Investigations
Forensic analyses of billion-dollar project failures. Every investigation ends with the same question: what should executives have known?
All investigations
Ryugyong Hotel: The 105-Storey Hotel That Has Never Welcomed a Guest
The Ryugyong Hotel was meant to open in 1989 as the world's tallest…
Three Gorges Dam: Delivered at Design Capacity — and an Invoice That Never Closes
The Three Gorges Dam is the largest power station ever built: 22.5…
Fukushima Daiichi
The National Diet of Japan's independent investigation called Fukushima…
Foxconn in Wisconsin: The $10 Billion Factory That Never Was
In July 2017, Foxconn stood beside President Trump at the White House…
Palm Jumeirah: The Island That Engineering Built and the Crash Nearly Sank
Palm Jumeirah turned five kilometres of open Gulf water into a…
Changi Airport Terminal 5: The Most Disciplined Mega-Airport Programme Still in Delivery
A note of honesty first: Changi Airport Terminal 5 has not been…
California High-Speed Rail
In November 2008, California voters approved Proposition 1A: $9.95…
HS2: How Cost, Scope and Schedule Changed Britain's High-Speed Rail Programme
High Speed 2 was sold to Parliament in 2011 as a £33 billion railway…
Burj Khalifa: The Supertall Megaproject That Finished on Time in a Financial Storm
The Burj Khalifa — 828 metres, 163 floors — was designed, engineered…
Apple Park: How Design Ambition Shaped a Multi-Billion-Dollar Headquarters
Apple Park is the rare mega-building where the client was the design…
Kansai International Airport
Kansai International Airport opened on schedule in 1994 as a triumph of…
China's Ghost Cities
Over two decades, Chinese local governments built hundreds of new towns…
Ever Given: Six Days That Stopped World Trade
On 23 March 2021 the 20,000-TEU container ship Ever Given ran aground…
TSMC's GigaFab Programme: The Megaproject Machine That Never Stops
TSMC has industrialised the world's hardest construction problem. While…
JPMorgan CIO Trading Loss
JPMorgan recorded approximately $6.2 billion in losses from the CIO…
Hong Kong International Airport: From Chaotic Opening to World Benchmark
Hong Kong International Airport's 6 July 1998 opening was a documented…
Denver Airport Baggage System
Denver International Airport promised the world's most advanced baggage…
Heathrow Terminal 5: Managing Severe Engineering Risk
Heathrow Terminal 5 was delivered on schedule and broadly on budget…
Theranos Fraud
Theranos raised hundreds of millions of dollars while its blood-testing…
Queensland Health Payroll
In December 2007 the State of Queensland signed a fixed-price contract…
Mars Climate Orbiter
On 23 September 1999, NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter fired its main engine…
Delhi Metro: The Megaproject That Delivered
Delhi Metro's Phase I was substantially completed around 2005, roughly…
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House opened 10 years late, and its final cost of…
Crossrail Delay
Crossrail's tunnels were built on time. Systems integration, testing…
NHS National Programme for IT
The NHS National Programme for IT was meant to revolutionise healthcare…
Berlin Brandenburg Airport
Berlin Brandenburg Airport was meant to open in 2011. It finally opened…
Boeing 737 MAX
In October 2018 and March 2019, two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft crashed…
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