Adaptive Project Management – A Time Machine for Demanding Schedules Project Management of the Post Katrina Assessment and Response in New Orleans – Link
Abstract:
Hurricane Katrina was a pivotal event that dramatically impacted policies and practices with respect to natural hazards. The massive loss of human life (1600) and economic losses ($125B) stimulated rapt attention to what went wrong and why, which in turn resulted in dramatic shifts in both engineering practice and the policies that guide it. This also accelerated national flood safety assessment and future strategy in the United States, the Netherlands, and around the world. Rebuilding a sustainable New Orleans required a comprehensive assessment of what went wrong and why.
This forensic analysis served as the technical foundation for immediate temporary repairs for the extensive structural failures of floodwalls and levees as well as the planning, design, and construction of the long-term mitigation of future risk for the Gulf Coast. This entire spectrum of effort was driven by the timing of the next hurricane season (then only 9 months away) and the obvious need for a much more capable long-term system to ensure the future sustainability of the region. Time, reliability, and longevity were the coins of the realm.
The key to achieving these goals was new knowledge and its effective application within an unprecedented timeframe. This presentation highlights the critical role of innovative and adaptive project management for both the forensic analysis and the design and construction of the $15B risk reduction system now in place. A key requirement of the PM process was to facilitate rapid execution through the adaptation of new knowledge and practices through the integration of diverse sources of expertise. The final question is whether, given the increasing uncertainty with climate and societal processes, the Katrina-stimulated policies and practices are adequate for the future? What would the project management of new approaches to engineering and mitigation look like?
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