Although I’m not a great fan of taking concepts from the manufacturing sector and bending them so they can be applied to the IT sector, the idea of “push” versus “pull” processes is one that is worth considering. The concept of push versus pull comes from the field of lean manufacturing and is used to identify who in a chain of manufacturing processes is requesting work to be done. In the factory environment work is broken down into discrete processes which are linked together in a chain. Raw ma...
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Failed Project
Bottom Fed Failure
The following entry is part of the Pattern Library. The Pattern Library records the common patterns of behaviours and events that have the potential to lead to project failure.
Pattern name : Bottom Fed Failure
In brief :
Substandard work at the implementation level results in poor quality deliverables that lead to project failure
Description :
A product is only as good as its implementation and bottom fed failure occurs when the quality of the deliverables being created is allowed t...
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Top Led Failure
The following entry is part of the Pattern Library. The Pattern Library records the common patterns of behaviours and events that have the potential to lead to project failure.
Pattern name : Top Led Failure
In brief :
Strategic blunders by Senior Executives at the start of the project put the project on a course to disaster. Because the flawed decisions were made at the most senior of levels, the problems is never corrected resulting in a project pursuing a path that will eventually led n...
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Department of Transport – UK
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...
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Mind the Gap
The translation of an organizational need into a technical solution is a technology project’s core. That translation requires detailed knowledge of the organization’s operation environment (and their desired future state) to be married up with the technical skills from which the solution will be created. The size of the gap between those two pools of knowledge is a common source of troubled projects.
One project I recently observed had allowed a six step gap to form between the intended users...
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Qantas
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...
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Firearms Registry
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...
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State of Wisconsin
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
State of Wisconsin
Project name : EnABLES (Enhanced Automated Benefits Legal Enterprise Services)
Project type : Unemployment claims tracking
Date : Feb 2007 Cost :$23M USD
Synopsis :
Replacement for a 1970's system used for tracking unemployment claims cancelled after only 1 of 7 phases is successfully completed. Project plan called for an existing package...
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FBI Virtual Case File
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) - USA
Project : Virtual Case File - Project Trilogy
Date : Apr 2005 Cost : $170M USD
Synopsis :
Ambitious program to replace paper based reporting of crimes and investigations with an online system is scrapped. System was intended to aid efficiencies and allow pieces of information gathered through different channels at...
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National Health Service – UK
Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.
National Health Service - UK
Project name : NHS Care Records Service
Date : Oct 2008 - UPDATED Sep 2010 Cost :$24B project (World's largest civil IT project)
Synopsis :
Rollout of the Care Records Service component of the UK's National Program for IT grinds to a halt after pilot sites report significant problems. Already 4 years behind schedule, the initial ...
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