In, "Megaprojects and Risk," the author studies multibillion-dollar construction projects worldwide, finding about nine out of 10 went over budget, with many running 40 percent over original estimates. The author concludes that sponsors of such projects systematically underestimate costs and environmental impacts, and overestimate revenues to win approval for their projects.

So what are organizations to do? The answer may lie in better and earlier oversight. Project evaluations, sometimes called audits, are done near or after the project end. This is especially true for government agencies, and constitutes what may be seen as coming in after the battle is over and bayoneting the wounded. Studies performed on public works investments in Norway show that quality assurance needs to be done at the beginning of the project and then performed periodically to be most effective.
 
This paper will present an overview of different review approaches used in different oil & gas and construction companies for the standardized evaluation of projects.
 
Extensive use is made of real-life examples throughout the presentation.