How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration

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Megaproject expert Professor Bent Flyvbjerg’s new book, How Big Things Get Done: The surprising factors behind every successful project, from home renovations to space exploration, digs deep into what makes major projects a success and how these factors can be replicated across any project, no matter what size. Think slow, act fast

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by Meeting project professionals who are working on cutting-edge projects, and academics whose research is at the forefront of project management techniques. But it's much more than that. There are a good number of entertaining best and worse case examples to draw from, illustrating the cognitive biases, nasty surprises and misplaced hubris that high-flying project directors have faced, with everything from the Sydney Opera house to Terminal 5 of Heathrow making a guest appearance. Thinking ‘right to left’ refers to the process chart – classically the Gantt chart – that is used in most project planning and management, where you have the end result or the outcome on the right, and then everything that needs to happen left of that,” he says. The APM Podcast covers discussions and insights on the latest project management topics. Browse our podcasts below and listen for FREE today. The APM Podcast is available on Anchor, Spotify, Apple and Google podcasts.Then the value of building large projects from modular components is highlighted by looking at modular construction and how solar panel projects are accurately costed. Flyvbjerg’s study of big construction projects worldwide has led him to formulate the iron law of megaprojects: over budget, over time, under benefits, over and over again. His deep understanding of why big projects fail—and occasionally succeed—makes this book a truly fascinating read. There’s a practical payoff, too: a toolbox with eleven smart heuristics for better project leadership that every planner who wants to succeed should know." — Gerd Gigerenzer, psychologist, author of Gut Feelings Flyvbjerg explains that successful projects always have a team who clearly understand what their purpose is, and then throughout the delivery phase, always keep one eye on how what they are doing will help deliver this. Hos os kan du handle som gæst, Saxo-bruger eller Saxo-medlem – du bestemmer selv. Skulle du få brug for hjælp, sidder vores kundeservice-team klar ved både telefonerne og tasterne.

Flyvbjerg’s study of big projects worldwide has led him to formulate the iron law of megaprojects: over budget, over time, under benefits, over and over again. His deep understanding of why big projects fail—and occasionally succeed—makes this book a truly fascinating read. There’s a practical payoff, too: a toolbox with eleven smart heuristics for better project leadership that every planner who wants to succeed should know.” Nothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant, newreality. Think of how the Empire State Building went from a sketch to the jewel of New York’s skyline in twenty-one months, or how Apple’s iPod went from a project with a single employee to a product launch in eleven months. Entertaining . . . The picture that [Flyvbjerg] and Mr Gardner draw of why projects, large and small, tend to go wrong is compelling. . . . There are lessons here for managers of all stripes.” — The Economist Nothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant new reality. Think of how Apple’s iPod went from a project with a single employee to an enormously successful product launch in eleven months. But such successes are the exception. Consider how London’s Crossrail project delivered five years late and billions over budget. More modest endeavours, whether launching a small business, organizing a conference, or just finishing a work project on time, also commonly fail. Why? For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial.How Big Things Get Done is a book that every legislator, city council member and corporate executive ought to read.” Over-budget and over-schedule is an inevitability. Incompetence and grift is outrageous. Bent Flyvbjerg, with this terrific data-driven book, has shown that there is another way.” You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.

Nothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant, new reality. Think of how the Empire State Building went from a sketch to the jewel of New York’s skyline in twenty-one months, or how Apple’s iPod went from a project with a single employee to a product launch in eleven months. Tim Harford, bestselling author of How to Make the World Add Up Entertaining . . . compelling . . . there are lessons here for managers of all stripes The iron law of megaprojects states that large and complex projects almost always go over budget, over schedule, or both. Even small projects, like home renovations, are susceptible to cost overruns and time delays due to their complexity. The commitment fallacy is the tendency to continue investing in a failing project or decision simply because we have already put so much into it, which often leads to disastrous results. To avoid this fallacy, be realistic about the challenges and transparent about the costs and risks. The process of reverse engineering or thinking from right to left can help individuals and organizations break down daunting challenges and achieve audacious goals. And finally, the key to making big things happen is modularity, or breaking a big project down into smaller, more manageable pieces, and repeating a small thing over and over again until something huge is built. Megaproject expert Bent Flyvbjerg and bestselling author Dan Gardner reveal the secrets to successfully planning and delivering ambitious projects on any scale. Why is this the case? Because megaprojects rely on complex systems that are inherently difficult to predict and control. Unforeseen events, changes in requirements, and mismanagement can all contribute to delays and cost overruns. What’s more is that megaprojects often involve numerous stakeholders with varying interests – this can lead to disagreements and delays in decision-making.If a project can be delivered in a modular manner, enabling learning along the way, it is likely to succeed. Understanding what distinguishes the triumphs from the failures has been the life’s work of Oxford professor Bent Flyvbjerg, dubbed “the world’s leading megaproject expert.” In How Big Things Get Done , he identifies the errors in judgment and decision-making that lead projects, both big and small, to fail, and the research-based principles that will make you succeed with yours. For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, distinguished professor of risk engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, and author of the Incerto series In 2022, APM is celebrating its 50th anniversary, so throughout the year we’ll be sitting down with some of the movers and shakers who have shaped the project profession across the last few decades.