It is usually said that Titanic project was a total failure in terms of Project Management. But it was really so?
I mean Titanic was a big success in terms of media attraction, marketing, selling of tickets, too much attention from the local population; it amazed and at the same made people pride of themselves.
I was delivered as the greateast travel ship ever built in the entire world until that time. And yes it was delivered as promised! On time! It departed from a port!
Did the fact that one crew member was distracted and was unable to see from far and therefore could not take necessary measures to avoid the actual hit with an iceberg turn this giant piece of engineering work a failed project? Wasn't it a human failure instead of a project failure?
Think about it!
Mr. Marcelo Silva Saving Changes...
I agree. The project to build the ship was successful.
The failure was in the design of the watertight compartments and the arrogance of the captain who failed to heed ice warnings.
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1 reply by Marcelo Silva
Nov 05, 2019 12:47 PM
Marcelo Silva
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Good comment. Agreed
Saving Changes...
Wade HarshmanScrum Master| GDITIndianapolis, In, United States
It's not that unusual for the operations manager to blame the project manager when things go awry. Saving Changes...
Karl TwortSenior Project Manager| Fresh EggUnited Kingdom
In terms of grand "famous" projects I would say this:
In a vote between the build of Sydney Opera House and the build of Titanic, the latter was by far successful, whereas The Opera house was deemed a failure.
That said, The resulting PRODUCTS could not have performed in more polar opposite in terms of operational success. Saving Changes...
It is like when you deliver the construction of a building let's say to a University. At the moment you deliver the building the Project is finished and completed.
What follows it is operation and the University slhould blamed for any misgiving afterwards and not the Project Manager. Saving Changes...
How about the decision to have fewer lifeboats than could have accommodated all the folks onboard and other similar cost cutting measures which went into the requirements & design?
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2 replies by Eduard Hernandez and Eric Simms
Nov 05, 2019 3:34 PM
Eric Simms
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I'd have to say the project was still a success, from the PM's point of view. The requirements weren't the most humane, but stakeholders (owners, investors, etc.) made the final decision regarding those. Even marketing the Titanic as 'unsinkable' was out of the PM's control (and was probably the rationale the stakeholders used to justify the dearth of lifesaving measures).
Nov 05, 2019 3:57 PM
Eduard Hernandez
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Perhaps the PM was a fervent agilist and said "Look, to sail the ship by this date, we can't deliver all lifeboats, maybe just half". And the product owner..."OK, let's do it".
Joking aside, the project was a succes, the ship's design likely not.
"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly 98 million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea..."
