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ABSTRACT

The Denver International Airport automated baggage system was a major news story spanning the years 1994-95. Reconstruction of the events of the project management of this system serves as an example of project summary reporting, which is stipulated in every project management methodology, but which is seldom or never done. The author provides sufficient detail to enable simulation of the design approach alternatives. If other projects are reported in the same format, it will be possible to compare projects on a design phase and/or event-by-event basis. The author recommends establishment and maintenance of a knowledge base of specific causes for failed software development projects.

REFERENCES

• 1: 1. E. Merrow, Understanding the Outcomes of Megaprojects, RAND Corporation, 1988, p. 3.
• 2: 2. M. Shaw, Beyond Programming-in-the-Large: The Next Challenges for Software Engineering, Software Engineering Institute, 1986, p. 14.
• 3: 3. B. Knill, Flying blind at Denver International Airport, Material Handling Engineering, Vol. 49, No. 7, July 1994, p. 47.
• 4: 4. B. Knill, Denver International Airport has happened before; failure of materials handling systems, Material Handling Engineering, Vol. 49, No. 8, August 1994, p. 7.
• 5: 5. B. Knill, Reality checks into baggage handling system; Denver International Airport, Material Handling Engineering, Vol. 49, No. 8, August 1994, p. 51.
• 6: 6. B. Knill, New baggage handling solution .. sort of; Denver International Airport baggage system, Material Handling Engineering, Vol. 49, No. 10, September 1994, p. 43.
• 7: 7. K. Flynn, How the Baggage System was Botched, Rocky Mountain News, Vol. 100, No. 1, 29 January 1995, pp. 26A-29A.
• 8: 8. GAO/RCED-95-35BR, New Denver Airport Impact of the Delayed Baggage System, U. S. Government Accounting Office, October 1994, pp. 14-17.
• 9: 9. B. Violino and P. Kapustka, Is It Really Ready to Fly?, Information Week, Issue 518, 13 March 1995, p. 86.
• 10: Cherri M. Pancake, The promise and the cost of object technology: a five-year forecast, Communications of the ACM, v.38 n.10, p.32-49, Oct. 1995 [doi>10.1145/226239.226247]
• 11: 11 C. Pancake, Denver International Airport Scheduled to Open, CNN Video Archives, Cassette No. 87-3752, Story No. 4, 17 February 1994.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.9 Management

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.1 Project and People Management
      K.6.3 Software Management

General Terms:
Design, Management, Performance