Air Bus

Industry:

a. Industry + Company analysis:

* Original Project Scope and Changes

Project Objective

Airbus's objective is to build the largest airliner at the top of its class in capacity, innovation, range, fuel, cost efficiency, environmental friendliness and cabin comfort with entry into commercial service in March 2006 at a price of $263 to $286 million U.S. per plane.

Deliverables

The deliverables in a project the size of Airbus amount into the hundreds. Even just the beginning which includes developing the engineering design, completing a virtual model and deciding who will produce what parts and by when involves many deliverables for each component. Not to mention the actual building of the aircraft which covers wings, engine, electrical instruments, and evacuation equipment just to name a few, this is a major project that involves many resources for an extremely long length of time. To list the deliverables for this project would take a report in and of itself, for a more detailed look at the deliverables please refer to the appendix 2.

Milestones

For a project the size of Airbus the milestones although large although large are more manageable because they list the "major segments of work" involved in the project. The milestones for Airbus would be:

1. Development of the engineering design

2. Parts and equipment manufactures chosen and prices quoted

3. Plants built for production and assembly

4. Shipping routes chosen

5. Parts completed (each part might have its own milestone depending on its size and importance)

6. Parts and components shipped

7. Building of aircraft would involve many milestones for each component (engine, wings, instruments, ECT.)

8. Finish building aircraft

9. Grand revealing of aircraft

10. Codes and legal requirements met

11. First test flight

12. End of testing

13. Delivery of planes to customers

Technical Requirements

The technical requirements for the A380 are quite detailed because the goal for Airbus in building the A380 is for it to be at the top of its class in all aspects, from engine power and economy to the number of passengers able to seat on the aircraft. The most important specifications are that the new A380 fit most of the Airline requirements in airport infrastructure already in place. This involves the wing span and length to not exceed an 80m by 80 box. Also required was engines that are more and a back wing system that produces less air wake than the Boeing 747, Airbus' main competitor for the A380. The A380 will also hold a greater capacity than any other aircraft and a range of up to 14,200km/7,650nm. These technical requirements are the key goals that Airbus wanted to accomplish to create an aircraft that was at the top of its class. For a more detailed look at the technical specifications of the A380 please see appendix 2.

Limits and Exclusions

Although Airbus is building the A380 in reality they are not building the whole aircraft. The project is mostly outsourced to other companies who are specialists in their industries. "Components of the A380 are provided by suppliers from around the world; the five largest contributors, by value, are Rolls-Royce, SAFRAN, United Technologies, General Electric, and Goodrich." This creates limitations for Airbus because they will not have complete control over the parts manufactured by these other companies. However by choosing the best they also can guarantee the best. Other outsourcing will be used for the shipping of the aircraft parts and a new shipping vessel with the largest loading door will be built by a Chinese company to ship large parts of the aircraft to its main assembly pant. The final limitation will be the certification of the aircraft this cannot be completed until the first test flight is completed.

Reviews with Customers

Airbus conducted a survey with its customers before starting the project for the A380 to get a better understanding as to what their customers were looking. The "major airlines confirmed their need for a new generation aircraft with between 50-100 per cent more seats than a 747 requiring only minimal changes to airports. The findings, revealed in the Airbus survey of 10 major airlines in Asia, Europe and North America, supported Airbus' decision to explore developing an ultra high capacity aircraft." The project scope for the Airbus A380 project has been completely focused on the end customers. This has prompted several meetings with the leaders in the airline industry along the project timeline to discus what they, as customers, were looking for. Airbus even had pilots from the leading airlines come in to make suggestions about how the cockpit should be laid out. Other issues that were discussed were the timeline, prices and delivery dates.

Changes in Project Scope

The changes in the project scope for the Airbus A380 up until the most recent problems of delivery delays and price increases have been followed consistently. The checklist of objectives, deliverables, milestones, technical requirements, limits and exclusions, and reviews with customers have be reliable throughout most of the project. The requirements, specifications and priorities for the project have not been changed throughout the project scope preventing project creep. However Airbus recently has had to change some of their milestones, time estimates and cost estimates because their first "rough cut" estimates of their resources for the project were not projected with enough cushion for a project of this size. More research into past projects could have helped prevent Airbus from under stating their timeline and resources. However some delays cannot be accounted for but a good risk management plan should be in place to help transition the company through a rough period which is what Airbus is now doing under new management.

* Key Success Factors

- A380 took flight on April 27, 2005 and started an 18 month test program with