9.76	< 0.001	< 0.001
Engagement indicator mean	0.08	0.84	−0.75	−13.63	< 0.001	< 0.001
Intent to leave	0.07	0.71	−0.64	−9.97	< 0.001	< 0.001
Spread of deviations			0.25
Verdict	DIVERGENT

Each deviation was computed before rounding, so it can differ by 0.01 from the difference of the two printed values.

The comparison ran on 150 engagements. The indicator departed from the study’s typical pattern on cancellation rate, customer satisfaction, engagement indicator mean and intent to leave.

Interpretation of the Data

Boutique or specialist provider respondents reported the longest contract terms (mean 37.5, n = 39 respondents), and Consulting firm respondents reported the shortest (mean 28.3, n = 48 respondents). The results held under every robustness check run on this item (22 of 22 checks). Contract term varied by vendor type without any association with the four study measures.

Limitations

The evidence is reported experience: what the delivery team said about its own engagement, gathered in one cross-section. The figures showed associations, not causes. Indicators about the financial institution were reported at second hand by vendor staff. Cancellation is a descriptive contrast, because canceled engagements were rated after they ended.

Tests across respondent role and vendor type were run at respondent level and treated respondents as independent. The section Clustering and Effective Sample Size states whether, and by how much, clustering within engagements reduced the information in respondent level figures.

Customer Management Executive answers and answers marked Not reported, recovered by engagement were at anecdote strength (n = 2, n = 8).

Definitions

Table 17. DefinitionsTable

Term	Definition
Response scale	As recorded, shown in Table 1. The indicator is not a rating, so no distressed range is defined.
Answering base	Respondents who entered a value.
Non-answers	“I do not know” and “I prefer to not answer” are counted separately and are excluded from the mean.
Indicator class	Perceived fact: a state of the engagement as the respondent perceives it, so “I do not know” is counted and reported as an answer.
Failure category	One of the five failure categories of the Study Taxonomy, section 3. Only the 100 rated indicators carry one, and the indicator is not among them.
Engagement indicator mean	The mean of an engagement’s 100 indicator ratings.

Sources and Provenance

Table 18. Sources and provenanceTable

Item	Value
Study data	Study Data.xlsx, Data sheet, column C045, sha256 219eba0457274d04
Statistics engine	compute_statistics.py, sha256 738319eef764602b
Statistics record	Computed Statistics.json, record C045, sha256 e405f65a43e37a6e
Computed	October 8, 2026, 01:38 UTC
Template	Indicator Statistical Analysis Template, version 1.1 of 2026-10-06
Figures placed by script	1,987 of 1,987

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Executive summary →

Overview

Executive Summary

Four findings from 150 engagements

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Introduction

Scope, evidence, and how the report is organized

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Part 1

Engagement Outcomes

Poor results on every measure, and what separates them

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Part 2

The Five Failure Categories

Where failure concentrates, category by category

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Part 3

Governance, Oversight, and Control

Controls that existed in name only

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Part 4

The Delivery Workforce

Early in their careers, dissatisfied, and many intending to leave

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Part 5

Manual Alteration

How the delivery team altered the work to sustain it

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Part 6

Executive Action Plan

Seven immediate actions and a first-year plan

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Appendices

Definitions, indicator inventory, method, and disclosures

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Data

Study Data

Deep-dive analyses of the study indicators, published in stages

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What is the contract term of this engagement, in months?

On this page

Indicator Specification

Summary of Findings

Distribution of Responses

Descriptive Statistics by Segment

Tests of Difference Between Segments

Association with Cancellation Rate

Association with Customer Satisfaction

Association with the Engagement Indicator Mean

Association with Intent to Leave

Comparison of Associations Across the Four Measures

Clustering and Effective Sample Size

Equivalence Tests of Null Results

Robustness Checks

Measure Independence and Part-Whole Correction

Comparison with the Study Norm

Interpretation of the Data

Limitations

Definitions

Sources and Provenance

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