The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” – a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Project type : Social ballProject name : Bridgerton night Date : Sep 2024Cost : Unknown
Synopsis :
A hit television show like Netflix's Bridgerton is about escapism. A glimpse of the sumptuous side of Georgian England and the grace of the Regency period. After 3 seasons the show has built up a considerable following and unleashed a yearning am...
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Project Management
Site C Dam
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” – a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Organization: BC Hydro - British Columbia, CanadaProject type : Hydro-electric power generator and associated damProject name : Site C damDate : Jun 2023Cost : $16B CAD
Synopsis :
Today's large scale civil engineering projects aren't just about engineering. They typically involve a significant public relations component as well. One such project is the Site C hydro...
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Scottish Ferries Fiasco
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” – a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Organization: CalMac Ferries Ltd
Project type : Construction of two new ferries
Date : Sep 2022
Cost : £340 million
Synopsis :
The services provided by state owned ferry operator CalMac Ferries Ltd sustain communities on 22 of Scotland’s islands. To ensure they continue to meet stakeholder needs CalMac’s fleet renewal program ordered two new boats in 2015. The £97...
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Quibi
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” – a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Quibi – USA
Project type : Video streaming service
Date : Dec 2020
Cost : $1B estimated loss (potentially some cost recovery through subsequent sale of assets)
Synopsis :
A video-streaming start-up backed by Hollywood and Silicon Valley elites. With access to a vast amount of money and an open door to the world's top talent, Quibi looked...
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Great Western Mainline Electrification
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” – a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Organization: Network Rail – UK
Project type : Rail infrastructure upgrade
Project name : Great Western Mainline electrification project
Date : Jan 2020
Cost : £2B cost overrun, plus reduced scope
Synopsis :
The electrification of the world's transportation infrastructure is a growing focus in many countries. Electrification allows the energy intensive i...
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London City – Garden Bridge
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” – a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Garden Bridge Trust – UK
Project type : Bridge design & construction
Date : Apr 2017
Cost : £53M (including £43M of public funds)
Synopsis :
New York has its 'High Line', Seoul has its 'Sky Garden', Paris has its 'Promenade Plantée' and London nearly had it's 'Garden Bridge'. Elevated, elongated city parks are a draw for both tourists and locals alike...
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Fyre Festival
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” – a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Project name : Fyre FestivalProject type : Music festivalDate : Apr 2017Cost : Undeclared
Synopsis :
The execution of a large-scale music festival can be a complex Project Management challenge. The bigger the event, and the higher the expectations, the more challenging it becomes. Throw in a remote location, a lack ...
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Spotting a leader
Synopsis - Effective 'leaders' know what quality is and feel a sense of responsibility for achieving quality. If a person waffles, waivers or avoids discussing quality, chances are they will not make an effective leader.
It's pretty clear that project success rates are higher where projects have effective leadership and lower where there was either no leader, or where those in the leadership roles didn't discharge their duties effectively. Effective leaders align people, focus people a...
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Agile’s Achilles heel
From its birth in the software development community, the idea of ‘agility’ has risen in prominence to the point where organizations of all shapes and forms are now leveraging agile principles (or at least trying to). Since being conceptually formalized in the 2001 ‘agile manifesto’ the ideas have matured to the point where agile practices have worked their way into the mainstream of the Project Management Institute’s PMBoK® Guide.
As I’ve written about a number of times, agile concepts are ...
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Yes we can!
Synopsis: People can be productive! What most often holds them back is management's failure to take ownership of the concept of "efficiency"...
It is amazing how fast humans can respond to a situation when they need to! A recent story from Japan helps illustrate the point. When a 30M wide sinkhole destroyed a road in Fukuoka, Japan, the problem was resolved and the road fully repaired in just 7 days. As the video below illustrates this was no minor pothole. This was a 15M deep crater that cu...
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