Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
New South Wales Government - Australia
Project name : TCARD
Date : Nov 2007 Project Cost : $370M AUD Writeoff Cost : $95M AUD (estimated)
Synopsis :
Smart card transit project to allow single ticket across train, ferry and bus transit cancelled after years of delays and cost overruns. Project originally intended for delivery in time for Sydney Olympics (Jul...
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Failed Project
Waste Management Inc – USA
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Waste Management Inc - USA
Project : Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implementation
Date : Mar 2008 Cost :$100M USD
Synopsis :
Enterprise Resource Planning system implementation fails to meet needs. Waste Management claim vendor used a dummy prototype for pre-sale demo while asserting that the solution was an out-of-the-box solution that would requi...
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British Airways – UK
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
British Airways PLC. / British Airports Authority
Project: Move of operations into Heathrow Terminal 5
Date: Apr 2008
Cost: $32M USD
Synopsis :
Opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 labeled a fiasco after 28,000 bags get lost and hundreds of flights are cancelled. Problems resulted in British Airways having to cease accepting passengers with bags to check-in while a backlog...
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Transit Ticketing Authority – Melbourne Australia
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Transit Ticketing Authority - Melbourne Australia
Project name : MYKI
Date : May 2008 Cost :up to $350M AUD
Synopsis :
Smart card system to allow bus, rail and tram travel on a single ticket delayed by as much as 5 years and over budget by between $200M and $350M depending on press reports.
Contributing factors as reported in the press :
Underestimation o...
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Justice Department – Australia
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Justice Department -Australia
Project name : Criminal Justice Enhancements Program (CJEP)
Date : Jun 2008 Cost :$54M USD
Synopsis :
Lack of planning and underestimation cited as a primary contributors to a 9 year delay in the full deployment of the Criminal Justice Enhancement Program (CJEP) for use by the Australian Justice department. Costs balloon by 400%....
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Ministry of Defense – UK
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Ministry of Defense - UK
Project : Chinook Helicopter upgrade
Date : Jun 2008 Cost : $1,000M USD
Synopsis :
Problems with cockpit software leave 8 Chinook helicopters intended for “specials ops” grounded after 7 years of effort. Maintained in special air conditioned hangers, the aircraft have never seen operational use. Although the helicopters can fly, the...
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Rate Collection Agency – Northern Island
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Rate Collection Agency – Northern Island
Project name : Abbacus
Date : Jun 2008 Cost :$260M USD
Synopsis :
Problems with local property tax ("property rates") collection system result in $260M worth of payments going uncollected. Calculation errors result in one person receiving a disability allowance of £2.9M. System lacked basic functions such as the abil...
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HM Revenue and Customs – UK
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
HM Revenue and Customs – UK
Date : Jul 2008 Cost :up to $5,600M USD
Synopsis :
Errors in the software and the processes used for handling data result in over payment of billions of dollars worth of tax credits for parents with children in the United Kingdom. On discovering the errors, government efforts to reclaim the money result in hardship for many of Brita...
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Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Following entry is a record in the "Catalogue of Catastrophe" - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Edinburgh Fringe Festival (World’s largest arts festival)
Date : Jul 2008 Cost : Reports indicate a cost of £300,000 (but likely more)
Synopsis :
Implementation of a new on-line ticketing tool fails the day after production release. Seven weeks later after repeated outages, not a single ticket had been mailed out. Breakdown in advanced sales result in cash...
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Dept. Homeland Security – Railhead
Following entry is a record in the "Catalogue of Catastrophe" - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Dept. Homeland Security
Project name : Railhead
Date : Aug 2008 Cost :$500M
Synopsis :
Efforts to upgrade existing anti-terror tracking systems run into serious architectural and quality flaws. System fails to perform basic Boolean functions (AND, OR, etc) and reports of serious performance concerns surface. Team of 862 contractors reduced to skeleton crew wh...
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