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...
Eric SimmsSenior Program ManagerBaltimore, Maryland, United States
Nov 05, 2019 3:04 PM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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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?
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).
Product Operations Program ManagerBarcelona, Cataluña, Spain
Nov 05, 2019 3:04 PM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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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?
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.
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2 replies by Eric Simms and Marcelo Silva
Nov 05, 2019 4:06 PM
Marcelo Silva
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After all you have to be agile ???? ‘Let’s them kill themselves for the boats and let’s go to the next one the ship will never sink anyway’ ??????
You raise a good point about the Titanic being an Agile project. Perhaps the Product Owner thought the ship was suitable for a simple voyage across the Atlantic and back, and a few more sprints were planned to finish upgrading the Titanic's safety features when it returned to Belfast.
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).
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.
After all you have to be agile ???? ‘Let’s them kill themselves for the boats and let’s go to the next one the ship will never sink anyway’ ??????
Eric SimmsSenior Program ManagerBaltimore, Maryland, United States
Nov 05, 2019 3:57 PM
Replying to 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.
You raise a good point about the Titanic being an Agile project. Perhaps the Product Owner thought the ship was suitable for a simple voyage across the Atlantic and back, and a few more sprints were planned to finish upgrading the Titanic's safety features when it returned to Belfast.
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1 reply by Marcelo Silva
Nov 06, 2019 11:09 AM
Marcelo Silva
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Good point.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
To decide if Titanic was a failed project or not we need to know the project goals and objectives.
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2 replies by Marcelo Silva
Nov 06, 2019 11:12 AM
Marcelo Silva
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It is all there on the movie haha ... just kidding
You raise a good point about the Titanic being an Agile project. Perhaps the Product Owner thought the ship was suitable for a simple voyage across the Atlantic and back, and a few more sprints were planned to finish upgrading the Titanic's safety features when it returned to Belfast.
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