ICP and the Co‐op’s mission uncompleted: The pitfalls of project management and how BNFL avoid them

Perhaps the best summary of how ICP and the Co‐op Group handled their joint project in 2000 can be taken from an internal memo from ICP’s development manager: “please be prepared for the s**t to hit the fan”. The Co‐operative Group, one of the largest retailers in the UK, and ICL, which is now part of Fujitsu Services, were working together to install a common IT infrastructure at the Co‐op, following the merge between two strands of the retail group.