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It is a fact that megaprojects
can be complex and difficult to complete in so many ways, but still, they are
the reality of modern world and project management processes. The megaprojects
provide the future outlook so they have to be constructed; even they are
complex and hard to manage. The fact of the matter is that megaprojects needs a
lot of planning and thinking to stay on the right track, otherwise the project
management process can face a lot of issues and challenges, which may even play
their part in failure of a megaproject. It is important to understand that
megaproject’s failure is never an option, because loss with failure of such
projects is too big to handle. So, regardless of megaprojects challenges as
well as paradox, they have to be completed somehow, so that process can move
on, and revenue could be earned to recover losses. The megaprojects paradox
explains the fact that when megaprojects are not well planned with a proper
strategy, then problems could be many like project management team may
underestimate the costs like project management team may have to double the
actual costs of the project as compared to the initial estimated costs. The
other big challenge that comes with mega projects is that project management
teams overestimate benefits like in case of any project, which will earn
revenues, the project management team may estimate to earn some amount, and
when project actually goes live, it may not even be able to earn half of those revenues,
which means that benefits were wrongly overestimated
It is important to understand the
fact that project management is not an easy process to handle as it can be
complex in so many ways. There are certain goals and objectives to be met by a
project management process such as providing improved products and services, improving
customers’ experiences and services etc. The most difficult part of project
management especially handling megaprojects is that project management team not
only has to complete it within given timeline, but also within given budget as
well. If timeline is not met, then it automatically means that more time is
going to ask for increased costs other than the estimated budget. The project
management process is the systematic one, which asks for doing things with
certain strategy, pattern and planning. If project is not well thought out then
it is extremely less likely that it will meet its deadline of costs and time. There
are lots of requirements to keep in view while managing a project such as
knowledge, experience, skills, and planning as well as adequate resources. If
these requirements are not met like if project team does not have experience
and relevant skills to manage a project, then success could not be achieved. The
major purpose of the project management process is to get the job done; even
there are difficulties and challenges. The project management teams have to
complete projects by using various project management techniques, and each technique
can have its own pros and cons.
There are many megaprojects
around the world, which have been completed regardless of their complexity,
scope and problems. One of such megaprojects was “The London Eye”, which was successfully
completed. It is vital to mention here that the London Eye also has few other
names as well like the Millennium Wheel, Ferris Wheel or the Observation Wheel.
This observation wheel is located at River Thames’s South Bank in London. It
has been observed that the London Eye has been one of the greatest tourists’ attractions
in London, as people from all over the world use to visit this place to enjoy
the beauty and ride of the London Eye. The architecture of this megaproject was
designed by Julia Barfield and David Marks. In 1998, the construction of this
megaproject was started and it was completed in 1999. Until 2006, it was one of
the world’s tallest observation wheels, as it was beaten in this regard by
Chinese Star of Nanchang. The overall height of this wheel is measured as 135
meters, and its overall diameter is measured as 120 meters. The total number of
capsules for people to ride is 32, and each capsule has the capacity to adjust
25 people. It is important to describe the fact that project was majorly funded
by the British Airways
The Project Goal and Success Measures of Managing Complex Projects,
Products and Systems the Megaprojects Paradox,
It has already been mentioned
that the London Eye Project was one of the megaprojects in London as its scale
was huge in terms of tourism. The project was not a simple one to manage;
rather it had so many elements to look at as it was complex in nature. It was
important for the project management team to makes sure that they develop a
proper strategy and plan to carry out this project in right direction. One
mistake and wrong estimation could have been damaging in so many ways. The
design & build basis structure was used in this project, so the
construction contract was given to one firm named Mace, a management
contractor. It was responsibility of the Mace they not only separate prepare
the plan for project, but also separate different contracts and coordinate the
whole project until its completion. The project asserted from its start that it
will focus on the essence of collaboration, enthusiasm, and partnership between
contractors, so that they all work collectively to achieve the common goal.
The Project’s Web of Managing Complex Projects, Products and Systems
the Megaprojects Paradox,
It is mentioned earlier that Mace
was the main contractor of this project, and further separation of contracts
was their responsibility. So Mace did so with good strategy by separating
contracts to various other companies and contractors to make sure that project
is efficiently managed with its given time line and budget. The design
responsibility was given to Hollandia, a Dutch steelwork contractor; who was
also given the task to not only design, but also fabricate the drive system and
superstructure of the wheel. The next contract was given to control the overall
system as well as managing the capsules to be attached with the London Eye. So,
this contract was given to French Company named Poma, who had the
responsibility to control the overall system as well as system of capsules. This
contract was given to the French company because they had expertise in managing
ski lifts and cable cars, and have completed such kind of projects. The river
work along with the foundation was wheel was another major project task to be
designated to any subcontractor, and for this purpose, Tilbury Douglas was
used, which was an English contractor. The major portion of the fund was
provided by British Airways and six European countries also made their
contribution in this big project. It is necessary to mention here that primary
technical role was handled by Marks and Barfield, who kept their input on style
as well as appearance of the wheel. Both were the main designers and architects
of this huge project being completed in London. The independent checking
engineer’s role was handled by Babtie Allott and Lomax, as they were the main
consulting engineers
The Project’s Organization and Structure of Managing Complex Projects,
Products and Systems the Megaprojects Paradox,
It has been mentioned above that
project was started in 1998. It is necessary to explain other structure and
organization of the project that how and when it was going to be completed. The
goal was set that project would be completed before the eve of New Year 1999. The
project was as huge in so many ways as it was one of its kinds, which had never
been built on the bank of a river. So, lot of planning and organization was
needed to make its structure a proper one. The total number of professionals,
who tirelessly worked on this project, was 1700, who tried their hard to
complete this project within time and budget. The project was organized by its
architects and funding was provided by British Airways. The project was given
to a main contractor, who separated various contracts to different other
subcontractors, as it was one of the megaprojects, which needed input from
various resources, because one company or resource could not have completed it
on their own
The facts from the project have
explained that project was to be completed in 16 months. This dedicated
timetable was given to complete the project, where tasks and responsibility
were properly organized and structured. For instance, the first two months of
the project were to be solving any kind of technical issues and problems so
that thing can move forward with right approach. It is essential to explain the
fact that there were few issues and conflicts faced by the project, but
overall, it was a successful project, which almost met its actual set goals and
objectives. The things cannot go easy in any of such projects because a project
management team has to take care of so many complex elements of a project. It
was not easy to organize this project with so many contractors, as it is hard
to keep all the stakeholders on the one page, where each contractor had its
individual goals to achieve. So, it was extremely a complex and tough task to
keep them on the same page, working for a common goal.
The project planning, management
as well as scheduling is always a key factor for success or failure of the
project. If project management team has the skills and experience to manage
such complex projects, then they come up with appropriate planning and strategy
so that things are done as per given plan. It is a well-known part of this
project that it was not only time constrained, but also a budget constrained
project. However, when the project was completed, it revealed that its costs
were more than £70m, whereas initial estimated costs were not to go up to that
level. In these kinds of complex and megaprojects, the average cost was
exceeded by the London Eye Project. But important point to be noted is that
project was going to build the largest observation wheel in the world, so
exceeded costs were not that much an issues, as it used to be in many other projects.
Moreover, average time to complete such projects was around 2 years, but this
project was completed in 16 months’ time, which showed the dedication and
commitment of its project management team, that their project strategy was good
enough to complete it within time. Such projects are very complex to be
completed with set time and budget as various internal and external factors do
make a huge impact on these projects. Still, its successful completion in 16
months showed that project was well structured and organized by its project
management team
The Project’s Stakeholders of Managing Complex Projects, Products and
Systems the Megaprojects Paradox,
It is a fact that a project has various
stakeholders and they have to be kept in mind, while a project is being
implemented. Both internal and external stakeholders are important for the
completion and success of the project, and their concerns should be kept in
view. It is important to mention that stakeholders of this project were
suppliers, contractors, and customers/tourists. The people of London were also
one of the important stakeholders as this was being built in their city. Tis
megaproject was going to make a huge impact on the life and economy of London
in different manners. It opening has attracted tourists around the world, which
boosted the economy as well as tourism activity of the city, and more bars and restaurants
were opened to facilitate the tourists. It is vital to look at some numbers in
recent times to see that how project has been successful since its completion. According
to recent statistics, it was revealed that each year, the London Eye is visited
by 3.5m tourists from all around the world, which is a huge number for a single
tourist attraction
The Dimension of Project’s Success of Managing Complex Projects,
Products and Systems the Megaprojects Paradox,
The meaning of project success
can be different for various projects, like one project may be considered
successful because it was completed within time as time was its most important
element for different reasons. But there can be projects, which can be
considered successful for various other factors such as meeting their quality
and budget etc. It means that there can be different dimensions to measure the
success of a project. In this paper, overall overview has been taken so for
about the London Eye project, which was completed in 2000 within 16 months
record time. In this project, there can be various other dimensions to look at
but one thing as absolute in this project that it was one of the largest wheels
of that time and its quality and completion was more important than its overrunning
costs, so project can be considered a successful one. It can also be considered
a successful one, because when such complex, high tech megaprojects are
initiated, they are extremely hard to be completed with great quality and
efficiency. This mega project was completed successfully in time, which shows
that it was overall a successful one. Earlier, it was said that different dimensions
can be sued to measure the project success such as project’s efficiency, impact
on team, direct business success, impact on customers as well as preparing for
the future
The Project’s Efficiency of Managing Complex Projects, Products and
Systems the Megaprojects Paradox,
There are two major elements to
measure the efficiency of a project. The first thing is its given timeline, and
second thing is its allocated budget. These two elements are extremely crucial
to describe the fact that how well organized and planned a project has been,
and how its strategy was formulated with correct measures for its successful completion.
The successful implementation as well as execution of the project is measured
by these two critical elements. Now, when these two elements are measured for
“the London Eye” project, it is quite evident that in term of its time limit,
the project on its mark by completing it within given timeline. But the other
crucial element was allocated budget, which was exceeded by the project, and it
incurred more costs than its estimated budget. However, other than budget, the
relevant other efficiencies were also on their mark, so it can be said that in
overall terms, “the London Eye” project was an efficient one.
Impact on the Customers of Managing Complex Projects, Products and
Systems the Megaprojects Paradox,
In this dimension of measuring
success of a project, the most crucial element is meeting expectations of
customers to satisfy their needs. To measure this success element, it is
important to look at number of visitors, who have been visiting the observation
wheel. It was observed by looking at the numbers for its year after completion
that it exceeded the forecasted number of visitors, which clearly shows that
project was extremely successful in making a viable impact on its customers. It
was great to see that customers/visitors from all over the world were taking
more interest in this project. The project’s great success continued in making
a viable impact on customers by attracting tourists from all parts of the
world. In 2005, Ultimate Destinations poll was handled to find out that what is
the biggest attraction of customers around the world, and results from the poll
revealed that people choose “the London Eye” as the best tourist attraction
beating various other landmarks such as leaning tower of Pisa, the Statue of
Liberty as well as the Eiffel Tower
The Business and Direct Success of Managing Complex Projects, Products
and Systems the Megaprojects Paradox,
The business and its success can
be measured through various elements such as its ROI, revenues, profits etc. The
most private organization exists to earn profits so it is quite important for
them to look at numbers in terms of profits. It has been observed that each
year, 3.5m visitors have been visiting the London Eye, but still, it has not
been a profitable project, and there are various reasons behind it. The primary
reason for not generating enough profits is the loan and its huge interest,
which is being paid to British Airways, who primarily funded this project. It
was observed that in first year, the London Eye has to bear a loss of £8m. The
operating profits earned by the London Eye after first ten months was £5.46m,
but the interest paid for the loan for this period was £8m, which was more than
the profits earned. The London Eye borrowed an amount of £68.5m, and they have
to return it back to British Airways with huge interest level. It means that in
this success measure, the project has not been so successful
Preparation for the Future of Managing Complex Projects, Products and
Systems the Megaprojects Paradox,
The project has to be well
prepared for the future in terms of its innovation, services and technology so
that the organization can look for more revenues and profits in the future. When
this success measure is analyzed for the London Eye, it is very much evident
that project was built with a design and innovation keeping the future in mind.
That’s why it has been one of the modern and recent important attractions for tourists
to visit London, and have an experience of this wonderful Observation Wheel. Keeping
this fact in view, it can be said that project was good enough with its
relevant characteristics, which would sustain its business for long term in the
future with little changes in marketing and other strategies.
Conclusion on Managing Complex Projects, Products and Systems the
Megaprojects Paradox
After analyzing the case study of
“the London Eye” megaproject, it can be said that overall, the project was a
complex one, as it has so many high level requirements with 16 months’ time constraint
as well. But still, it was built within 16 months and started its operations in
2000. The overall project did face the project paradox in terms of wrongly estimating
the budget and costs as its overall budget was exceed by the actual dedicated
budget. Moreover, its estimation for benefits was also not up to the mark as
project has not been generating enough profits. But still, it can be said by
analyzing different elements that project was not a failure, and it can be
considered s successful project in so many different ways.
References of Managing Complex Projects, Products and Systems the
Megaprojects Paradox
FREng, Dr John Roberts. The Wheel: The British
Airways London Eye. 2000. 12 May 2019. <https://www.ingenia.org.uk/Ingenia/Articles/99325e93-3d16-4980-9a7a-c48f2aa44b47>.
Lewis,
Robert. London Eye. 2018. 12 May 2019.
<https://www.britannica.com/place/London-Eye>.
Shenhar,
Aaron J., et al. "Project Success: A Multidimensional Strategic Concept."
Long Range Planning 34 (2001): 699–725.
Shibli,
Abdullah. The megaproject paradox. 2018. 12 May 2019.
<https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/economics/the-megaproject-paradox-1529362>.
Akbar,
Arifa . London Eye on top of the world as it becomes best tourist
attraction. 2005. 12 May 2019.
<https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/london-eye-on-top-of-the-world-as-it-becomes-best-tourist-attraction-7907425.html>.
Free
Tours by Foot. Visit the London Eye. 2019. 12 May 2019.
<https://freetoursbyfoot.com/london-eye-tickets/>.
HILL,
MIRANDA . The History Of The London Eye In 1 Minute. 2018. 12 May
2019. <https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/the-history-of-the-london-eye-in-1-minute/>.
LIVE-INDIES.
Project management example: The London Eye. 2016. 12 May 2019.
<https://live-indies.com/project-management-example-the-london-eye-3835/>.
Reece,
Damian . London Eye is turning at a loss. 2001. 13 May 2019.
<https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2717120/London-Eye-is-turning-at-a-loss.html>.
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