Denver International Airport Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Denver International Airport Case Study Solution

Problem statement & justification of the problem statement.

The first stage of the project management is setting the objective of the project as in the case of the Denver International Airport, the objective was the replacement of Denver’s Stapleton project, to improve the baggage delivery cycle time and ground efficiency, reduce the close out time for hub operations and decrease the manual handling. It could be seen that the objective was clearly stated otherwise if the wrong objective was set, then the project would be on the wrong track.

The problem arose in the second stage of the project management, where the officials announced the budget of the project, which was $1.2 billion, however Denver’s voters passed a referendum at the estimated cost of $1.7 billion. The problem was that the cost should be analyzed before the starting of the project, as it would help the company in investing in the right project because if the project cost is more than its benefits, then the project would not be feasible to go start off with. On the other hand, the first selected company increased the cost by $48 million therefore, another company was selected to analyze the cost of the project, which resulted in unnecessary time and cost.

Another important issue was that the timing of the project should be set before the starting of the project because unnecessary delay will increase the cost of the company. As in the case of the Denver International airport, the project was delayed four times, sometimes due to handling of the system and sometimes due to security issues. This would also result in negatively affecting the company’s reputation.

Another issue in the airport project was that no one was responsible for the success of the project, as in the project management, a project sponsor should be assigned who would be responsible for the project. Moreover, the project manager and project team should also be assigned for the project. In Denver International Airport project, two companies were selected to assist the project, however due to unusual split of responsibilities, it was decided that who would finally be responsible of the failure of the project.

Another issue in the failure of the project was that the series of changes in the original plan. The important principle of the project management was that proper business case should be made at the start of the project, which should be approved by the senior management of the company and proper plan should be made i.e. how to handle the project however, in Denver International Airport, all the decisions are to made in reaction to the maintenance. This created a problem for the design team because the project requirement was not specified at the start of the project.

Another important issue in project management was the poor communication among the staff, lack of compliance with present conditions, failure to objectively assess the situation and escalating the situation and poor planning at the early stage of the project.

Another problem in the project management was that the benefits were not identified in the business as to what the benefits will be if the project will be successful, as this would help the company to assess whether the project would be successful or not, and lastly, the performance of the sponsor should be assessed and he should be made responsible for it.

Leadership is an important principle of the project management. In this case, the sponsor died in October 1992 without any succession planning, after which replacement manager retained prior responsibilities and therefore, was extended to the maximum value.

Possible alternatives & Evaluation of the alternatives;-

First of all, proper business case should be made in which project objectives, cost benefit analysis, timelines, project stakeholders i.e. project sponsor, project manager and team, any constraints and their solution/recommendation, risk management should be included in the business case and should be approved by the senior management of the company.

Project objectives:-

Objective is an important principle of the project management because without proper establishment of the objective, the project will be on the wrong track and will not benefit the company. A proper objective will help the company to gain competitive advantage and remain profitable and increase the shareholders’ wealth.

Denver International Airport Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Cost benefit analysis:-

For making the project successful, cost benefit analysis is important as it would help the company identify if the project is feasible or not. If the benefits exceed the cost, then the project would be feasible and that the company should go ahead whereas, if the cost increases the benefit, then the project is not feasible due to which the company should not go ahead. This step should be implemented before the starting of the project. However, the detailed cost benefit analysis will require a lot of time at the start of the project, but it should be acceptable by the company rather than investing in the wrong project...................

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