An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. Right by taking the outside view, international journal of project management, vol. Often projects are led by planners and managers without deep domain experience who keep changing throughout the long project cycles that apply to megaprojects, leaving leadership weak. Like infrastructure is the great space shrinker, and power, wealth and status increasingly belong to those who know how to shrink space, or know how to benefit from space being shrunk. Edu delusion and deception in large infrastructure projects. This serves to illustrate what may be called the iron law of megaprojects. Moving beyond the purely analytic or technical, flyvbjerg compares the theoretical study of human activity with realworld situations and demonstrates how the social sciences can become relevant againinthemodernworld. Flyvbjerg argues that such projects consistently end up costing more with smaller benefits than projected and almost always end up with costs that exceed the benefits.
Isbn 9781845427375 link to full text available through this repo. An anatomy of ambition is a 2003 book by bent flyvbjerg, nils bruzelius, and werner rothengatter, published by cambridge university press. This paper takes stock of megaproject management, an emerging and hugely costly field of study, by first answering the question of how large megaprojects are by measuring them in the units of mega, giga, and tera, and concluding with how we are presently entering a new tera era of trillion. Flyvbjerg, five misunderstandings about casestudy research, 9. Nine out of ten transport projects, six out of ten energy projects, seven out of ten dams, five out of ten technology projects, and ten.
Taken together, the two books are intended to map out the best of what is worth reading in the megaproject management literature, past and present. Bent flyvbjerg, 2014, what you should know about megaprojects and why. Bent flyvbjerg argues that the strength of social sciences lies in its rich, reflexive analysis of values and power, essential to the social and economic development of any society. An overview bent flyvbjerg, oxford university, uk this controversial, yet profound, paper challenges the prevailing wisdom relevant to mega project management. The oxford handbook of megaproject management hardcover. Listed as most read article on the journals homepage. And bent flyvbjergs damning analysis concentrates on a series of financial nightmares that should bring even the most casual reader out in a sweat. The approach flyvbjerg suggests is called reference class forecasting. Flyvbjerg, bent, truth and lies about megaprojects september 1, 2007. Bent flyvbjerg argues that the strength of social science is in its rich, reflexive analysis of values and power, essential to the social and economic development of any society. He was previously professor of planning at aalborg university, denmark and chair of infrastructure policy and planning at delft university of technology, the netherlands. Powerfullyargued,withclearmethodological guidelines and practical examples, makingsocialsciencematter. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext.
To provide a critique of bent flyybjergs work that has high relevance to the pm literature. The danish research team, which found that routine underestimation of costs spans all continents, project types, and decades, concluded that the old, reliable excuses unforeseen technical. Two models for explaining and preventing executive disaster bent flyvbjerg massimo garbuio dan lovallo t he economist recently reported that infrastructure spending is the. Bent flyvbjerg, nils bruzelius, werner rothengatter. Flyvbjerg, bent 2008 public planning of megaprojects. Democracy in practice morality and society series new edition by flyvbjerg, bent isbn. An anatomy of ambition 2003 by bent flyvbjerg is a dry but interesting look at how expensive projects are chronically over budget, under utilised and delivered late. Bent flyvbjerg world bank policy research working paper 3781, december 2005 the policy research working paper series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. Bent flyvbjerg is the first bt professor and inaugural chair of major programme management at said business school and a professorial fellow of st annes college. Richly informed, powerfully argued, and clearly written, this book provides essential reading for. Getting decisions right by taking the outside view, papers 2. Truth and lies about megaprojects by bent flyvbjerg ssrn.
Iii flyvbjerg 2014a assembled the key historical texts in the field. What you should know about megaprojects pmi academic. The oxford handbook of megaproject management, by bent. Bent flyvbjerg explains his views on the need for strong strategic governance, an open and. Power blurs the dividing line between rationality and rationalization. Sunstein, 2016, the principle of the malevolent hiding hand. How inaccurate are demand forecasts in public works. What you should know about megaprojects pmi academic summary. Flyvbjerg, bent, priemus, hugo and van wee, bert, eds. Professor flyvbjergs research focuses on the better management of megaprojects, including the olympic games, and cities. The seattle project neatly corroborates flyvbjergs findings. Wheeler, this book makes an important contribution to understanding the infrastructure development process. According to chief economist and director of transportation policy at infrastructure management group, inc.
Pdf as megaprojects have become ubiquitous, their real benefits and costs have come. Managing mega projects content mega projects definition mega projects challenges driving and executing mega projects to success. The result is a rationality that is often as imaginary as the time in little town, yet with very real social and environmental consequences. In mid2008, the economist called current spending on infrastructure the biggest investment boom in history the economist, 7 june 2008, p. Schar school of policy and government, george mason university, fairfax, va, usa. Pdf five misunderstandings about casestudy research. The case of transportation bent flyvbjerg, mette k. It is now due to be completed at the end of 2017, two years behind schedule, and berthas delays have only added to the steadily. Delusion and deception in large infrastructure projects. Quality control and due diligence in project management. He is the most cited scholar in the world in megaproject planning and management. Spending was the largest it had ever been as a share of world gdp.
Bent flyvbjerg of oxford university speaks with econtalk host russ roberts about the political economy of megaprojectsmassive investments of a billion dollars or more in infrastructure or technology. Comparison of capital costs per routekilometre in urban rail, papers 3. He works for better management of megaprojects and cities. Buhl d espite the enormous sums of money being spent on transportation infrastructure, surprisingly little systematic knowledge exists about the costs, bene. Richly informed, powerfully argued, and clearly written, this book opens up a new future for the social sciences.
A summary of five misunderstandings about casestudy research by bent flyvbjerg posted on march 16, 2014 by alexanderepdawson flyvbergs article from 2006 is an investigation into five misunderstandings often perceived when looking at case studies as a method of research. Regarding risks of cost escalation, the prospectus read the. Bent flyvbjerg ten characteristics of megaprojects. Bent flyvbjerg, university of oxford, said business school, faculty member. The oxford handbook of megaproject management, by flyvbjerg, bent oxford university press, oxford, 2017, pp. The oxford handbook of megaproject management provides stateoftheart scholarship in the emerging field of megaproject management. The oxford handbook of megaproject management has been designed to provide the most important contemporary readings. Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate.
Flyvbjergs team has concluded that, most likely, lies are at the heart of the worldwide problem of cost underestimation on transportation projects. Bent flyvbjerg, the leading and most cited authority in the field, has used crowdsourcing and 25 years of experience to cherrypick from several hundred articles and books the writings. Bent flyvbjerg is the first bt professor and inaugural chair of major programme management at oxford. They do not necessarily represent the view of the world bank, its executive directors, or the countries they represent. Power and project management an appreciation stewart clegg, centre for management and organization studies, university of technology, sydney. An overview bent flyvbjerg, said business school, oxford university, oxford, united kingdom mega, giga, tera.
Our research documents that projects across industries and geographies struggle to meet the most basic targets. Bt professor and chair of major programme management, said business school. Studies social sciences, management, and project management. Bent flyvbjerg, mette skamris holm, and soren buhl, underestimating. Megaprojects are inherently risky due to long planning horizons and complex interfaces. Bent also writes about the philosophy and methodology of social science. Paper listed as the most read and most cited, 2006. Previously, he was professor in the department of planning and development at aalborg university. The oxford handbook of megaproject management edited by. Megaproject management, by bent flyvbjerg home facebook. This page is for people who want to be on the cutting edge of megaproject planning and management, curated by professor bent flyvbjerg, oxford. He is the author of the highly successful making social science matter.
Mega project definition a mega project is an extremely largescale investment project. Bent flyvbjerg professor and founding chair of major programme management said business school oxford university draft 9. When the fiscal crisis deepened and became global during the autumn to winter of 20089, this could have ended the infrastructure boom, as banks and capital. So according to bent flyvbjerg the specific characteristics of each megaproject are rather irrelevant, and the overbudget delay is explained by the stakeholders attitude toward the project.
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