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0 pointsthescriptkiddie4y ago0 comments

I have a pet theory that the major cause for cost/time overruns on large projects is the cost constraint itself. In other words, attempting to do things on too small of a budget results in the overall cost increasing, not decreasing. I suspect that there are a few main mechanisms for this:

1. As budget constraints tighten, the number of man-hours spent wrestling with bean counters (and/or waiting around with nothing to do until the bean counter wrestling completes) increases exponentially.

2. "Cheap solutions" often end up being unfit for purpose, and have to be reworked later at great expense.

3. Budget overruns lead to time overruns which lead to more budget overruns, ad infinitum.

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ethbr04y ago

Time has its own cost, especially multi-stage construction projects.

Being delayed imposes costs on downstream work, which must now be ready but in some kind of holding pattern, which imposes costs on work downstream of that work.

So a large part of throwing "Manhattan project" / excess funding (and the potential savings by just funding it that way from the start) is avoiding these delays, to the extent possible.

It costs +$200,000 to tackle some challenge in a critical piece? Sometimes it's cheaper just to pay.

TheSpiceIsLife4y ago

Also, it’s a multi-national government funded program that was never intended to return a profit.

So there’s very little incentive to constrain costs.

ncmncm4y ago

The budget overruns are the whole point of the project. Any sort of apparent science or engineering goal is a smokescreen.

IntrepidWorm4y ago

Citations? Or just idle theorizing?

ncmncm4y ago

It is the same process we see everywhere that massive cost overruns and unlimited delays manifest. Modern management methods can control cost and schedule where that is an actual goal. Where they don't demonstrates the actual goal. Every penny of cost overrun goes into some pocket. Smart management ensures many, many pocketholders are allied to keep the gravy train running.

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0 pointsthescriptkiddie4y ago0 comments

2. "Cheap solutions" often end up being unfit for purpose, and have to be reworked later at great expense.

3. Budget overruns lead to time overruns which lead to more budget overruns, ad infinitum.

0 comments

ethbr04y ago

Time has its own cost, especially multi-stage construction projects.

Being delayed imposes costs on downstream work, which must now be ready but in some kind of holding pattern, which imposes costs on work downstream of that work.

So a large part of throwing "Manhattan project" / excess funding (and the potential savings by just funding it that way from the start) is avoiding these delays, to the extent possible.

It costs +$200,000 to tackle some challenge in a critical piece? Sometimes it's cheaper just to pay.

TheSpiceIsLife4y ago

Also, it’s a multi-national government funded program that was never intended to return a profit.

So there’s very little incentive to constrain costs.

ncmncm4y ago

The budget overruns are the whole point of the project. Any sort of apparent science or engineering goal is a smokescreen.

IntrepidWorm4y ago

Citations? Or just idle theorizing?

ncmncm4y ago

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