Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
American LaFrance – USA
Project : ERP (counting, purchasing, inventory, production, payroll and finance services)
Date : Jun 2007
Cost :$Undisclosed, but ALF blames Chapter-11 bankruptcy on the failure of the project
Synopsis :
ALF (the world's largest builder of customized fire fighting trucks and equipment) files for chapter-11 bankruptcy following a botch...
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Why projects fail
Microsoft
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Microsoft - USA
Project type : Mobile phone (Kin)
Date : Jun 2010 Cost :Unconfirmed reports of $1B USD
Synopsis :
Microsoft's "Kin" phones (Kin one and Kin two) are withdrawn from the market after just two months. The phones were designed for the younger market and those who are heavy users of social networking sites. Despite the the price being cut in half...
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Department of Primary Industries – Australia
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Dept. of Primary Industries - Governement of Victoria - Australia
Project type : Smart meters
Date : Jan 2010 Cost :$2.25B AUD
Synopsis :
Costs to deploy smart electrical meters to all households and small businesses in Victoria, Australia balloon from $800M to $2.25B. A review by the Auditor-General questioned whether the project could now deliver any value...
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Sydney Water
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Sydney Water- Australia
Project type : Customer Management System
Date : Dec 2009 Cost : $70M AUD
Synopsis :
Project to modernize and consolidate Sydney Water's Customer Management Systems runs into trouble. Project is delayed by 18 months and exceeds its original budget by more than 100%. Overruns and delays mean that the project's return on investment is ...
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MI5 – MI6
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
MI5 - MI6 - UK
Project type : Intelligence sharing system
Project name : Scope
Date : Mar 2009 Cost : reported to be tens of millions of pounds
Synopsis :
System designed to share intelligence between separate groups in the UK intelligence gathering community is cancelled due to "technical concerns". The Cabinet Secretary reported "… we know that the way t...
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Why Projects Fail – Blog
The following blog is a companion site to the Project Management and Project Leadership classes offered by Canada's University of British Columbia (UBC), Sauder School of Business - Continuing Business Studies. The materials on this site are provided in an effort share knowledge and help organizations develop their Project Management capacity.
lang: en_US
"We tend to seek easy, single-factor explanations of success. For most important things, however, success requires avoiding the many...
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West Jet – Canada
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
West Jet - Canada
Project type : New passenger Reservations System
Date : Jan 2007 Cost : $34M USD
Updated: 2 Dec 2009
Synopsis :
Efforts to implement a new customized reservations system cancelled amid delays and quality concerns.
Update 2 Dec 2009 - Following the cancellation of the original project in 2007, Westjet moved their reservations systems to t...
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Canadian Payments Association
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Canadian Payments Association – Canada
Project : Truncation and Electronic Cheque Presentment (TECP)|
Date : Jan 2009
Cost : $undisclosed, but web search indicates project to have been a $300M initiative
Synopsis :
The TCEP system was a system designed to simplify the clearing of checks by scanning and transmitting check data between banks rather than transf...
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Marine One
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
US Navy
Project name : Marine One
Date : Jun 2009 Cost :$13B
Synopsis :
To allow for rapid and safe transport of the President and other VIP's, the US Government maintains a fleet of VIP transport helicopters. The current fleet of Sea King and Blackhawk helicopters was first deployed in the 1970's. Following the 9/11 attacks, the US Government decided tha...
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Veterans Affiars – USA
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Veterans Affairs - USA
Project : Replacement Scheduling Application (RSA)
Date : Aug 2009 Cost :$41M
Synopsis :
After seven years of development the Veterans Affairs (VA) Replacement Scheduling Application (RSA) is scrapped. As a component of the larger HealtheVet system, the Replacement Scheduling Application was to allow veterans to request and view medical...
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