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. Lack of appropriate oversight. Ineffective governance, r...