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Project Management: A Case Study Analysis of Burj Khalifa

Research Proposal · June 2022

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15657.06240

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 Written by: Cheryl Cheng
Roehampton Student ID: CHE21524233
Abstract
The principles of project management assist in structuring both businesses and organisations to
achieve the project goals. Different frameworks are implemented by the organisations in favour
of expediting the achievements of their overall goals and objectives. Certain companies function
optimally with just the simple structure models, while others require a more elaborated project
management matrix infrastructure. Such organisational structure models are dependent on the
essence of the desired results, be it a service or product, or something entirely different.

For complex projects with high-input requirements, the organisation will assume the structure of
project management. Emaar, the company behind the Burj Khalifa project to build the tallest
skyscraper in the world, has implemented this to its property management building model. The
Burj Khalifa project requires an elaborated project management process with various levels of
procedures. This case study will probe into the Burj Khalifa project, as well as provide an
analysis on the corresponding principles of project management that were engaged throughout
the project lifecycle.

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Table of Contents

Section 1 Introduction 3
1.1 An Overview of Burj Khalifa 3

Section 2 Risk Management 4

2.1 Approach to Project Risk Management 4
2.2 Major Risks to Project Success 5
2.3 How Specific Risks were Dealt with 6

Section 3 Stakeholder Management 8

3.1 Who were the Major Stakeholders 8
3.2 Why were they Important 9
3.3 How were they Managed 10

Section 4 Success Review 12

4.1 Breakdown of Project Success and Failure 12
4.2 Justification from Multiple Perspectives 13

Section 5 Recommendations to Project Managers 14

Section 6 Final Conclusions 17

References 18

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Section 1 Introduction

1.1 An Overview of Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa has been holding the title of the world’s tallest skyscraper since it was first
inaugurated in 2010. Built and managed by Emaar Properties, it stands at an impressive feat of
828m in height, and is still considered a man-made marvelled project in Dubai. The objective of
this project was to acquire international acclamation and boost the United Arab Emirates’
economy. Burj Khalifa began back in 2004 and completed after 6 years with a total cost
amounting around US$1.5billion (Baker, Korista and Novak, 2007).

As expected, the people behind this great architecture had to overcome massive challenges
such as labour, time, design and cost (Baker and Pawlikowski, 2015) for Burj Khalifa to become
an award winning project. For such a great scale and multi-phased project, Emaar organisation
had to utilise a heavy-weighted model, which required both project team as well as the higher
level management's involvement to supervise the bigger picture (Flyvbjerg, 2014). This report
will offer a breakdown analysis using the general principles of project management to identify
Burj Khalifa’s success and failure, and illustrate its application of concept.

Fig 1. Burj Khalifa Project Timeline from burjkhalifa.ae Re-illustrated by Author

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Section 2 Risk Management

2.1 Approach to Project Risk Management

Risk appraisal in the scope management of a megaproject like Burj Khalifa is imperative. As risk
is associated with the probable issues which may arise from certain activities, future project
progression could potentially be impaired. Although there are both positive and negative risks,
project management takes up the lens of the latter as focus, to ensure the effects are
neutralised (Kardes et. al., 2013). Strategies in risk management that are exercised during
project management consist of risk transfer, risk mitigation, risk aversion, and identifying the risk
consequences and absorbing the cost into the project (Edwards and Bowen, 2005).

Fig 2. An Overview of Risk Management Planning Flowchart Re-illustrated by Author

The above figure 2 shows the typical flow of risk management planning which covers the
identification, analytical, implementation, evaluation and monitoring (Greiman, 2013). Running
concurrently in every part of the process is the utilisation of both risk register and report. The
risk register, which can be done on a spreadsheet, includes several variables.

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 Table 1. Risk Register Example Re-illustrated by Author

A risk report, in addition to risk register, is also done to give a holistic view in the analysis and
provides insights to the project risk for better management. It highlights the project's most
pressing issues as well as the emerging risks that are dire in the foreseeable future.

Fig 3. Risk Report Sample (Source from MPUG)

2.2 Major Risks to Project Success

The risk in the Burj Khalifa project, is in its design and construction of the tower which they had
apparently transferred over to another. Turner Construction Company undertook that risk, which
reduced the project manager’s exposure to the said threats. For the aspect of control in the

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project’s risk management, Emaar Properties would most likely implement a risk management
log to attribute the numerous risk-related activities together with all the relevant criteria.

Fig 4. Risks faced from the Burj Khalifa Project Re-illustrated by Author

All projects typically have their own life cycle which upon termination at closing phase is the
ideal stage of the overall completion, as it is under the assumption that the goals of the projects
have been materialised (Raydugin, 2013). It is also during this final stage of the project life cycle
that the last report will be written, reflecting and evaluating on the learnings from the project.
Burj Khalifa had successful predecessor projects run by Emaar. This experience helped with the
mitigation of risks, although evidently at a different scale (Sanchez-Cazorla, Alfalla-Luque and
Irimia-Dieguez, 2016).

2.3 How Specific Risks were Dealt with

Figure 5 shows the process from identification to assessment to response development to
control. The section in the middle highlights the actions taken throughout the four-steps that
help to indicate the findings of risks and methods of circumvention in finance, labour, security
and safety (Barreiro-Gomez, Choutri and Tembine, 2021). The first and second steps will reveal
plausible risks and allow prioritisation according to severity. Step three and four looks at
developing a contingency plan to mitigate or avert risks.

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 Fig 5. Risk Analysis Process Re-illustrated by Author

Project post-mortem analysis of Burj Khalifa would enable a deep dive into each stage process
and re-consider the problems that surfaced at each phase (Russo et. al., 2012). A concluded
recommendation on planning, cost-benefit analysis and innovation could then be formulated for
future projects references of Emaar Properties (Priemus, Van Wee and Flyvbjerg, 2008).

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Section 3 Stakeholder Management

3.1 Who were the Major Stakeholders

When it comes to identifying stakeholders in a project, it is necessary to sieve out those who are
heavily invested and prioritised accordingly into the overall project planning. As seen in Bourne
and Walker in 2005, the stakeholder circle helps to highlight such information. It consists of two
main elements which are the coextensive circles which indicate stakeholders distance from
project manager, and the fashion each stakeholder used to specify their homogeneity.

Fig 6. Stakeholder Circle Source from PMI

The solid colour signifies an individual stakeholder, while those with different colour gradients
are indicative of a group. The wedge size and its respective area refers to the scope and degree
of influence by the stakeholders. The radial depth will show the impact level or authority to
terminate the project.

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 Table 2. An Overview of the number as well as closely vested stakeholders of Project Burj Khalifa Re-illustrated by Author

As seen in the above table, the most vested stakeholders are the major stakeholders aside from
the core team members from Emaar who are running the projects.

3.2 Why were they Important

As shared earlier on with the identification of stakeholders, there is a method which will help to
sieve out the most vested stakeholders from the others and it can be seen below using the table
example below to derive the value of vested interest intensity index (Vill). By listing down the
goals and objectives of the project, then giving it a rating on both the vested interest and the
influence impact levels, before the final calculation (Winch, 2017).

Fig 7. Example of Stakeholders Vested Interest Intensity Index (Vill) Re-illustrated by Author

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It is essential to understand the different stakeholders as these key information will be able to
reflect the ones with the right influences required to get the project running smoothly. Without
proper planning and management of stakeholder, it may lead to disruption or even termination
of the project causing it to fail (Sutterfield, Friday-stroud and Shivers-Blackwell, 2006). Below
illustrates an overview of influence mapping and how it can shape the project scope.

Fig 8. Stakeholders Influence Mapping Re-illustrated by Author

3.3 How were they Managed

Figure 9 shows how each stakeholder is interconnected with the core being the project leader,
which refers to the project manager, as well as the core team members. With the knowledge of
the influential power that comes from the different vested stakeholders, it is easier for project
managers to navigate and speak with the appropriate personnel to pull the right strings and get
the desired positive output. The reason that calls for such action to be taken is when conflicts
are formed between the stakeholders and the firm, as it is not necessary to manage
stakeholders if there is no conflict of interests in the first place (Aaltonen and Kujala, 2010).

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 Fig 9. Mindmap of Stakeholders Management Re-illustrated by Author

The project manager has to be able to distinguish and exercise the implementation of personal
and positional power when speaking with the stakeholders so that their demands can be
managed without disrupting the project’s progression (Riad, 2016). If such demands from the
various stakeholders are not well managed, it is often the case that the project outcome would
be a failure. Issues like quality being compromised or budget overspent or unmotivated team
members could happen. Hence, the project manager plays a critical role to influence
stakeholders and delegate work accordingly.

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Section 4 Success Review

4.1 Breakdown of Project Success and Failure

Using the iron triangle as the parameter to gauge the Burj Khalifa project, it can then be
considered as a failure as two out of three did not meet the planned numbers. The overall
project cost exceeded way beyond the initial budget by US$600million and the delay of time
period by nine months indicates management failure. The unexpected financial loss was due to
the increment of 100m in height of the tower as well as the multiple changes. It is arguable that
project management flopped big time with these results (Denicol, Davies and Krystallis, 2020).

However, an analysis in quality debates the prior evaluation. With the complexity of the
megaproject, it is essential to weigh in this element for a comprehensive conclusion. Since
quality is difficult to quantify, resource management, goal achievement and the benefits obtained
from stakeholders after the project completion, can be utilised as the performance indicators for
project success evaluation (Prasad, 2016).

Fig 10. A Breakdown Evaluation of Burj Khalifa Project Success Re-illustrated by Author

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I have further segmented the performance indicators based on the timeline in figure 10. The
functional design of Burj Khalifa is without a doubt, apparent to all as a construction masterpiece
where it can withstand the harsh elements, placed under short term since this can be evaluated
immediately. With the buzz of Burj Khalifa trending in the market, it is expected to attract and
draw crowds to spend and stay at the tower (Flyvbjerg, 2012) and of course the future outlook at
the social level where it can even be considered as Dubai’s jewel.

4.2 Justification from Multiple Perspectives

Samsung Engineering was the main contractor that had similar experience in their past work to
leverage on the latest technologies. As shared earlier, the reinforced concrete of Burj Khalifa
was structured to weather the massive wind pressure. Various testings were done to evaluate
the concrete’s durability before construction (Chand, 2018). Resources were effectively utilised,
meeting the service requirements as well as stakeholders’ expectations. Due to the 2008
economic downturn, there was a delay in the project quality requirement and material cost
increased leading to overall cost to rise. Thus under the perspective of quality, it can be
considered a success (Fahri et. al., 2015).

From the service perspective, the project is regarded as successful because it met both the
stakeholders and other interested parties’ needs. It managed to draw people to visit and brought
a revenue stream to Dubai. Burj Khalifa alone contributed three percent of Dubai’s GDP which
was phenomenal. Although the project in its entirety was unable to fulfil the conditions of time
and budget, considering the social aspect that Dubai, at that time, was struggling with its
mounting debts due to the various urban development planning, to have Burj Khalifa
construction completed in the end was a call for celebration (Weaver, 2010). Many other
construction projects in Dubai had to be terminated since the economic condition was not ideal.
Being a project that was delivered in Dubai and in many other facets it meets the requirements,
so it can be concluded as a successful project (Flyvbjerg, 2017).

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Section 5 Recommendations to Project Managers

Megaprojects are easily identifiable as they usually require an investment of US$1billion or

more. When dealing with megaprojects, sometimes simplicity such as having fewer unknowns
and variables to estimate can arguably be more manageable. However, this often comes at the
expense of dynamism. We are not able to describe the case comprehensively since there are
words and structure limitations. This applies to the planning and decision-making phases. As
project managers close the processes and narrow the project scope, they are unlikely to get
influenced from the outside and so, there will be reduction in feedback about alternatives and
uncertainties (Giezen, 2012).

There have been various megaprojects that were done and a few learning points have been
highlighted to note on to ensure higher success rate for the future. Some of them include having
various project owners instead of a monopoly, a clearly defined project scope, usage of
advanced technological solutions, being weary of enthusiasm over pragmatism, having political
interference, stakeholders involvement, structured processes and procedures to manage project
more effectively, economic outlook during the planning and actual stage might differ, managing
inexperienced team members and client, resolving any contractual disputes, having a
secondary plan if things go south, and documenting learnings for next megaproject (Shaukat,
2012). I have listed down the eight main lessons learned from megaprojects in figure 11 below.

Fig 11. Lessons learned from Megaprojects Re-illustrated by Author

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Many organisations have projects as their core business, hence they should look into constant
improvement of processes in project management and possibly incorporate sustainability
principles. Focusing on innovative trends, new paradigms, and sustainable project
management. It is to note that these trends are developing at differing rates, depending on the
industrial contexts. Building or construction projects are inherently more apprehensive about
integrating sustainable approaches, since they are highly likely to contribute to the carbon
emissions and require large amounts of energy.

Meanwhile, projects from the information technology industry are less affected with concerns of
sustainability, even with the emerging topic of green IT. Consequently, the differences in context
might lead to individual development rates in strategic project management (SPM) practices.
This generates levels of divergences in the conceptual structure. Five dimensions have been
identified to be the key research dimensions for effectively integrating sustainability into project
management approach in practice. These factors are organisational practices and policies, life
cycle orientation, resource management, stakeholders’ engagement, and organisational
learning. These five dimensions as seen figure 12 below, linked inside the conceptual
framework, provide an overarching description and understanding of sustainable project
management approach (Sokianos, 1992).

Fig 12. Sustainable Project Management Framework Re-illustrated by Author

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Bates (2012) states that “A principal goal of the owner’s project control function is to timely
identify and address cost, schedule and other performance issues as they develop”. Designing
of internal controls for projects are necessary to document all decision-making processes and
risks identification to budget, schedule and other specific criteria. During the strategic planning,
feasibility, project scope definition and refinement, project development, and the project life
cycle procurement stages, the project manager needs to monitor the information, document and
support the process of decision-making, from schedule, budget, staffing, regulations and
financial environment, and the plethora of other analysis and decisions that needs to be
performed within control (Rebaiaia and Vieira, 2014).

Fig 13. Learning from the Project Management Framework Re-illustrated by Author

With the project management framework providing a structure in the planning process, it is
easier to include elements such as sustainability approaches and control to ensure that the
output of the project can achieve the strategic objectives and goals by leveraging innovative
tools. In figure 13, I have made a basic framework from Burj Khalifa, keeping in mind to reduce
complexity. I have categorised under problem, underlying project management technique,
benefit and how to achieve enhanced outcome where I took into account the advice from
lessons learned from previous megaprojects.

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Section 6 Conclusion

The concept of project management is not a novelty, it has been steadily evolving and adapting
to the project scope as well as the organisational culture. Project management typically follows
the life cycle, with tools utilisation during the various phases to evaluate the project status. The
grand scale Burj Khalifa project required outsourcing to transfer risks and manage other
variables, although the tower management and the facilities are still under the care of Emaar.
Thus, it possibly required a different form of project management to keep up with the pace of the
company’s growth engines model (UKEssays, 2018).

Being the tallest tower ever built by man, Burj Khalifa plays a substantial role in Dubai as a
recognisable tourist hub in the world. It can be concluded as a success in project management
despite the shock in the economy and abrupt price change of the materials. The management
managed to deal and overcome the issues, finishing the massive project in the next nine
months. This giant construction is a representation of great teamwork and a reflection of
achieving all the possibilities through continuous endeavour. It stands as a gambit for other
construction works to endure any of the challenges (Weigand, 2013).

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