Megaprojects-Challenges and Lessons Learned (original) (raw)

The Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management

2017

The ambition for this inaugural edition of The Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management is to become the ultimate source for state-of-the-art scholarship in the emerging field of megaproject management. The book offers a rigorous, research-oriented, up-to-date academic view of the discipline based on high-quality data and strong theory. Until lately, the literature in this new field was scattered over a large number of publications and disciplines making it difficult to obtain an overview of the history, key issues, and core readings. Megaproject Planning and Management: Essential Readings, Vols. I-II (2014) assembled the key historical texts in the field. Now the Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management has been designed to provide the most important contemporary readings. Taken together, the two books are intended to map out the best of what is worth reading in the megaproject management literature, past and present.

Introduction: The Iron Law of Megaproject Management

The Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management, 2017

Megaprojects are large, they are constantly growing ever larger, and more and more are being built in what has been called the biggest investment boom in history. This chapter serves as an introduction to megaprojects, and to The Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management. First, megaprojects are defined and the size of the global megaprojects business is estimated. Second, drivers of the megaproject boom are identified, including monumentalism and the technological sublime. Third, ten things you must know about megaprojects are detailed, from their tendency to suffer from uniqueness bias to their overexposure to black-swan events. Fourth, the "iron law of megaprojects" is identified as a main challenge to megaproject management: "Over budget, over time, under benefits, over and over again." Finally, the main structure of the Handbook is set out as covering the what, the why, and the how of megaproject management, in terms of the challenges, causes, and cures that students of megaprojects must decipher to better understand and better manage megaprojects.

The Challenge of Managing Megaprojects

2021

This paper reviews the concepts of project management and megaprojects, emphasizing on how to join these topics and the challenges of managing this kind of project, because the standard methodologies are not specific for megaprojects and, until now, academic researches focus only in the general content of methodologies for megaprojects. So, the objective of this paper is to jointly discuss project management, megaprojects and the challenges of managing this kind of project. First, we review the project management concepts and standards; then we define megaprojects, considering that a narrow definition is not the best alternative and then we present the current discussions about managing megaprojects. As a conclusion, we suggest unfolding the emerging topics for managing megaprojects in specific process, documents, tools and templates, to create a new standard, otherwise project managers will keep unsuccessfully trying to adapt the traditional methodologies to their megaprojects. This work brings a theoretical contribution when reviewing the newest advances in this topic and suggests future researches in the development of a new megaproject methodology.

Megaproject Planning and Management: Essential Readings, vols. 1-2

2014

Megaproject Planning and Management: Essential Readings contains the seminal articles from the growing body of research on megaproject planning and management along with an original introduction by the editor, Bent Flyvbjerg. The leading and most cited authority in the field, Flyvbjerg has used crowdsourcing and 25 years of experience to cherry-pick from several hundred articles and books the writings that define the field. This volume will be an indispensable source for those wishing to speak with authority about how megaprojects are prepared, delivered, and fought over. The target audience is students, academics, practitioners, and media pundits alike, as well as communities affected by megaprojects.

Megaprojects redefined – complexity vs cost and social imperatives

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 2018

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview from the literature on how best to define megaprojects in contemporary contexts. There is a need for a definition that encompasses a complex matrix of characteristics, inclusive of positive and negative aspects, which are not necessarily industry or sector specific. Whilst megaprojects have often been described and defined in terms of cost, they are more accurately delineated by their convolutions. Intricacies arise from political intrigues surrounding funding of such projects and managing and governing complex social and organizational relations. Points for future research are also identified. Design/methodology/approach An analysis of international megaproject literature over the past five years combined with seminal works was undertaken, drawing on the broad literature of project and program management combined with elements of organizational theory. Whilst some examples are cited, in-depth case analysis has not bee...

Megaproject Policy and Planning: Problems, Causes, Cures

Summary of Dissertation for Higher Doctorate in Science, (Dr. Scient.), Aalborg: Aalborg University, 62 pp., 2007

This paper focuses on problems in megaproject policy and planning and their causes and possible cures. After considerations of methodology, the paper first identifies as a main problem in megaproject development pervasive misinformation about the costs, benefits, and risks involved. A consequence of misinformation is cost overruns, benefit shortfalls, and waste.

Shaping mega-projects: practical steps for success

1.0 Synopsis While measuring success in mega-projects is not straightforward and often interpreted differently by different individuals and stakeholders, there is a general perception that too many large engineering/science facility projects fail in terms of budget overruns, schedule slippage, and or promised performance. This failure to be designed appropriately and/or delivered on time and within budget has profound implications not only for the construction and commissioning organisations, but also for the funding agencies (often spending public money), and the clients or user community. Successful design and delivery is therefore not only a commercial necessity but also a societal imperative. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of front-end shaping to project success. In this paper, I look at the inception, planning and feasibility phases of complex mega-projects in some depth, based on extant and updated research into the literature and several case studies. I focus on key success drivers from recent studies of large scale complex projects; drawing out factors shown to be especially potent at the preliminary stages. In particular, I discuss the importance of deciding the project goal(s) and success definitions, especially those beyond the physical structure; tackling the multi-headed Hydra of complexity; and early selection of competent procurement (contracting) processes. I explore resilience-building processes to curb optimism, learning from like-projects, and instilling a " mission-assurance " mindset. Lastly, I advocate an approach to risk management that goes beyond the traditional risk assessment models to help prepare project organisations against unexpected mishaps (Black Swans). Importantly, this paper newly captures a particular grouping of success precursors that require simultaneous attention specifically at the project initiation stage for maximum effect. The goal of this paper is to draw out the more subtle, often overlooked, aspects of complex mega-project management shown to be crucial at the start-up stages. I present strategies, practical approaches, and finally, proffer a project audit tool, readily applicable to large engineering projects. 2.0 Introduction/background Success and failure in projects is a topic frequently discussed among engineers and other project management (PM) practitioners. Similarly, public funded mega-scale projects especially are scrutinised for performance by funders, users, and the popular press. While a good number of notable mega-projects are delivered within acceptable parameters of time, budget and scope, many large complex projects-especially those underpinned by, or delivering, new technology-too often fail in

Megaprojects Galore: Advent of the Giants

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2022

The galore of megaprojects are evident globally, with the sharp rise in the investment directed towards large projects. As projectification is flattering to be a most acknowledged and accepted method of executing the requirements, so are the megaprojects. With organizations and countries executing their dreams and shine globally through megaprojects, the darker side is inevitable. The in executing megaprojects have sunk nations and turning century old organizations into bankruptcy. The paper gives with the insights of megaprojects, their evolution over the century and the current trends. The risks posed by the megaprojects as well as the opportunity it creates is narrated with references and benchmarks. The paper presents insights on the list of megaprojects that have had long lasting impact on many of the nations. The paper also answers on why megaprojects are still preferred despite the low success rate and concludes on the advancements that adds positivity to the megaproject practitioners and institutionalists.

Shaping complex mega-projects: practical steps for success

Mega-project success is difficult and often interpreted differently by different stakeholders. Too many large engineering/science projects fail in terms of budget, schedule and/or performance. Such failures have profound implications for the construction and commissioning organisations, the funders (often spending public money), and end users. Successful design and delivery is, therefore, not only a commercial necessity but also a societal imperative. In this paper, I focus on the inception, planning and feasibility phases of complex mega-projects, based on extant and updated research into the literature and case studies. I examine key success drivers from recent studies of large-scale high-technology projects, drawing out early stage factors shown to be especially potent. I discuss the importance of project goal(s) and success definitions; tackling complexity; and early selection of competent procurement processes. I explore resilience-building processes to curb optimism, learning from like projects, and a 'mission-assurance' mindset. Lastly, I advocate an approach to threat management beyond the traditional risk assessment models. This paper draws out the more subtle, often overlooked, aspects of complex mega-project management shown to be crucial at the start-up stages. The findings led to the development of a complex project audit tool now offered to readers.

Megaproject case studies: a stakeholder management perspective

2016

Megaprojects are projects characterized by significant investments attracting a high level of public attention or political interest because of substantial direct and indirect impacts on community, environment and budgets[1]. They are usually characterized by high technical, organizational and managerial complexity and involve a huge number of stakeholders with different interests [2]. The latter is one of the major challenge in megaproject management due to the complexity of stakeholders’ interrelationships and different interests. This paper presents an analysis on 20 megaproject case studies belonging to different sectors, such as the energy, the transports and public services. The purpose is to gather useful insights from the practice in order to understand better how to manage internal and external stakeholders in megaprojects. Keywords— Megaproject; stakeholder; project management; case study