Projects die every day, often the victims of malpractice. When the Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS), Melbourne, Australia attempted to procure a state-of-the-art emergency dispatch and communication system, consultants delivered the project according to an aggressive two-year deadline. But within days, MAS was experiencing severe performance problems.The contract cost the service AU$38.7 million from 1994 to 1996—well above the original AU$32 million. Know more about this in ...

Case Analysis

Technical Success Overrides a weak business case in a Chinese high-speed train project. To travel at an amazing 430 km per hour (267 mph), go to Shanghai. Since the Transrapid Shanghai train began commercial operation in late December 2003, you can trek the 30 km (20 miles) from close to Shanghai’s business center to Pudong International Airport in under 8 minutes. Know more about the project construction of Transrapid Shangai, China's first commercial magnetic leviation rail in ...

Case Analysis

One of the most technically complex U.S. highway reconstruction projects promised $500 million in annual public gains. High hopes for Covisint couldn’t override the lack of strong stakeholder analysis and a feasible risk management plan. In 2000, the world’s three largest automakers, General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co.,and DaimlerChrysler AG, joined forces to create what became Covisint, a Southfield, Mich., USA-based joint venture charged with developing a platform for procuring automotive components online.Know more about this in ...

Case Analysis

Leaders of U.S. investigative agency fail to make IT top priority. For more than a decade, the FBI's experiences with IT have been plagued by budget overruns, slipped deadlines and devastating critiques from outside auditors. Tom Lynch, director of the Cato Institute's project, on criminal justice, told CNET News.com: “If there is a serious computer problem at the FBI, it’s simply been because it’s a low priority—not a lack of funding—as far as I can tell.” Know more about the Trilogy program, an initiative to overhaul the U.S. FBI’s IT infrastructure in ...

Case Analysis

One of the most technically complex U.S. highway reconstruction projects promised $500 million in annual public gains. But a $12 billion budget overrun and myriad technical challenges pose considerable questions on what the public really gained. THE BIG DIG, the popular name for the renowned Central Artery/Tunnel Project in Boston, Mass., USA, has been called one of the largest, most complex and technologically challenging highway projects in U.S. history. Know more about this in ...

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THE CITY OF VENICE, Italy, is one of the most charming and enchanting places in the world. Famous for its palazzi and canali, the city was built during the Medieval Age on 118 islands in a shallow lagoon. The water protected inhabitants from enemies, and its location made it a natural link between Eastern and Western cultures. Know more about a private consortium gets the Italian government’s go-ahead to solve Venice’s flooding troubles without considering alternatives in ...

Case Analysis