What Made Gertie Gallop?: Lessons from Project Failures [Hardcover]

O. P. Kharbanda (Author), Jeffrey K. Pinto (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471287342 | ISBN-13: 978-0471287346 | Publication Date: May 1996 | Edition: 1

This work takes a critical look at some of the biggest project management blunders in history, offering practical advice and turnaround solutions for each case. It covers: how to spot the early warning signs of trouble, how to make contingency plans, the real importance of strategy and execution, when to bail out, and how to turn project failures into successes. Among the 17 case studies examined are the Tacoma narrows Suspension Bridge (also known as the Galloping Gertie), Sydney Opera House, various nuclear power plants that never pay for themselves, and the Channel Tunnel.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471287342
• ISBN-13: 978-0471287346
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,093,464 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historic projects, useful in future., March 15, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Made Gertie Gallop?: Lessons from Project Failures (Hardcover)

The reasons why i bought this book were primarily to read about the experiences with past projects and also because i was curious to find out about the kind of problems that some of these well known projects had to deal with.

This book gives inside looks into some former major international projects. Although long ago and of a size that most of us projectleaders nowadays will not be engaged in frequently, they still hold important elements of project planning that should be considered now and in the future. Too often these days the wheel is being reinvented, whereas simple checklists based on these past project experiences could serve as eye-openers because of the `deja-vu' effect that relates to these projects.

The book showed me that looking at the stated examples of experienced projectleaders the authors no doubt are there is nothing much new under the sun as far as contemporary projects are concerned: many problems that projectleaders encounter these days are very similar to those in the past and should be considered.

Another book i read in this context was Steve McConnell's Software Project Survival Guide.

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful and Readable, March 8, 2009

By 

William B. Swift (Cumberland, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Made Gertie Gallop? : Learning From Project Failures (Hardcover)

The projects reviewed here are old enough that they have been analyzed well enough for fairly complete understanding to be possible. The mega-scale of the projects makes them less than directly applicable for most readers, but their large scale makes for a completeness in their management, smaller projects frequently skimp on their formal management and are usually less well documented, that makes for a better analysis.

The techniques are well illustrated by the projects chosen and the writing does not get in the way of the analyses. This book is very clearly written, the individual project analyses can almost be read like short stories, but with the added benefit of being factual.

For those more interested more in a popular treatment of engineering failure than project management failure I recommend Henry Petroski's "To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design". I mention this because when I bought this I thought this book was more on engineering failure than it was; a lucky mistake since it turned out to be more interesting and useful than I expected.

Added Later: When I started bloging I included this review as part of a more general essay on Getting Things Right by Avoiding Mistakes.

http://williambswift.blogspot.com/2009/03/getting-things-right-by-avoiding.html

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Borrow a copy of this book and buy their previous work, April 16, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: What Made Gertie Gallop? : Learning From Project Failures (Hardcover)

After reading the author's previous work (Successful Project Managers), I couldn't wait to get my hands on this sequel. I was quickly disappointed in this book. The words of wisdom imparted could have been distilled down into a small paperback book. The examples cited were large scale "mega" projects that while interesting to read made for little relevance in my own work. There seemed to be a preoccupation with 3rd world projects that sounded more like the evils of "big business" picking on small 3rd world governments. The authors, with this book, failed to bring relevant 1997 business problems to the forefront for discussion. My recommendation is to borrow this book from someone and spend your money on their previous work (Successful Project Managers)