‘What are the Causes and Cures of Poor Megaproject Performance?’
What are the ingredients of successful megaproject delivery? Research reveals the causes and solutions for poor megaproject performance
For the first time, academics from University College London and University of Sussex developed a systematic literature review of the causes and cures for poor megaproject performance.
The paper - What Are the Causes and Cures of Poor Megaproject Performance? A Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda - aims to understand the reasons why megaprojects often run over budget, over schedule, and fail to deliver their intended outcomes. Based on their findings, the research team has developed a research agenda to advance the successful delivery of megaprojects.
To develop their comprehensive review of the research available to date, Dr Juliano Denicol, Professor Andrew Davies and Dr Ilias Krystallis reviewed more than 6000 academic summaries, and analysed 86 papers in full.
Why do megaprojects fail?
The paper - published in Project Management Journal - identifies a number of causes of poor megaproject performance and suggest how they can be avoided. It had an overwhelming response after its publication, receiving so far over 7,700 downloads and ranked as the journal’s most read article of the past six months.
The study found that no isolated factor was responsible for failure in megaprojects, with a number of interrelated factors contributing equally to poor performance. The paper identifies six themes, which reveal 18 causes of poor performance and 54 solutions:
Decision-making behaviour
Strategy, governance and procurement
Risk and uncertainty
Leadership and capable teams
Stakeholder engagement and management
Supply chain integration and coordination
Mark Thurston, CEO of HS2 Ltd said:
“We at HS2 were pleased to contribute to what is an impressive and exhaustive piece of research into the world of mega projects, covering both the practical and academic arenas. But what is really crucial is it has concluded on some key themes that those of us who wrestle with these challenges every day, we can apply as a useful guide to help drive success, something that both the profession and wider society will benefit from”.
What are the next steps for megaproject management research?
The review suggests a research agenda with five avenues to advance the successful delivery of megaprojects:
Designing the system architecture
Bridging the gap with manufacturing
Building and leading collaborations
Engaging institutions and communities
Decomposing and integrating the supply chain
Lead researcher Dr Juliano Denicol, Lecturer in Project Management at UCL said:
"We have emphasised the solutions rather than problems, in an attempt to shape the academic conversation to a more positive discourse and connect with the needs of senior managers delivering megaprojects. We recommend to explore megaprojects as dynamic interorganisational systems - including stages of development, delivery, and operations - and identify strategies to design the architecture of the evolving system."
Professor Andrew Davies, Honorary Professor in the Management of Projects at UCL and Professor of Innovation Management at the University of Sussex, said:
"Despite some great research on optimism bias and inadequate front-end planning, we still don’t know why megaprojects fail to achieve their cost, time and quality objectives. This paper is one of the first studies to unpack what goes on inside the “black box” of megaproject delivery, recognising that successful performance depends on what happens during megaproject planning, execution and handover to operations."
This research was funded by the Project Management Institute (PMI), the leading professional membership organisation for people working in project, programme and portfolio management.
Read What are the causes and cures of poor megaproject performance? A systematic literature review and research agenda, published by Project Management Journal.
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