High technology project derailed by project management skills
This week has seen widespread coverage of the former BBC Director General, Mark Thompson, being interviewed by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the failure to deliver the Digital Media Initiative (DMI). Apart from the detail of the report from PwC what is staggering are the costs associated with this project.
Project budget spent - £100m
Project failure report - £263k
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) salary, who has ben suspended on full pay - £280k
This doesn't include the cost of the PAC and the costs associated with bringing Mark Thompson back to the UK. What must not be forgotten is that all of the money detailed is public money; obtained either through the TV licence fee in the case of the costs listed above or via taxation in the case of the PAC. Putting aside the gargantuan costs being suffered by the public purse the report has some salient project management reminders.
These issues contributed to delays, overspends and an output that wasn't fit for purpose. The three core project management tenets of cost, time and conformance to specification were failed in the DMI project. Clearly there is a very strong lesson for both the BBC and central government that the cost of initiating robust project management is significantly cheaper than abject failure as highlighted in the findings of this project report. Instigating a robust project management regime with effective managers will cost significantly less than the pay off the CTO will receive.
Interestingly the Guardian carries a line that the swift closure of the project (once the total extent of the problems were highlighted) has resulted in a situation that is less effective than its predecessor. The closure of the project, with incomplete objectives, will lead to the loss of jobs and a worse system. Again decision making in the organisation is seen as poor; closing down the project without a viable alternative and a system worse than the one it was planned to replace seems to add insult to injury.
Whilst this sorry story highlights the failings in a bureaucratic and unaccountable body the real question is "What are the managers of the BBC and politicians going to do about this?"
The articles in the Independent and Guardian covers the story well and are well worth reading.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/former-bbc-boss-mark-thompson-to-face-mps-again-over-report-into-failed-100m-digital-project-9013683.html
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/dec/17/bbc-failings-report-digital-media-initiative
Project budget spent - £100m
Project failure report - £263k
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) salary, who has ben suspended on full pay - £280k
This doesn't include the cost of the PAC and the costs associated with bringing Mark Thompson back to the UK. What must not be forgotten is that all of the money detailed is public money; obtained either through the TV licence fee in the case of the costs listed above or via taxation in the case of the PAC. Putting aside the gargantuan costs being suffered by the public purse the report has some salient project management reminders.
- Lack of appropriate oversight.
- Ineffective governance, risk management and reporting
- Lack of effective reporting
These issues contributed to delays, overspends and an output that wasn't fit for purpose. The three core project management tenets of cost, time and conformance to specification were failed in the DMI project. Clearly there is a very strong lesson for both the BBC and central government that the cost of initiating robust project management is significantly cheaper than abject failure as highlighted in the findings of this project report. Instigating a robust project management regime with effective managers will cost significantly less than the pay off the CTO will receive.
Interestingly the Guardian carries a line that the swift closure of the project (once the total extent of the problems were highlighted) has resulted in a situation that is less effective than its predecessor. The closure of the project, with incomplete objectives, will lead to the loss of jobs and a worse system. Again decision making in the organisation is seen as poor; closing down the project without a viable alternative and a system worse than the one it was planned to replace seems to add insult to injury.
Whilst this sorry story highlights the failings in a bureaucratic and unaccountable body the real question is "What are the managers of the BBC and politicians going to do about this?"
The articles in the Independent and Guardian covers the story well and are well worth reading.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/former-bbc-boss-mark-thompson-to-face-mps-again-over-report-into-failed-100m-digital-project-9013683.html
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/dec/17/bbc-failings-report-digital-media-initiative
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