Introduction to Project Management, Leadership and Skills Planning and Control| Jan Fahmi

London Olympics 2012

Was this a successful project? Before we can answer this question, we have to ask first What is a project and how it could be successful, then we can look at the case of the London Olympics 2012. According to Jack S. Duggal1, Projects that are delivered on time, within budget and meet scope specifications may not necessarily perceived to be successful by key stakeholders. And from a business point of view, Besides time, cost, scope and quality, a project shall meet the following criteria in order to be successful: Stakeholder and customer satisfaction; Meeting business case objectives; Customer/end-user adoption; Quality of delivery; Meeting governance criteria; and Benefits realization.

When we look at the general measures and the history of the London Olympics; A clear vision over facts around this project could be revealed, and in the few lines we will have the opportunity to investigate the success of the project framed by the above mentioned criteria. Time: the ODA had just over five years to staff up, procure and deliver around 6 billion of major construction works2. The London 2012 Games construction project was delivered on time3

Budget
At the time of London's bid to host the Olympic and paralympic games in 2012 the cost was estimated to be just over 4

billion. After London was awarded the games, the ODA reviewed the cost estimates and in March 2007 announced a budget of 9.3 billion4. Which is for some, The games were a huge waste of public money.5 Hence, this could be considered as a drawback.
1

Jack S. Duggal, Next Level Up: How Do You Measure Project Success? Rethinking the Triple Constraint, article published in the 9 July 2010 issue of PMI Community Post Website: http://www.pmi.org/Knowledge-Center/Next-Level-Up-How-Do-You-Measure-Project-Success.aspx 2 Learning Legacy Report, Programme Management. 3 Learning Legacy Report, Public Participation and community engagement 4 UK Parliament, House of Commons, The Budget for the London 2012 Olympic and paralympic Games, Fourteenth report of session 2007-08, published on 22 April 2008, Website: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmpubacc/85/85.pdf 5 Tom de Castella, London 2012: 10 reasons some people will dread the Olympics, BBC News Magazine, 28 March 2012

Introduction to Project Management, Leadership and Skills Planning and Control| Jan Fahmi

Were there any drawbacks ?

1.Cost The main drawback of hosting the games is the cost, as described previously, 2. Lack of long-term jobs The benefits the Olympics brings to the area are numerous, however there is a risk that the public is being misled of the opportunities for jobs, as nearly all of the jobs are likely to be short-term, and after the games it could leave the area still with a high level of unemployment.6

Who was responsible? List stakeholders Stakeholders definition: A Stakeholder is a person or organization that is:

Actively involved in the project. Whose interests may be positively or negatively affected either by the work of the project or the outputs from the project. Who may exert influence over the project or its deliverables7

Therefore, and following the previous definition, we may state the stake holders as following:

List of Stakeholders 1. Funding stakeholders

1. British Taxpayers : In Order to fund the Games, the London Greater Authority announced that To raise 625m, this will require 20 at Band D for ten years and 9 for the final year.8 2. London Development Agency 3. Greater London Authority 4. National Lottery

2. Organizers stakeholders
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) The Olympics Delivery Authority The British Olympic Association The Olympic Security Directorate (OSD)

3. Building and Infrastructure stakeholders

1. Consultants (Planners, Civil, MEP) 2. Contractors and Subcontractors 3. Suppliers

Political, Social and economic aspects of the Olympic Games, disadvantages for London, website: http://olympics.pthimon.co.uk/londondisadv.htm 7 A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide), Project Management Institute, (Ed. 2000), Chapter 2, Project Stakeholders, p16 8 Council Tax Leaflet 2006/07,

Introduction to Project Management, Leadership and Skills Planning and Control| Jan Fahmi

Responsible of Drawbacks:
Apparently, the main responsible for the over budget situation was the false estimation of cost at the time of biding; Which emphasis the high importance of accurate estimation.

Risk Assessment:9
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the largest sporting event ever to be staged in the united Kingdom. in securing the bid to host the Games, the UK Government guaranteed to undertake the measures necessary to ensure the safety and security of those participating in and attending the Games. Therefore, the Olympic Security Directorate (OSD) developed the Olympic Safety and Security Strategic Risk Assessment (OSSSRA) that have the main role to identify and prioritizing risk and the work required to mitigate the risks Types of Risk - According to the OSSSRA: 1. Terrorism 1.1. Attack on crowded places 1.2. Attack on transport systems 1.3. Non-Conventional attacks 2. Serious and Organized crime 3. Domestic Extremism 4. Public Disorder 5. Major accidents and natural events 5.1. Severe Weather 5.2. Human disease General Risk assessment: 1. Costs Exceeds projected budgets 2. Extension of Time for Projects delivery.

Conclusion:
For the triple dimension of Project Success (Time, Cost & quality) we can guarantee that the project met its objectives in matter of time and quality in sense of sustainability management quality. But for the Cost dimension, the project was over budgeted according to the public announcement reports of the British parliament.

London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Safety & Security Risk Assessment summary: version 2, January 2011 Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications