This clip from the movie The Pentagon Wars should be required viewing material for anyone who has ever managed a project. In it, Cary Elwes and Viola Davis piece together the history of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Originally designed to be a lightweight troop transport, over the course of 17 years and multiple design changes the vehicle morphs into “a troop transport that can’t carry troops, a reconnaissance vehicle that’s too conspicuous to do reconnaissance, and a quasi-tank that has less armor than a snowblower, but has enough ammo to take out half of D.C.”
As someone who has seen firsthand how changing requirements and scope creep can make a project go sideways, the clip is both hilarious and a little too close to hitting the nail on the head for comfort. The only thing I might add to it: unlike the movie, these things don’t necessarily always happen due to decisions from “The Brass”.
I’ve got a buddy in corporate real estate who often quips that half of his job is making sure that “missiles don’t end up on the buildings.” I’m decidedly not in real estate, but I reckon this tracks.
Be vigilant, folks. Keep the missiles off the building.