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 pro...
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Why projects fail
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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Airbus – A380
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Airbus SAS - France
Project name : A380
Project type : Commercial aircraft development
Date : Dec 2000 - Oct 2007
Cost : $6.1B in additional costs due to project delays*1
Synopsis :
I've often written about decision-making in the project environment and how the decisions made in a project shape the outcomes the project achieves. Often when a project ...
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Bait and switch
Lesson Learned: Take control over the key players vendors assign to your contracts
Category: Contract Management
The following post is a “Lesson Learned” that comes from the analysis of the failed projects documented in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” or from the experiences the editorial team have had working with clients around the world. The post is published here to spark discussion and help organizations think about what it takes to improve project success rates.
In today’s compet...
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Marin County
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Marin County - California, USA
Project type : Enterprise Resource Planning system - Accounting package
Project name : MERIT (Marin Enterprise Resource Integrated Technology)
Date : Jan 2013 court case settled Cost :$33M
Synopsis :
Marin County (Marin) is an affluent county of about 250,000 inhabitants located just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San ...
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State of California
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
State of California - California, USA
Project type : Payroll and benefits system
Project name : 21st Century Project (MyCalPAYS)
Date : Feb 2013 Cost :$254M
Synopsis :
As with many large organizations, the state of California has over the years built up a complex interconnected set of IT systems to support their daily operations. Managing multiple syst...
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What is Project Success?
"As Project Manager, juggling all of the balls is important, but keeping your eye on the right ball is the key to delivering truly successful projects" - RG
While understanding the causes of project failure is important, without a common definition of "success", there is no clear basis for differentiating a success from a failure. Clearly none of the projects in the Catalogue of Catastrophe can be regarded as great successes (some resulted in bankruptcies, many were cancelled before completio...
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US Department of Defense – U.S. Air Force
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Department of Defense - USA
Project type : Integrated supply chain and logistics system
Project name : Expeditionary Combat Support System (ECSS)
Date : Nov 2012 Cost :$1B
Synopsis :
When you have 5,400 high-tech aircraft to deploy and maintain, plus 330,000 active personnel to coordinate, you have a major logistics problem on your hands! To manage those...
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