Managing Milestones On the Big Dig

by Jeff Antos

 
   

 

Perhaps you are familiar with the “Big Dig” in Boston. At a currently estimated cost of $15 billion dollars it is the most expensive construction project in U.S. history. This project, to sink seven miles of elevated highway underground, was estimated at its groundbreaking in 1991 to take ten years and cost $2.5 billion. Construction continues today and the end is nowhere in sight.

The "Big Dig" uses a variety of project management software tools. Although currently the project employs only 800 project managers, it has employed as many as 1600 during the peak years. These managers have used their software to forecast missed deadlines and cost overruns on a regular basis.

Project management software is a great tool for organizing complex project work and
determining the “critical path.” It is also frequently used to explain how project problems create a chain reaction that causes delays in subsequent milestones.

Used in this manner, project management software often provides justification for project delays. Relying on software to predict completion dates guarantees that original milestones will not be met. Many project teams never even save their original milestone dates, thereby eliminating any means to compare their forecasted completion dates to those actually achieved.

Milestone forecasts are the independent variables that drive a variety of activities. If these forecasts are inaccurate, the following items will also be inaccurate:

  • Human resource forecasts Timing of spending on capital and expense

  • Coordinated links to other projects or activities

When milestones are inaccurate, project management efforts are wasted.

MILESTONE MANAGEMENT SUGGESTIONS:

  • Work with your team to set realistic milestones.
  • Save original milestones and keep them in front of the team.
  • When problems arise, encourage the team to seek creative means to maintain the original milestones.
  • Provide incentives and rewards for achieving milestones on time.
  • Conversely, enforce penalties for failing to achieve milestones.

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