Cecelia Cartier, PMP

Over the last several posts, I’ve broken down four failure modes we see repeatedly inside bank operations: Failure Modes Overlapping ownership Excessive handoffs Control stacking Exception‑dominated processes

When controls pile up, the standard path erodes - and exceptions begin to dominate the work. This is often the final and most visible failure mode. The “happy path” still exists on paper - but it’s no longer how work actually gets done. Instead, exceptions become the norm.

The Real Issue: How Processes Have Evolved - Failure Mode #3: Control stacking in banking processes