High Speed 2 Report

High Speed 2 is a high-speed railway project that has been under construction in England since 2019, and seems like an exciting project. UK’s Department for Transportation hired an external party to review the project, and the report is available here for anyone to read. https://lnkd.in/gZAdikaE

Not surprisingly, many of the lessons learned are lessons forgotten from previous projects. This is a reminder that lessons learned that aren’t codified into systems, checklists and ways of working tend to wither away as new people get involved in new endeavors.

Some are related to funding and approval mechanisms. It should not come as a surprise to folks that projects actually don’t fit neatly into annual funding mechanisms – focus on funding scope instead of timeslots. And don’t underestimate the need to be able demonstrate successful delivery throughout the project – this is critical to create and maintain trust, confidence, support and ultimately, funding.

Among many recommendations, I am glad that the report emphasizes the need for improved focus on project controls and including board members with major project delivery experience.