Project Initiation Planning and Execution

Project Initiation Planning and Execution 1
PROJECT INITIATION, PLANNING AND EXECUTION: SUCCESS AND FAILURE
FACTORS
By [Name]
Professor’s Name
Course Title
City/State
Date

Project Initiation Planning and Execution 2
The Sydney Opera House Project
ArchDaily. (2019). AD Classics: Sydney Opera House / Jørn Utzon. [online] Available at:
https://www.archdaily.com/65218/ad-classics-sydney-opera-house-j%25c3%25b8rn-utzon
[Accessed 18 Dec. 2019].
The Sydney Opera House
It is currently
among the
World Heritage
Sites that is
listed by the
United Nations
Educational,
Scientific and
Cultural
Organisations
(UNESCO)

Project Initiation Planning and Execution 3
Jooinn. (2019). Sydney Opera House - Jooinn. [online] Available at:
https://jooinn.com/sydney-opera-house-8.html [Accessed 18 Dec. 2019].
The Success of the Opera House Project
Cone shaped roof of Sydney Opera House
Jooinn. (2019). Sydney
Opera House - Jooinn.
[online] Available at:
https://jooinn.com/sydne
y-opera-house-8.html
[Accessed 18 Dec.
2019].
External overview of the Sydney Opera House

Project Initiation Planning and Execution 4
This project is celebrated as one of the most significant achievement that has won various
prestigious awards. It is currently among the World Heritage Sites that is listed by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisations (UNESCO) (Freeman, 2017).
Medium. (2015). Design lessons from the Sydney Opera House. [online] Available at:
https://medium.com/designing-atlassian/design-lessons-from-the-sydney-opera-house-
7e3c6bd240 [Accessed 18 Dec. 2019].
The Failures of the Sydney Opera House Project
The project scope of the Sydney Opera House project was not clearly defined since the initial
objective of the project was to build an opera house but a major concert hall with dual
functions as an opera.
The competition to design the Sydney Opera House had an ambiguous purpose, which
misdirected the description of the project that has never changed. This resulted in a scope
creep that not only effected the scope but quality of the project (Abyad, 2019).
Unique roof of the Sydney Opera House
The Sydney
Opera
House has
the highest
roof shell

Project Initiation Planning and Execution 5
Brownell, B. (2017). [online] Architectmagazine.com. Available at:
https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/culture/after-40-years-the-sydney-opera-house-is-
still-a-work-in-progress_o [Accessed 18 Dec. 2019].
Ethical consideration into the Sydney Opera House Project
Design and Engineering
The design and construction was closely connected. The design by Utzon with the radical
approach to the construction of the building allowed for an exceptional innovative and
collaborative setting.
Sydney Opera House Concert
Hall Acoustic Reflectors
The Concert
Hall is too big to
an extent that
sound gets lost
in the high
ceiling making it
difficult for
musicians to
hear each other.

Project Initiation Planning and Execution 6
Green Building Elements. (2015). Sustainability Key to Opera House. [online] Available at:
https://greenbuildingelements.com/2015/03/25/sustainability-key-to-sydney-opera-house/
[Accessed 18 Dec. 2019].
Design of the Sdyney Opera House
Air
conditioning
solution best
illustrates the
commitment to
aesthetic
sustainability
and integrity
Design of the
Sydney Opera
House
The construction
started before the
design of the
building had been
completed. This
problem led to major
problems that
resulted in the
restructuring of the
building

Project Initiation Planning and Execution 7
ArchDaily. (2019). AD Classics: Sydney Opera House / Jørn Utzon. [online] Available at:
https://www.archdaily.com/65218/ad-classics-sydney-opera-house-j%25c3%25b8rn-utzon
[Accessed 18 Dec. 2019]
The design concept by Jorn Utzon involved unprecedented architectural forms which called
for solutions that called for novel materials and technologies. For example the interlocking
valuted shells posed a big challenge to engineers because it was a design that had never been
attempted before (Delamont, and Atkinson, 2019).
Not underestimating innovation costs
The Sydney Opera House took more than fourteen years which is over ten years late. The
budget was also ten times more than the initial cost.
Introduction
The Sydney Opera House is an iconic landmark in Australian and in the entire Asian region.
It is a centre for performing arts in Sydney, South Wales. The construction comprises a
number of performance venues that altogether host more than 2000 performances years that
are attended by more than 1.2 million individuals. The Sydney Opera House was designed by
Jorn Utzon and the building process commenced in 1959 but took more approximately 14
years to come to completion. Currently, the Sydney Opera House is famously known for
being a unique building in Australia.
Failure of the Sydney Opera House
The Opera House project failed since the project never followed the processes that ultimately
signify proper project management as well as accounting procedures.
 Limited resource management planning led in no one dedicated project team
responsible for project tasks and the suggested budget.

Project Initiation Planning and Execution 8
 Lack of management and accounting expectations resulted in excessive and wastage
of material costs.
 There was no plan for resources which lead to delays at all phases of the development
of the project.
Circumstances Surrounding the Sydney Opera House
The Australian administration (client) undertook a contest in 1957 to choose an architecture
to design its National Opera House. The major target of the Australian government was to
showcase the technical and innovative abilities of the Australian government in the
construction industry. In 1958, Jorn Utzon emerged the winner of this competition for his
varied plans, designs and consultant reports for the Opera House. However, regardless of
Utzon openly admitting that he had not completed the structural design, the Australian
government insisted on the instant commencement of the construction project (Medium,
2015). As a result, from this point, things started to escalate from bad to worse which greatly
contributed to the problems and failures of the Sydney Opera House.
Factors that that Led to failure of the Sydney Opera House Construction Project
Lack of clearly defined plan
The construction project commenced without complete plans to be followed. In addition to
that, client to the Opera House changed the floor plan from two theatres to four just after the
beginning of the construction. Putting together the chaos that came afterwards was lack of a
project manager. Instead of a single individual that could be held accountable with questions
and for matters of direction which was an ad hoc “partnership” between engineers and Utzon
(Shenhar, and Dvir, 2017, p. 93). The Ove Arup hastily handled management of the project
by assembling the project teams, mechanical, electrical and HVAC subcontractors. The
project team used different management because they had dissimilar perspectives and goals.

Project Initiation Planning and Execution 9
Lack of defined budget for the project
The lack of a clearly defined design could not allow the Opera House project to determine the
real amount that the project would cost. As a result, almost instantly from the time the project
was incepted the expenses started rising fast with the alteration orders as well as the
discovery that the site survey was done in a wrong way. Consequently, this led to an increase
in the project budget. The vision of Uzton subdivided the construction project into the
external shells, the podium and the windows and the interiors (Murray, 2013). Toward the
end of the first stage, the Australian administrative committee was supervising expenditures
hence it had to hold back some payments until it received approval for competition of the
whole work.
Lack of clearly set timeframe
More than seven years since the inception of the construction project which was supposed to
be accomplished in four years, the Sydney Opera House has not accomplished the second
stage. The designer Utzon left in a frustrated manner going with his plans and designs. The
rest of the management fell into the hand of the Australian government engineering
committee who never accomplished the second phase of the project one year later.
Nonetheless, the since the following stage called for a whole novel set of strategies, the
financial plan to cater for the building skyrocketed to approximately AU $85 million.
Success Factors of the Sydney Opera House Project
The Sydney Opera House project is a great project management attainment that was initiated
by Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia with a significant show and splendour. Irrespective
of the delays, challenges and well as cost overruns of the Sydney Opera House construction
project, it has become a landmark not just within Australia but also the whole world (Abyad,
2019).

Project Initiation Planning and Execution 10
Reference List
Abyad, A., 2019. Project Road to Success and Failure. Middle East Journal of Business,
14(4).
Alamy. (2019). Stock Photo - Australia, NSW, Sydney, Sydney Opera House designed by the
Danish architect Jorn Utzon and opened October 1973. [online] Available at:
https://www.alamy.com/australia-nsw-sydney-sydney-opera-house-designed-by-the-danish-
architect-jorn-utzon-and-opened-october-1973-image255450163.html [Accessed 18 Dec.
2019].
ArchDaily. (2019). AD Classics: Sydney Opera House / Jørn Utzon. [online] Available at:
https://www.archdaily.com/65218/ad-classics-sydney-opera-house-j%25c3%25b8rn-utzon
[Accessed 18 Dec. 2019].
Brownell, B. (2017). [online] Architectmagazine.com. Available at:
https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/culture/after-40-years-the-sydney-opera-house-is-
still-a-work-in-progress_o [Accessed 18 Dec. 2019].
Delamont, S. and Atkinson, P., 2019. Periwigs in Prague: The Opera Project We Never Did.
In The Lost Ethnographies: Methodological Insights from Projects that Never Were (pp. 17-
30). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Freeman, C.G., 2017. Participatory culture and the social value of an architectural icon:
Sydney Opera House. Routledge.
Green Building Elements. (2015). Sustainability Key to Opera House. [online] Available at:
https://greenbuildingelements.com/2015/03/25/sustainability-key-to-sydney-opera-house/
[Accessed 18 Dec. 2019].
Jooinn. (2019). Sydney Opera House - Jooinn. [online] Available at:
https://jooinn.com/sydney-opera-house-8.html [Accessed 18 Dec. 2019].

Project Initiation Planning and Execution 11
Medium. (2015). Design lessons from the Sydney Opera House. [online] Available at:
https://medium.com/designing-atlassian/design-lessons-from-the-sydney-opera-house-
7e3c6bd240 [Accessed 18 Dec. 2019].
Murray, P., 2013. The saga of Sydney Opera House: the dramatic story of the design and
construction of the icon of modern Australia. Routledge.
Shenhar, A.J. and Dvir, D., 2017. Project management research—the challenge and
opportunity. Project management journal, 38(2), pp.93-99.