How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration

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Adam Boddison, APM chief executive, meets Mark Thurston, CEO of Europe’s largest infrastructure project, HS2. The pair discuss the evolution of the project profession, areas for growth and the pressures associated with managing an era-defining megaproject. Nothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant, new reality. Think of how the Empire State Building went from a sketch to the jewel of New York’s skyline in twenty-one months, or how Apple’s iPod went from a project with a single employee to a product launch in eleven months. There is an excellent section on using the cost of similar projects to get a base rate cost and also to see what proportion of similar projects go over budget by and how much they go over budget by. Pixar planning”: use low stakes pilot tests and high resolution models to get all the details right.

Megaproject expert Professor Bent Flyvbjerg’s new book, How Big Things Get Done: The surprising factors behind every successful project, from home renovations to space exploration, digs deep into what makes major projects a success and how these factors can be replicated across any project, no matter what size. Think slow, act fast Rarely a book can bring some aha moments. This one delivered so many! Definitely exceeded my expectations. The APM Podcast covers discussions and insights on the latest project management topics. Browse our podcasts below and listen for FREE today. The APM Podcast is available on Anchor, Spotify, Apple and Google podcasts. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.Understanding what distinguishes the triumphs from the failures has been the life’s work of Oxford professor Bent Flyvbjerg. In How Big Things Get Done, he identifies the errors that lead projects to fail, and the research-based principles that will make yours succeed:

Emma meets Belinda Parmar, founder and CEO of The Empathy Business, who was also the keynote speaker at APM’s Women in Project Management Conference in September. Author's insights are very helpful whether you're building the next big project, thinking about that "small” home remodelling job, developing a Hollywood movie, or simply undertaking anything that you think will cost X dollars and take Y time but has potential for spiralling out of control on both fronts. The secrets to successfully planning and delivering projects on any scale—from home renovation to space exploration—by the world’s leading expert on megaprojects.

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I had some quibbles here and there on details. Eg, in discussing risk management the analysis suggests that the probability of any one of a set of independent events occurring is the sum of probabilities for each event, but this is of course incorrect. Over-budget and over-schedule is an inevitability. Incompetence and grift is outrageous. Bent Flyvbjerg, with this terrific data-driven book, has shown that there is another way.”—Frank Gehry Let our global subject matter experts broaden your perspective with timely insights and opinions you

Først og fremst: klarer kunststykket å støtte seg på statistikk og data men samtidig være lettlest. Helt tydelig at mannen har kunnskap i bøtter og spann om megaprosjekter, der står han fjellstøtt. Mye bra lærdom å ta med seg, spesielt i viktigheten av et godt forarbeid (think slow, then act fast). The secrets to successfully planning and delivering ambitious, complex projects on any scale—from home renovation to space exploration—by the world's leading expert on megaprojects.You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. In this episode Emma de Vita speaks to Mike Bradley, a senior research associate at the Engineering Design Centre at the University of Cambridge; and Neil Smith, inclusive design lead for HS2 Ltd and one of the Mayor of London’s Design Advocates. Based on practical experience and empirical analysis, Flyvberg offers a model for seeing through the delivery of mega projects. The catch phrase is “think slow act fast.” The elements include the following. It’s actually time that is the killer for projects, not size. This is something that has never been documented before. By acting fast, you can reduce your risks enormously, especially if you have been thinking slow.” Think right to left You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.

Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? Har et parti i boka hvor han trekker frem et privat oppussingsprosjekt for å vise at dette er universelle prinsipper som gjelder for alle typer prosjekter. Får litt følelsen av at det er klemt inn for å gi den jevne leser noe å relatere til, men la gå. Then the value of building large projects from modular components is highlighted by looking at modular construction and how solar panel projects are accurately costed. The iron law of megaprojects states that large and complex projects almost always go over budget, over schedule, or both. Even small projects, like home renovations, are susceptible to cost overruns and time delays due to their complexity. The commitment fallacy is the tendency to continue investing in a failing project or decision simply because we have already put so much into it, which often leads to disastrous results. To avoid this fallacy, be realistic about the challenges and transparent about the costs and risks. The process of reverse engineering or thinking from right to left can help individuals and organizations break down daunting challenges and achieve audacious goals. And finally, the key to making big things happen is modularity, or breaking a big project down into smaller, more manageable pieces, and repeating a small thing over and over again until something huge is built. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed byHos os kan du handle som gæst, Saxo-bruger eller Saxo-medlem – du bestemmer selv. Skulle du få brug for hjælp, sidder vores kundeservice-team klar ved både telefonerne og tasterne. Reference class forecasting”: forecast costs using actual ex post data on similar projects rather than just projecting costs based on ex ante assumptions.