Harmony or anarchy-the challenge of a consortium

An increasingly significant feature of large projects is the internationalisation of the project consortium formed for the purpose of elaborating an offer and, if successful, subsequently delivering the project. How can the task of a consortium be smoothed through the project life cycle? The performance of any consortium in reaching these objectives is directly affected by how the partners choose (or are obliged) to work together. The factors that define this consortium process-organisation, leadership, roles and responsibilities, communication, coordination, design process, teamwork, culture, decision making processes and so on-are not always fully defined during the sales/project definition phase. Experience suggests that initial analysis of the operating environment, both internal and external to the proposed project, has historically been weak with the neglect at the early planning stage of many important issues that will ultimately affect the implementation of the project. In other words, whilst the inputs and outputs are more or less well known, the project process itself is often poorly treated until the actual implementation phase, and as a result the consequences are often severe. This article presents the case for better and more systematic consideration-and management-of such issues throughout the project life cycle.<>