Culture is a powerful force in any human system. It establishes the norms of behavior and acts as a reference point for the expectations we have of each other and ourselves. While we are all used to the idea of culture in our public societies (cultures driven by national identity, religious affiliation, generational groups and /or fashion), culture in the workplace gets less attention. While the phase "corporate culture" is banded around, few organizations really have a grasp of what it is, how ...
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Why projects fail
Avon Products
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Avon Products - Canada
Project type : Product sales and ordering system
Project name : The "Promise" project
Date : Dec 2013 Cost : $100 to $125M
Synopsis :
Ding-dong - Avon calling. According to reports, a significant number of the Avon sales team in Canada will no longer be pressing any doorbells. One of the world's most established direct sales companies, Avon ...
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Strategic Misrepresentation
As a timely follow up to the excellent set of posts about cognitive biases written by guest writer Paul Gibbons, the UK's National Audit Office (NAO) has just published a report that illustrates how the “optimism bias” and other dysfunctions can distort key investment decisions.
The decision to proceed with a project and decisions about how to approach it, are some of the most challenging needing to be made. These decisions are among the first to be made and occur at a point in time at which ...
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Healthcare.gov
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Department of Health and Human Services - USA
Project type : e-Commerce marketplace
Project name : The Affordable Care Act
Date : Oct 2013 Cost : Unknown
Synopsis :
When the President of the United States has to address the issue in front of the whole nation, you know you’ve created a serious mess. The Affordable Care act of 2010 is President Obama’s signature leg...
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British Broadcasting Corporation
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
British Broadcasting Corporation - UK
Project type : Digital archive
Project name : The Digital Media Initiative
Date : May 2013 Cost : £100M
Synopsis :
Having started operations in 1922, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is one of the world's oldest and most respected media production and broadcasting organizations. Covering both entertainment and news, ...
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J.C. Penny
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
J. C. Penny Company Inc - USA
Project type : Nationwide merchandise pricing strategy
Project name : Fair and square
Date : Nov 2011 - May 2013 Cost : Contributor to $1B loss
Synopsis :
Know thy customer is the marketer's prime directive. Understand your stakeholder's is the Project Manager's corollary. J.C. Penny is a national level department store chain in the U...
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New Zealand Ministry of Education
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Ministry of Education - New Zealand
Project type : Payroll system
Project name : Novopay
Date : Sep 2012 - May 2013 Cost : $30M NZD
Synopsis :
A 2010 report by accounting firm KPMG shone a spotlight on ineffective Project Management practices in New Zealand. Reporting that a shocking 70% of organizations included in the survey had experienced a failed project over ...
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J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Project type: Financial risk analysis tool
Project name: New Synthetic Credit VaR (Value at Risk) Model
Date: Sep 2011 (project) - Apr-Jun 2012 (operational failure)
Cost: Approximately $6B
Synopsis:
Sometimes the mightiest of the mighty is humbled by the meekest of the meek. Microsoft Excel may not be the most grandiose sof...
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British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) Limited – Middlesex, UK
Project type: Customer Relations Management system
Project name: Sky CRM Project
Date: Jan 2010 court case concluded Cost: £265M
Synopsis:
2010 marked the end of another chapter in what is reputed to be IT's longest and most expensive court battle: the battle between BSkyB (a digital televi...
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Shifting the status quo
In Project Management circles there is an increasing awareness that some projects aren't just about producing deliverables, they are about delivering "change". Project's in today's business world are often changing the way business is done and the failure to recognize how hard it can be to change work habits, or organizational structures, is one of the contributing factors seen in a number of the projects in the "Catalogue of Catastrophe".
Many of the better Project Management courses in the m...
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