Teaching Case Studies

You can download copies of the cases by clicking on the links below. These copies are available for viewing purposes only. Copies for classroom use can be purchased through the European Case Clearing House (ECCH). The cases have been designed to be used mainly with graduate-standing students (MSc, MBA) in project management and new infrastructure development courses, as well as in executive education programs.

• Gil, N. (2009). The BSF programme: Teacher Involvement in Design (A) and (B) (unedited)
  
  This case introduces students to the notions of programme and project governance structures, and to the role they play in resolving tensions between the end-user design requirements and the institutional and policy contraints in which the projects and programmes unfold. Specifically, the case enables to discuss how much share of voice to give to infrastructure end-users in design decision-making, and how to manage it. The setting is the Building Schools for the Future programme in the UK. This case is in the testing phase, and isn't ready yet for final publishing.
  
• Gil, N. (2008). BAA: The T5 Project Agreement (A), ECCH Ref. 308-308-1; (B) 308-309-1.
  
  This case introduces students to a range of commercial contrating strategies between the project client and the supplier base (designers, contractors, manufacturers). The case enables to discuss the appropriateness of alternative strategies as a function of four factors: supply chain capabilities, nature of transactions, institutional constraints, and economic cycle. The setting is the Terminal 5 project at Heathrow airport. I suggest requesting students to read the following paper to prepare for classroom discussion - Gil, N. (2009). Developing Project Client-Supplier Cooperative Relationships: How much to Expect from Relational Contracts? California Management Review, Winter, 144-169.
• GIl, N. (2008). The T5 Project: Single Terminal Occupancy Change (A), Ref. ECCH 308-310-1; (B) Ref. ECCH 308-311-1. (Replaces Gil, N. (2006) The Airport Expasion Project.
  
  This case introduces students to the problem of managing customer-led design change requests in large infrastructure projects and programmes. The case enables to discuss the reasons leading to late change requests, the impact of instructing change to project teams when design and construction tasks overlap, and the adaptation costs as a function of whether design architectures are modular, integral, and have been safeguarded (or not) to cope with change. The setting is the Terminal 5 project at Heathrow airport. I suggest requesting students to read: Gil, N., Beckman, S.,Tommelein, I. (2008). Upstream Problem-Solving under Uncertainty and Ambiguity: Evidence from Airport Expansion Projects. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 55 (3) 508-522.
• McNatt, T., Gil, N. (2007). The Tanyan Case (A), (B), (C), and (D). BP Managing Projects College. (This case isn't available to the public)
• Gil, N., Yaghootkar, K. (2006). The Beetham Tower Project: Planning for Repetitive Activities (A), and (B) ECCH Ref. 606-053-1.
  
  This case introduces students to the basic principles of the line-of-balance method. This a method suitable to schedule and plan the production process for projects with repetitive activities occurring in different spaces. The case is useful to discuss the basic issues in the planning of complex engineering projects, including task reliability, contingency planning, change management, and production design. The use of the case requires students to build a relatively simple line-of-balance based on real-world data. It is appropriate to use with undergraduate and graduate-standing students. The setting is the development of the 171m-high, mixed-use skyscraper in downtown Manchester by Beetham Organization Ltd., a leading UK real estate developer.
• Gil, N. (2006). The Airport Expansion Project: Single Terminal Occupancy Change (A) & (B), ECCH Ref. 606-048-1
• Gil, N. (2005). Chipmaker: The Design Reuse Project (A), ECCH Ref. 606-007-1; (B) ECCH Ref. 606-008-1.
  
  This case introduces students to the managerial challenges in speeding up the delivery of complex engineering projects when design overlaps construction under conditions of high uncertainty about design requirements. The case is useful to discuss a fundamental project and design management problem: when do managers draw the line between allowing design changes so as to adapt to evolution in requirements as opposed to freezing the design so as to make sure the project can be delivered on time, on budget? The case also enables to discuss the use of design reuse strategies and inequalities in stakeholder power in projects. The setting is the design and development of semiconductor fabrication facilities (fabs) by a leading chipmaker. I suggest requesting students to read the following papers to prepare for classroom discussion: Gil, N., Beckman, S. (2007). Design Reuse and Buffers in High-tech Infrastructure Development: A Stakeholder Perspective. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 54 (3) 484-497, and Gil, N., Tommelein, I.D., Stout, A., Garrett, T. (2005). Embodying Product and Process Flexibility to Cope with Challenging Project Deliveries. J. of Construction Engineering and Management,131 (4) 439-448.I also wrote a teaching note with recommendations about how to best use this case in the classroom:
• Gil, N. (2005). Chipmaker: The Design Reuse Project. Teaching Note ECCH Ref. 606-007-8

Other Pedagogical Material

• Gil, N. (2007). Collaborative Practices. Study Guide 1 for Working Collaboratively, MBA for Construction Executives, Pub. MBS Worldwide.
• Gil, N. (2007). Managing the Supply Chain. Study Guide 2 for Working Collaboratively, MBA for Construction Executives, Pub. MBS Worldwide.
• Gil, N. (2007). Teaching Materials for Working Collaboratively, MBA for Construction Executives, Pub. MBS Worldwide.