Critical Analysis of Burj AL Arab Project PDF

Critical Analysis of Burj AL Arab Project
Introduction
Burj-Al Arab project involved construction of the world’s most luxurious hotel on an Island in
Dubai spread across the floor area of 1,200,000 sq. ft. The project was designed by Tom Wright
and the construction were managed by WS Atkins Partners Overseas and Murray & Roberts. The
construction was started in 1993 and was finished by 1999 (Shaktawat, et al., 2007). This report
the project has been analysed from the management perspective to understand how well it was
managed across its stages including initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and
closure(M.Jangam, et al., 2017).
Project Management of Burj AL Arab
Initiation: In this stage, project management tools were used including creation of project
charter and feasibility study. A team was formed for project management with 5 members
chosen as per Belbin characteristics. The charter and feasibility study gave information on
objectives, priorities, assumptions, scope, cost estimates, milestones, deliverables and risks
associated with the project. This helped the management take a decision on the viability of the
project which was tested and only then was the project approved for execution(BOOM, 2009).
Planning: In the planning stage, the project team utilized various project management
techniques for different knowledge areas as defined in the PMBOK guide. The tools used
included stakeholder mapping, work breakdown structure, responsibility matrix, cost breakdown
structure, stakeholder communication plan, and risk management plan. The scope management
plan clearly identified the deliverables within the scope and out of scope. The project later faced
challenges because of lack of resources, escalation of costs, and conflicts in communication.
The project incurred a total cost of $1 billion with $650 million going into construction work
which was more than the original estimate. THis happened because of inaccuracies in planning
which was not done meticulously(Corning, 2007).