Case study: the Tower of Pisa

T he Leaning Tower of Pisa is a famous example of a major project. Not only was it delivered very late, it also began to lean to one side. So, would you consider it a success?

The ground breaking for the project began in 1173, and it was completed two hundred years later in 1372. It was only meant to take 30 years to construct. Clearly the project was delivered late and it was also massively over budget. Wrose still, it was leaning, so it did not meet the project’s scope.

For centuries, it was just considered to be an odd tower. Between 1400-1950, the public probably thought of it as a curiosity, an unusual object or artefact. After World War Two, the economic conditions and transportation system in Italy improved and Italians started to go to Pisa to see the tower. In the 1980s and 1990s, it became cheaper to travel there by air and more people could afford it, so tourism boomed.

Despite being late, over budget and incorrectly constructed, the tower an example of a successful project. Over a million people come from all over the world every year to visit it. They also visit other cities and experience Italian culture. All of this creates jobs, wealth and trade.

If you analyse Pisa using the iron triangle framework, both the infrastructure and the stakeholders were unsuccessful. However, after the operation phase of the project, 500 - 600 years later, the project was very successful. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is not successful in terms of project management but it is successful in terms of project success.

Please refer to the glossary to check any terminology you are unfamiliar with: Glossary of Project Management Terms

Coming up...

In the next section you will evaluate the case of the Thames Barrier project.