Management of Large IT Projects: The Passenger Reservation System of Indian Railways

The Passenger Reservation System of Indian Railways is a major computer application in a visible, consumer sensitive area. The involves a distributed database, spread over five host computers located in five metropolitan cities in India, and terminals located in more than 22 cities. The objective was to improve the service level to the customer and the exercise may be viewed as an example of a successful application in a developing country. This paper examines this application and draws lessons for management of large Information Technology projects.