Abstract

While various British Standards and international frameworks exist to assist in the project management of smart infrastructure projects, they do not contribute to the discussion of the means of governing digital infrastructure adoption within these projects. The purpose of this article is to discuss three projects that are developing smart infrastructure: the construction of a digital twin for the Staffordshire bridge of Network Rail, the construction of a digital twin for the A1(M) motorway, and the development of the High Speed Two (HS2) railway between major cities of the United Kingdom. Each of these projects will be reviewed for their compliance with British Standards, digital tools, and governance models for each project. The study employed theories of program and project management (P/PM) to review these projects: Benefits Realization Management (BRM), the Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3), models of change management (Kotter; ADKAR), and the framework for Enterprise Governance of IT (EGIT). Each of these theories allows for an understanding of the digital adoption of infrastructure within each of these projects, as well as the extent to which each is embedded within a governing body. Each of the projects revealed the extent to which digital technology adoption is embedded within a governing body for smart infrastructure projects. The results of these analyses permit an understanding of how the standards and frameworks for governing smart infrastructure projects are necessary but not sufficient for effective project management, and provides a framework for P/PM staff to address the gaps in existing frameworks.