Project Recovery

HAROLD KERZNER, Ph.D., is a global leader in project management and Senior Executive Director at International Institute for Learning, Inc. Dr. Kerzner has instructed over 200,000 professionals in his successful "Kerzner Approach" to project management excellence. The Kerzner Scholarship Endowment Fund and the Kerzner Project Management Award are managed by the PMI Educational Foundation.

• 1 Understanding Success and Failure 11.0 Introduction 11.1 Success: Historical Perspective 21.2 Early Modifications to Triple Constraints 31.3 Primary and Secondary CONSTRAINTS 41.4 Prioritization of Constraints 61.5 From Triple Constraints to Competing Constraints 61.6 Future Definitions of Project Success 81.7 Different Definitions of Project Success 111.8 Understanding Project Failure 121.9 Degrees of Project Failure 131.10 Other Categories of Project Failure 161.11 Summary of Lessons Learned 172 Causes of Project Failure 192.0 Introduction 192.1 Facts about Project Failure 192.2 Causes of Project Failure 202.3 Schedule Failure 222.4 Failures due to Unknown Technology 232.5 Project Size and Success/Failure Risk 242.6 Failure due to Improper Critical Failure Factors 252.7 Failure to Establish Tracking Metrics 262.8 Failing to Recognize Early Warning Signs 262.9 Improper Selection of Critical Team Members 272.10 Uncertain Rewards 292.11 Estimating Failures 312.12 Staffing Failures 322.13 Planning Failures 342.14 Risk Management Failures 362.15 Management Mistakes 372.16 Lacking Sufficient Tools 382.17 Failure of Success 392.18 Motivation to Fail 412.19 Tradeoff Failures 422.20 Summary of Lessons Learned 433 Business Case Failure 453.0 Introduction 453.1 Changing Stakeholders 453.2 Revalidation of Assumptions 463.3 Managing Innovation 473.4 Examples of Changing Business Cases 483.5 PROLOGUE TO THE Iridium Case Study 523.6 Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Iridium 52Naming the Project “Iridium” 55Obtaining Executive Support 55Launching the Venture 56Iridium System 58Terrestial and Space-Based Network 58Project Initiation: Developing Business Case 59“Hidden” Business Case 61Risk Management 61Collective Belief 63Iridium’s Infancy Years 64Debt Financing 67M-Star Project 68A New CEO 69Project Management at Motorola (Iridium) 69Satellite Launches 70Initial Public Offering (IPO) 71Signing Up Customers 71Iridium’s Rapid Ascent 72Iridium’s Rapid Descent 74Iridium “Flu” 78Definition of Failure (October 1999) 793.7 Summary of Lessons Learned 844 Sponsorship/Governance Failures 874.0 Introduction 874.1 Defining Project Governance 884.2 Project versus Corporate Governance 884.3 Roles, Responsibilities and Decision-Making Authority 904.4 Governance Frameworks 914.5 Governance Failures 934.6 Why Projects Are Hard to Kill 944.7 Collective Belief 964.8 Exit Champion 974.9 When to Give Up 984.10 Prologue to the Denver International Airport Case Study 1014.11 Denver International Airport 101Background 101Airports and Airline Deregulation 102Does Denver Need a New Airport? 103Enplaned Passenger Market 108Land Selection 109Front Range Airport 109Airport Design 110Project Management 112Baggage-Handling System 114Early Risk Analysis 115March 1991 115April 1991 116May 1991 116August 1991 117November 1991 117December 1991 118January 1992 118June 1992 118September 1992 119October 1992 119March 1993 119August 1993 120September 1993 120October 1993 121January 1994 121February 1994 121March 1994 121April 1994 122May 1994 122June 1994 123July 1994 124August 1994 124September 1994 127October 1994 128November 1994 128December 1994 130Airline Costs per Enplaned Passenger 131February 28, 1995 132Appendix A 133Introduction 133Agreement between United and the City 134Appendix B Jokes about the Abbreviation DIA 1384.12 Denver International Airport Baggage- Handling System: Illustration of Ineffective Decision Making 142Synopsis 142Background 142System at a Glance 142Chronology of Events 143Basic Mode of Failure 145Key Decisions That Led to Disaster 145Other Failure Points 151Conclusion 1524.13 Summary of Lessons Learned 1535 Project Politics and Failure 1555.0 Introduction 1555.1 Political Risks 1565.2 R easons for Playing Politics 1565.3 Situations Where Political Games Will Occur 1575.4 Governance Committee 1585.5 Friends and Foes 1595.6 A ttack or Retreat 1595.7 N eed for Effective Communications 1615.8 Power and Influence 1625.9 Managing Project Politics 1635.10 Prologue to the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Case Study 1635.11 Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster 164Background to Space Transportation System 166NASA Succumbs to Politics and Pressure 167Solid Rocket Boosters 169Blowholes 171O-Ring Erosion 173Joint Rotation 173O-Ring Resilience 174External Tank 175Spare Parts Problem 175Risk Identification Procedures 175Teleconferencing 176Paperwork Constraints 176Politics and O-Rings 178Issuing Waivers 178Launch Liftoff Sequence Profile: Possible Aborts 180O-Ring Problem 184Pressure, Paperwork and Waivers 189Mission 51-L 191Second Teleconference 194Ice Problem 199The Accident 202NASA and Media 205Findings of Commission 205Chain-of-Command Communication Failure 209Epilogue 210Potential Cover-Up 211Senate Hearing 2135.12 Summary of Lessons Learned 2146 Software Failures 2176.0 Introduction 2176.1 IT’s Biggest Failures 217IBM’s Stretch Project 217Knight-Ridder’s Viewtron Service 218DMV Projects—California and Washington 218Apple’s Copland Operating System 219Sainsbury’s Warehouse Automation 220Canada’s Gun Registration System 220Three Current Projects in Danger 2216.2 Software Bugs 2226.3 Causes of Failure in Software Projects 2246.4 Large-Scale IT Failure 225Reader ROI 225Out with the Old 227Seeds of Failure 228Early Warnings 230Call for Help 2326.5 W orst Possible Failure: FoxMeyer Drugs 234Case Study: FoxMeyer Drugs’ Bankruptcy: Was It a Failure of ERP? 2356.6 L ondon Heathrow Terminal 239History 240Construction 240Main Terminal Building 241Satellite Terminal Buildings 241New Heathrow Control Tower 242Opening Day 2426.7 Summary of Lessons Learned 2437 Safety Considerations 2457.0 Importance of Safety 2457.1 Boeing 787 Dreamliner Battery Problems 2457.2 Airbus A380 Problems 250Configurations 251Brief History 2517.3 Summary of Lessons Learned 2558 Scope Creep 2578.0 Understanding Scope Creep 2578.1 Creeping Failure 2588.2 Defining Scope 2598.3 Scope Creep Dependencies 2618.4 C auses of Scope Creep 2618.5 N eed for Business Knowledge 2638.6 W ays to Minimize Scope Creep 2638.7 Sydney Opera House 265Performance Venues and Facilities 266Construction History 2678.8 Summary of Lessons Learned 2739 Project Health Checks 2759.0 Need for Project Health Checks 2759.1 Understanding Project Health Checks 2769.2 Who Performs Health Checks? 2789.3 Health Check Life-Cycle Phases 2789.4 Project Management Failure Warning Signs 279“Instant Amnesia” and “Da Nial Ain’t In Egypt” 280Project Cost 280The Lone Ranger Rides Again! 281No Sale! 281Arrogance Rules! 2822 + 2 = 17! 282Mao Didn’t Have the Only “Long March” 283What Risk? There’s No Risk Here! 283Where’s Your Project Plan? 284I’ll Take a Booth without a Cell Phone! 284Don’t Bother Me with Details! 284What Layoffs? 285The Out-of-Towner Speaks: Distance Means Credibility 285Disclaimer 2869.5 Summary of Lessons Learned 28610 Techniques for Recovering Failing Projects 28910.0 Understanding Troubled Projects 28910.1 Root Causes of Failure 29010.2 Definition Phase 29210.3 Early Warning Signs of Trouble 29210.4 Selecting Recovery Project Manager (RPM) 29410.5 Recovery Life-Cycle Phases 29510.6 Understanding Phase 29510.7 Audit Phase 29610.8 Tradeoff Phase 29810.9 Negotiation Phase 30010.10 Restart Phase 30010.11 E xecution Phase 30110.12 Project Recovery versus Project Rescue 30210.13 R ecovery Decision 30210.14 Summary of Lessons Learned 304Index 309