Two examples of massively mismanaged projects are TAURUS and the “Big Dig.” The first, formally called the London Stock Exchange Automation Project, cost $575 million before it was finally abandoned. Although most IT projects have a reputation for cost overruns, delays, and under performance, TAURUS set a new standard. But even TAURUS paled next to the biggest, most expensive public works project in U.S. history—Boston’s 15-year-long Central Artery/Tunnel Project. Called the Big Dig, this was perhaps the poorest and most felonious case of project mismanagement in decades. From a starting $2 billion budget to a final price tag of $15 billion, the Big Dig cost more than the Panama Canal, Hoover Dam, or Interstate 95, the 1,919-mile highway between Maine and Florida.

1. Explain why it faced such problems.

2. How and why do project managers allow such massive endeavors to fall into such a state?

3. What do you think are the causes?