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0 pointstankenmate8y ago0 comments

Not just technologies but also operational gains. The problems with the development of the A380 forced Airbus to synchronise their CAD/CAM software and development practices between their previously semi-autonomous offices in Germany and France. It also led to further organisational rationalisation and the removal of French and German government influence on commercial decisions. It led to the removal of a lot of identical functions on both sides of the border and removal of the rules stating that work had to be split rather than concentrating similar functions in certain countries. That in itself was a big gain for Airbus, probably worth a quarter of the money spent on the development of the A380 if amortised over the length of the project. Once the costs started building up it was easier to convince the various governments to back off a bit.

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valuearb8y ago· 1 in thread

Methinks the operational gains could be done for 1/100th or less of the $30B+ the A380 cost. Failing at a huge project isn't a way to get governments to back off, it's a way to get them to realize they should stop funding you.

tankenmateOP8y ago

But there is also the human factor to consider, especially in organisations that are fully or partly government owned. They don't have their "own" money (it's taxpayer money), and in some ways they aren't allowed to pursue their own agenda (it's not their money right?), it is political; so rocking the boat by pushing change can be difficult. So for these types of organisation sometimes it takes catastrophic events to foment change.

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