Cost and Risk Dynamics in Large-Scale IT Projects: A Case of the NBN

The National Broadband Network (NBN) in Australia serves as a significant example of a large-scale IT project that encountered numerous challenges. The project faced severe criticisms due to its cost escalations and prolonged timelines, which were attributed to poor initial planning and execution strategies. A lack of effective risk assessment and inadequate project governance structures further complicated the rollout process. This case study examines how these factors contributed to the NBN's failure by analyzing the strategic missteps in planning and executing such a massive infrastructure initiative. It explores how inadequate budgeting, ineffective program management techniques like Earned Value Management, and insufficient stakeholder communication played pivotal roles. Additionally, it highlights the policy implications of these failures and offers insights into improving future projects' governance frameworks to prevent similar outcomes.

Table of Content

MAN 6303 Steena
Augustine
ID: 10379979
Assignment: Written Critique of a Program
s
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Characteristics of the Program.........................................................................................................2
Significance of the Program............................................................................................................3
Whether the Program was properly Constituted (Issues)................................................................3
Program Management Methodologies.............................................................................................4
Strategic Plan...................................................................................................................................5
Progress to Date...........................................................................................................................5
Optimized Multi-Technology Mix..............................................................................................7
Execution of the Project...................................................................................................................7
Role of the Committee.....................................................................................................................8
Lessons and Learning......................................................................................................................9
Changes should be Accepted.......................................................................................................9
Changes will Alter the Budget.....................................................................................................9
Embrace Scrutiny.........................................................................................................................9
Not much importance is given to the minor changes................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
1

MAN 6303 Steena
Augustine
ID: 10379979
Assignment: Written Critique of a Program
Introduction
Project management is an effective method to properly complete a program or work with
proper flow of steps and implementations of strategic planning. The program management steps
consist of initiation of a program, planning and executing the strategies in manner to complete
the program successfully. There are numerous program management methodologies, which are
important for the completion of different types of programs. It is important to understand the
issues related to the program for choosing the best possible methodology and strategies. Program
management methodology is also chosen with respect to the nature of the result of the program.
In this report, the national broadband network of Australia is chosen for the program
management analysis. This program was initiated in order to create a broadband network
throughout Australia to provide high-speed internet connection for the houses and schools. The
program management methodologies used for the national broadband network of Australia are
also discussed in order to understand the issues of the project. Several strategies, which were
implemented to overcome those issues, are conversed and the way of execution is included along
with the outcome of the project.
Characteristics of the Program
This program is based on an initiative taken by the NBN CO. limited for providing the
high-speed internet, which is open, accessed in nature. There are mainly two ways of the
transmission line, which are the wired communication system, and the other is the radio
communication system. This program is created in order to make a network which responses
very fast but the main challenge is that there are many challenges regarding this project. This is a
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MAN 6303 Steena
Augustine
ID: 10379979
Assignment: Written Critique of a Program
huge program, which is almost expanded in most places of Australia. This implies the
application of program management in proper and efficient manner.
Significance of the Program
This program is created in order to provide high-speed internet in various parts of
Australia so that all houses and schools can access the internet. This program was required, as
most schools and buildings of Australia were not connected with the high-speed internet whereas
in many countries the high-speed facility was already in function to serve for people. The
advantage of this program was to have the access of information for all Australian. This program
was a big step for the Australian infrastructure (Alizadeh et al., 2013). From the point of program
management, it is an important example to analyze the data and to understand the corresponding
challenges and strategies for the program (Protector et al., 2013).
Whether the Program was properly Constituted (Issues)
In this program, there were several issues, which are discussed in the following. The
national broadband network (NBN) program was also initiated in order to provide internet for the
Australians. There were certain issues related to the fibre rollout for regional Australia. There
were also certain issues related to the satellite network (Wilken et al., 2015). These technical
features were related to the company’s growth and infrastructure. The estimation of the materials
and the connectivity is required in order to get the idea of making the program successful. Most
of the premises of Australia were covered by the internet connection. Therefore, the cost is also
very high. The main function related to the system is to provide internet connection for the
people of Australia. The main issue of the system was the time lag in the connection. In several
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MAN 6303 Steena
Augustine
ID: 10379979
Assignment: Written Critique of a Program
parts of Australia people complained about the speed of the internet connection. It was due to the
slow connection of internet and the main fact of making the system more advanced with the
speed (Campbell, 2016). The decreased speed was due to the main disadvantage of the speed and
the program management was done in order to execute the system more efficient in order with
more speed. There are also many disadvantages like the cost. To increase the speed of the
internet connection it is also very important to make the quality of the content of the wire more
efficient so that the longevity and the response of the network system can be more efficient. In
order to do so best, quality material is needed in for that the cost is automatically increased. The
duration of the program was also a big challenge for the organisation. The main advantage of
making the system more efficient is to create the system with better quality material (Ojanen,
2015). Another issue related to this is that if there are any kinds of technical issues then the
whole system is to be changed and the main factor related to this is to create the system and then
the main article is related to the systematic approach of the system.
Program Management Methodologies
There are several program management methods, which are implemented for the
successful completion of the program. Program management is an effective method to properly
complete a program or work with proper flow of steps and implementations of strategic planning
(Kerzner, 2013). There are several program management methodologies, which are important for
the completion of different types of programs. It is important to understand the issues related to
the program for choosing the best possible methodology and strategies. The program
management methods are PMBOK, Agile, waterfall and many more. The waterfall model is
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MAN 6303 Steena
Augustine
ID: 10379979
Assignment: Written Critique of a Program
dependent upon the flow of the steps. The agile method is used for the results, which are
changing in nature (Schwalbe, 2015). The main steps of the program management method are
that there are steps like initiation, planning, execution and completion.
The IT strategies of the Department have been grounded in regulatory and legislative
drivers for the expected four years that could be helpful in informing the requirements of HHS
programs considering the sectors including the social services, research, medical care, public
health, health insurance, responses and IT management. For HHS’ external factors related to the
IT objectives and goals are being acknowledged by the HHS IT Strategic (Fleming &
Koppelman, 2016). Many departments including financial, service organizations and health
care’s are undergoing transformation with the digitization those could be helpful in ensuring the
fundamental shifts which could alternatively result in the positive manner for the interaction with
the private and public sector partners and consumers. The changes introduced in this paragraph
include customer-centric operations, mobile services, and shared services.
Strategic Plan
Progress to Date
The construction of the NBN was commenced in 2009 and expected to be completed within
next three years after that that was based on the approaches made during the planning of the
program (Campbell, 2016). By June 2014, it has been reported that the NBN rollout passed only
357,000 brown-field premises along with the fiber among the target that was estimated to be
1.129 million according to the Corporate Plan presented in August 2012. It was reported in the
annual report that “the total number of brown-fields premises with an active NBN service is now
5

MAN 6303 Steena
Augustine
ID: 10379979
Assignment: Written Critique of a Program
forecast to be 90,000 versus the August 2012 Corporate Plan target of 420,000 (Campbell,
2016).” According to the strategic plan presented earlier following are the objectives and
milestones that could be achieved by the NBN:
 Required $19 billion more than additional capex ($56 billion v. $37 billion)
 Required $29 billion more than peak funding ($73 billion v. $44 billion in the 2012
Corporate Plan)
 Required an opex of $5billion and more until the new network completion as per the
cumulative increase in date of 2024
 Miss its forecast completion date by three years (June 2024 v. December 2021)
 Forego revenue of more than $12 billion between 2011 and 2021 (Fenton, 2014)
 Generate a much lower IRR (2.5% v. 7.1%)
The total budget was increased by the $73 billion than the budget was planned before the
execution of the program that was a very big difference between the estimation and real
expanses. This includes various aspects related to physical construction including the
optimistically underestimated costs, cost and the view of the overestimated revenues those have
been independently assessed (Taylor, 2015).
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MAN 6303 Steena
Augustine
ID: 10379979
Assignment: Written Critique of a Program
Optimized Multi-Technology Mix
The new approaches would be capable of delivering the access for each sectors in the
Australia connected to the network with the speed of 50 Mbps that would be including almost
90% of the total areas. This will also be helpful in enabling the wholesalers with the speed of 100
Mbps to 60%-75% by 2019 as per the expectations (King, 2015). It would bring forward
revenues, reducing peak funding, and reduce costs and from an estimated $73 billion to $41
billion under the revised outlook.
Execution of the Project
This big program was started on 1st July until 31st December and was one of the largest
constructions in the nation that took six months for the successful completion of the program.
The final performance report was reported by the committee on 29th January 2013. At that time
the data and planning related to the target and budget for the fixed wireless network system and
satellite that could be represented to the further revision of the targets (Zbick, 2013). As the
production of the program was not according to the scheduled expectations, some of the
milestones were not reached as per the fixed period. Thus, on 21 March 2013, it was reported
that the program was running three months behind the schedule. This could be set as the example
when the program planning does not consider the facts or objectives that might affect the
completion of the program at the scheduled time.
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MAN 6303 Steena
Augustine
ID: 10379979
Assignment: Written Critique of a Program
Role of the Committee
Committees involved in the program also play their important role in the successful
execution of the project. Those were enabled in manner to report and examine on the matters
related to the NBN Co objective in manner to connect the premises of the Australia with NBN
network. Corporate plan was introduced that includes achievements made in the take-up targets
that have been outlined in the NBN Corporate Plan (haun, 2014). Progress related to the
performance measurements and NBN rollout related to that includes complaint handling,
consumer engagement, and risk management. They have also presented reports related to the on
the matters that could be helpful in pertaining to the execution of the NBN, relevant to the
project.
The whole program was going on as per the planning made at the first stage of the
project; however, certain unwanted events lead to the resistance in the path of the progress of the
project. Despite of the risk management (that cannot be 100% efficient in identifying all the
threats and issues); program manager and other stakeholders were not able to identify all the
threats that resulted in the delay of the program completion (Pronk et al., 2015). The budget
report was also altered due to the long time delivery of the program and the whole budget was
raised from $517 million to the $792 million that is a very big difference between the expectation
and actual delivery budget (Sjogren, 2015). This is an example how delay in the program could
affect the budget plan and delaying in schedule could affect all the objectives related to the
project.
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MAN 6303 Steena
Augustine
ID: 10379979
Assignment: Written Critique of a Program
Lessons and Learning
Changes should be Accepted
The planning of any program could be theoretically 100% efficient and effective
however, during the execution of the project. There are the possibilities that actions or
circumstances of the action might not be driven according to the expectation (Britto et al., 2017).
This was a very big program and even after detailing hundred pages of program plan that had
been delivered at the stage of starting but no one could point every little objective related to the
change in the program (Lindston, 2016). Through the research made on this project, it can be
said that the changes that are rising during the execution of the program should be acceptable and
given importance.
Changes will Alter the Budget
The second lesson learnt from the NBN rollout was that the changes that could be
identified during the execution of program will alternatively affect the budget. As the program
was delayed for three months because of the various changes those have raised during the
execution of the project. This has been also reported of about 100 million differences between
the budget and the total expenditure after the completion. This should be considered while
planning for the budget and a contingency plan should also be included in the overall budget.
Embrace Scrutiny
It was seen in the NBN program that was scrutinized to a very high level than other
projects related to the enterprises or the organizations. The whole program was driven on the
regular scrutiny and should be set as an example for the successful delivery of the project. This is
9

MAN 6303 Steena
Augustine
ID: 10379979
Assignment: Written Critique of a Program
the situation of some of the IT program while those do not need any justification for the choices
those might fall behind without informing any other stakeholders. (Too & Weaver, 2014) said
that “don't view questions about your delivery schedule as an attack; let them serve as a chance
to check how well you are performing”.
Not much importance is given to the minor changes
Minor changes should be considered as the part of the execution of the program and
should always be accepted during the execution of the project. This ion no-doubt will affect the
budget of the program but it can be seen in the NBN program and shows how changes should be
accepted in the middle of the execution of the project. It was reported by (Kerzner, 2013) that
“Don't let unjustified assumptions about your program become accepted as established fact. If
you are in fact delivering what was promised and agreed in writing, make sure everyone knows
it.”
Conclusion
Based on the above report it can be concluded that NBN was a very big program and
various learning could be gain and experienced through the way of the execution of the project.
This report is a thorough research on the NBN program that was considered as one of the biggest
IT program in Australia. This report thoroughly discusses on the objectives related to the
program execution those were involved in NBN project. NBN can be set as the perfect example
of the changes and unwanted events those might occur during the execution of a big project. This
research helped in understanding how much changes is important to be considered while delivery
of the project. This should be considered as the part of the program and delivery and there must
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MAN 6303 Steena
Augustine
ID: 10379979
Assignment: Written Critique of a Program
be a contingency plan for the changes that might occur in the middle of the project. This can also
be stated that no matter how small change is occurred while the delivery of the project, it will
affect the budget and overall development of the project.
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