Marine One

Posted on September 5,December 17, by admin

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...

Air Canada

Posted on September 1,December 26, by admin

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. Air Canada Date : Aug 2009 Cost :$67M Synopsis : Following more than 3 years of development effort, Air Canada suspends its efforts to implement a next-generation air reservation and departure control system. Citing capital cost issues the airline announces a $67M write down related to the development. Originally planned to start deployment in 2007, the implem...

Foundation for Student life (Oslo) – Laundry system

Posted on August 31,December 17, by admin

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. The foundation for student life (Oslo) – Norway Date : May 2009 Cost :$14M + some dirty laundry Synopsis : As part of a move to SAP the Oslo based Foundation for Student Life elected to tie the laundry facilities in the student village into their accounting systems. Integrating the laundry machines into the accounting systems meant that students had to pay fo...

City of Vancouver – Olympic Village

Posted on August 31,December 17, by admin

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. City of Vancouver – Canada Date : Jan 2009 Cost :$250M cost overrun Synopsis : While we don't often touch on construction projects in this database, a construction project is still a form of technology project. The following example nicely illustrates what happens when financial risks are ignored. Having won the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympics in 20...

Veterans Affiars – USA

Posted on August 25,December 28, by admin

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...

Fear of Commitment

Posted on March 7,February 28, by admin

One of the fundamentals taught in Project Management class is the need to define what the success of the project will look like. Only by establishing a picture of the desired end state are we able to establish project scope properly and make effective decisions about how to manage the project. In Project Management class we’re taught to express project success as specific measures that define the project’s goals. These measures are often captured using SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Ach...

Department of Transport – UK

Posted on December 1,December 26, by admin

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. Department for Transport - UK Project name : Shared Services Date : May 2008 Cost :$160M Synopsis : Program to improve efficiency in the UK's Department of Transport ends up costing more than it saves. By sharing hardware and software services across the department the project was intended to save the organization $114M. A May 2008 study the the U...

The Leadership Pendulum

Posted on November 7,October 14, by admin

One of the trends I’ve noticed over the years has been the growing importance of the Project Management role. When I first started work more than 20 years ago, many projects were lead by a Technical Leader rather than a Project Manager. Today most projects have a dedicated Project Manager. The change is likely a reflection of the fact that many past failures could be attributed to poor planning and control. While appointing a dedicated Project Manager has clear benefits, we need to be careful...

Qantas

Posted on November 1,December 26, by admin

The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. Qantas - Australian airline Project name : Jetsmart Date : Feb 2008 Cost :$40M Synopsis : "Jetsmart" engineering parts management system is renamed "Dumbjet" by aircraft engineers because the system is so difficult to use. Failure to engage the engineers who would be the eventual users of the system into the requirements and design processes resulted in a...

Firearms Registry

Posted on October 23,January 29, by admin

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. Canadian Federal Government - Canada Project name : Canadian Firearms program Date : Jun 2006 Project Cost :$1,000M CAD Synopsis : In what may be the worst budget overrun in history, the costs to implement a registry of firearms balloons from $2M to $860M. Original plan called for the program to cost $119M of which all but $2M would be covered by license ap...

Why Do Projects Fail?

Why do projects fail