Topic
Megaproject
About: Megaproject is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 617 publications have been published within this topic receiving 9854 citations. The topic is also known as: infrastructure project & infrastructure megaproject.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors take stock of megaproject management, an emerging and hugely costly field of study, and conclude that we are presently entering a new "tera era" of trillion-dollar projects.
Abstract: This paper takes stock of megaproject management, an emerging and hugely costly field of study. First, it answers the question of how large megaprojects are by measuring them in the units mega, giga, and tera, concluding we are presently entering a new "tera era" of trillion-dollar projects. Second, total global megaproject spending is assessed, at USD 6-9 trillion annually, or 8 percent of total global GDP, which denotes the biggest investment boom in human history. Third, four "sublimes" - political, technological, economic, and aesthetic - are identified to explain the increased size and frequency of megaprojects. Fourth, the "iron law of megaprojects" is laid out and documented: Over budget, over time, over and over again. Moreover, the "break-fix model" of megaproject management is introduced as an explanation of the iron law. Fifth, Albert O. Hirschman's theory of the Hiding Hand is revisited and critiqued as unfounded and corrupting for megaproject thinking in both the academy and policy. Sixth, it is shown how megaprojects are systematically subject to "survival of the unfittest," explaining why the worst projects get built instead of the best. Finally, it is argued that the conventional way of managing megaprojects has reached a "tension point," where tradition is challenged and reform is emerging.
925 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors take stock of megaproject management, an emerging and hugely costly field of study, and conclude that we are presently entering a new "tera era" of trillion-dollar projects.
Abstract: This paper takes stock of megaproject management, an emerging and hugely costly field of study. First, it answers the question of how large megaprojects are by measuring them in the units mega, giga, and tera, concluding we are presently entering a new "tera era" of trillion-dollar projects. Second, total global megaproject spending is assessed, at USD 6-9 trillion annually, or 8 percent of total global GDP, which denotes the biggest investment boom in human history. Third, four "sublimes" – political, technological, economic, and aesthetic – are identified to explain the increased size and frequency of megaprojects. Fourth, the "iron law of megaprojects" is laid out and documented: Over budget, over time, over and over again. Moreover, the "break-fix model" of megaproject management is introduced as an explanation of the iron law. Fifth, Albert O. Hirschman's theory of the Hiding Hand is revisited and critiqued as unfounded and corrupting for megaproject thinking in both the academy and policy. Sixth, it is shown how megaprojects are systematically subject to "survival of the unfittest," explaining why the worst projects get built instead of the best. Finally, it is argued that the conventional way of managing megaprojects has reached a "tension point," where tradition is challenged and reform is emerging.
858 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate whether benefits of new dams will outweigh costs and find that budgets are systematically biased below actual costs of large hydropower dams, including inflation, substantial debt servicing, environmental, and social costs.
599 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a benign and theoretically-grounded view on what goes wrong by comparing the project designs, daily practices, project cultures and management approaches of two recent megaprojects in The Netherlands and Australia, showing how these projects made sense of uncertainty, ambiguity and risk.
402 citations
Book•
31 Mar 2011
TL;DR: Why Megaprojects Fail So Often: Seven Key Mistakes is a guide to making the Right Business Decisions Before You Commit and how to Focus on Success.
Abstract: Foreword JAMES B. PORTER, JR. vii Acknowledgments xi Introduction Why Megaprojects Fail So Often: Seven Key Mistakes 1 Part One Understanding the Projects Chapter 1 Megaprojects Creators and Destroyers of Capital 11 Chapter 2 Data and Methods 23 Chapter 3 Project Outcomes 37 Part Two Making the Right Business Decisions Before You Commit Chapter 4 The Opportunity-Shaping Process 53 Chapter 5 Devising the Shaping Strategy 91 Chapter 6 Megaprojects and Co rporate Governance 123 Part Three Making the Right Project Decisions Chapter 7 Basic Data Are Basic: Get Them Right Before You Start to Design 137 Chapter 8 Megaproject Teams: People Do Projects 159 Chapter 9 Organizing Megaproject Teams 185 Chapter 10 Project Defi nition: Getting the Front End Right 199 Chapter 11 Contracting 253 Chapter 12 The Control of Execution Risk 305 Chapter 13 Focus on Success 333 Glossary and Abbreviations 341 Notes 343 Index 347
256 citations